DESTINATION AND TOURISM, COMMERCIAL TRAVEL
KAYAK | January 27, 2023
KAYAK, the leading search engine for travel, recently announced that it has partnered with Affirm, a payment network, to make its payment operations flexible and to empower its travelers in the United States.
According to KAYAK search data, flight prices are rising by about 40% per year. Despite increased flight prices, travelers are still searching for flight bookings in 2023. With Affirm, KAYAK is making it easier for travelers to plan and pay for their trips this year. Now, approved KAYAK travelers can split the cost of flights, hotels, car rentals, and car sharing over $150 into monthly payments by choosing Affirm when they check out. Thus, KAYAK can reach 15 million of Affirm's consumers and 245,000 merchants, including American Airlines, Priceline, Vrbo, Vacasa, and more thereby, enhancing its new reach, overall sales, repurchase rates, and average order value.
Paul Jacobs, General Manager and Vice President of KAYAK North America, says, "It's good to have choices, especially in this economy. In addition to showing travelers all their options on KAYAK, Affirm gives travelers the ability to plan how they pay."
(Source – Business Wire)
Geoffrey Kott, Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm, remarks, "This past fall, Affirm's consumers increased purchases at airlines over seven times compared to the prior year, demonstrating higher consumer demand for payment flexibility when booking travel." He adds, "By partnering with KAYAK, we are able to bring consumers a flexible and transparent way to pay for travel, especially at a time when many are looking for ways to regain financial control and spending power amidst rising costs."
(Source – Business Wire)
About KAYAK:
KAYAK is part of Booking Holdings Inc, one of the world's most prominent search engines for travel. It helps people find the vacation package, hotel, rental or shared car, and flights they want. The company enables travelers to search for the best flight deals and book with flexibility, as it's pretty reliable and completely free to use. With trip planning tools like a flight tracker, trip planner, and bag measure, KAYAK ensures that travelers' overall experience is more than just a flight search site!
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY, COMMERCIAL TRAVEL
CLEAR | January 25, 2023
On January 24, 2023, the consumer services company - CLEAR launched its identity verification technology at Long Beach Airport, making travelers' identity screening quick and effortless.
CLEAR's network is specialized to verify the identities of its members by scanning their eyes or fingers instead of identity proofs like a driver's license. After verification, the CLEAR ambassador will take the member through a specific lane to TSA physical security. It will save the time of the member waiting for security screening approval. This new launch is set to generate a profit of around 1.2 million dollars, along with creating 23 job opportunities.
Members, who opt for the CLEAR Plus feature, will get access to this new identity-verification technology, which would cost around $16 per month, billed annually. This membership is discounted for American Express, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines members. The newly-registered active members who are military, veterans, and government officials will also be charged less. Besides, the member can also add family members to their CLEAR Plus account, which would cost $60 for one adult per year.
CLEAR's CEO, Caryn Seidman-Becker, said, "California continues to be an incredibly important market for CLEAR, and we're excited to kick off 2023 by further expanding our footprint in Southern California. Launching at Long Beach Airport means locals and tourists alike can enjoy our predictable, friction-free travel experience in even more places – which is all part of our mission to transform the way people live, work and travel."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About CLEAR
CLEAR has been making identity verification frictionless since 2010. Its new lanes are accessible at San Diego International Airport, Ontario International Airport, Palm Springs International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Long Beach Airport. In addition, the company also features a free LAX Fast Lane, a virtual queueing pilot. This feature allows travelers to plan ahead of time and even book a time slot for a party at the security checkpoint.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY, DESTINATION AND TOURISM
WorldTicket | January 24, 2023
Aeroitalia reported today that it is connecting with WorldTicket to offer more travel options in the European region.
Aeroitalia would broaden its internal sales reach to include OTAs and travel agencies. This integration would fulfill the increasing demands for travel in Europe. For example, according to a report by ENIT, international visitors to Italy's tourist agency increased by 172% from January to July 2022 and 57% from pre-pandemic levels. This growth in demand is expected to continue in the future thereby, generating more possibility for Aeroitalia to provide non-stop, high-quality air travel at reasonable prices in Italy and the Southern Mediterranean. Furthermore, it can now quickly sell flights through any GSD and successfully offer seasonal itineraries, especially summer routes. Hence, it is a genuine adaptive business that adapts according to its customer’s demands.
"Aeroitalia is committed to delivering outstanding service to passengers which incorporate easy access for our product, especially for our business customers," says Krassimir Tanev, Chief Commercial Officer of Aeroitalia and further adds that "Multichannel distribution is an important development as it goes hand-in-hand with our network expansion plans for summer 2023. Thanks to our marketing partnership with WorldTicket and its global distribution technology, Aeroitalia services are now closer to the travel agency community to the benefit of our customers."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
Aeroitalia connects unserved and underserved markets through travel options like six days per week, connecting Italy's two largest cities, Milan and Rome, and routing Milan and London Heathrow. By integrating with WorldTicket's technologies, it can establish business in these markets swiftly and affordably.
Moreover, it can also enhance its distribution capability with the help of WorldTicket's GDS Sub-Hosting solutions. Thus, making it the principal air travel agency in Europe.
About WorldTicket:
WorldTicket has provided creative and flexible IT solutions to over 75 airlines globally since 2002. With offices in Bangkok, Kyiv, Warsaw, and Beijing, this Copenhagen-based company supports airline consumers across various time zones. Besides, WorldTicket's W2 GDS Sub-Hosting is suited for start-ups and virtual airlines needing fast and easy GDS distribution without extensive implementation or upfront costs. It also offers W2 ticketing for Global BSP Ticketing. The technology lets its interline partners maximize global ticketing benefits and boost earnings from remote and non-strategic BSP areas.
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