Travel Agents to Benefit from New Fare Guarantee Policy
- Company’s New Fare Guarantee Policy Now Addresses Airline Imposed Surcharges -
Hoofddorp 23 March 2006 - Galileo International, the leading global distribution services (GDS) company and subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD), today announced that it has successfully implemented a new automated service fee solution in accordance with the Airline Tariff Publishing Company’s (ATPCO) new industry standards. With this enhancement, Galileo’s customers are able to benefit from more timely and accurate application of airline service fees, known in the industry as YQ/YR fees. Used by airlines to apply fuel and insurance surcharges, this data was previously sent directly to the GDS on an ad-hoc basis and relied on manual intervention to make it available to the end user.
The new process allows airlines to code their service fee structure directly with ATPCO. This information is received in an automated format along with the daily fares and rules transmissions, and is automatically updated in the Galileo 360° Fares database. This automation allows airlines to have greater control of their displayed fees, and gives travel agents greater confidence that any fare and associated fees they see, are exactly as the airline intended.
Galileo has also become the first GDS to tackle the real business and process challenge of handling fluctuating airline imposed fuel and insurance surcharges, especially after they have issued an air ticket. Galileo is updating its Fare Guarantee Policy, effective 01 May 2006, to include a new component, which means that the YQ/YR surcharge costs agents see at the time they issue the ticket will be the final costs they pay, subject to the specific terms of the new policy. This change applies to tickets issued from 12th January 2006, meaning travel agents no longer face the problem of retrospective invoices (ADMs) for YQ/YR surcharge increases made after the ticket has been issued.
“Since the introduction of Galileo’s 3600 Fares solution we have seen a considerable improvement in our fare content from Galileo,” said John Priestly, Manager, Special Fares Unit, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “Within the first few weeks of the new ATPCO process being introduced, there was a significant improvement in the accuracy of the service fee data available, with a reduction in the number of fare discrepancy claims by the airlines.“
Commenting on the enhancement, Patsy Gettini, VP Enterprise Product Management for Cendant TDS said “Galileo is delighted to be able to support this industry initiative that will ultimately benefit all in the travel industry, including travel agents, airlines and consumers. Our business is committed to delivering solutions that reduce time consuming, manual processes.”
“ATPCO appreciates the opportunity to engage with proactive partners like Galileo in developing innovative solutions for the airline industry,” said Rolf Purzer, vice president and general manager - Product Development and Marketing for ATPCO. “We’re pleased to be working in association with Galileo and their airline customers globally on this important industry development.”
# # #
About Galileo International
Galileo International (http://www.galileo.com) is a global technology leader. Its core business is providing electronic global distribution services for the travel industry through its computerized reservation systems, leading-edge products and innovative, Internet-based solutions. Galileo is a value-added distributor of travel inventory dedicated to supporting its travel supplier, agency and corporate customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. A subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) and part of Cendant's Travel Distribution Services Group, Galileo is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, and has offices worldwide.
About Cendant Travel Distribution Services
Cendant Corporation's (NYSE: CD) Travel Distribution Services Division is one of the world's largest and most geographically diverse collections of travel brands and distribution businesses. The division, employing nearly 9,000 people in approximately 140 countries, includes: a leading (GDS) global distribution system (Galileo), serving more than 50,000 travel agencies and over 60,000 hotels; hotel distribution and services businesses (Neat Group®, THOR®, TRUST and WizCom®); leading online travel agencies (asia-hotels.com, CheapTickets®, ebookers.com®, HotelClub.com, Lodging.com, Orbitz®, RatesToGo.com, and The Away Network); an airline market intelligence company (Shepherd Systems); an international travel technology and software company (Travelwire); a leading international provider of long-haul air travel and travel product consolidator (Travel 2®/Travel 4®); online global corporate travel management solutions (Orbitz for Business® and Travelport®); and a leading wholesaler and global online provider of hotels, destination services, travel packages and group tours (Gullivers Travel Associates, OctopusTravel.com® and Travel Bound, Inc.).
For More Information:
Rogier de Boer – Sales & Marketing Manager Galileo Nederland
Email: rogier.deboer@galileo.com