TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
United Airlines, PayPal | October 08, 2021
United and PayPal today announced a new way to make touch-free inflight purchases, even in areas without Wi-Fi. Starting next month, United customers on select flights can simply show a flight attendant the PayPal QR Code in the PayPal app and use it to buy snacks, drinks and other inflight purchases while onboard.
United is the first airline to offer PayPal QR Codes, and this partnership is part of United's easy-to-use, industry-leading suite of contactless payment tools. United was the first airline to give customers in economy cabins the option to pre-order snacks and beverages from the airline's app and website, and also offers customers the ability to easily store payment information in a digital wallet.
PayPal QR Codes can be used on select flights departing from Chicago O' Hare International Airport in November and before the end of the year, will extend to all flights across the entire network where contactless payment is available.
"Our contactless payment offering is built on simplicity and choice and it's another way we're improving the overall experience of flying United, PayPal is a terrific partner and this technology gives our customers another easy way to make purchases, even when they're not online. We expect to introduce even more new and innovative options for our customers in the future through our collaboration with PayPal."
said Toby Enqvist, chief customer officer for United.
How It Works
If you haven't already, download the PayPal app and set your preferred payment method for QR code payments, prior to leaving the gate
To make an inflight purchase, Click the 'Pay with QR codes' button
Then click the 'In-flight Purchase' button
Show the QR code to the flight attendant to scan
Look for an emailed confirmation receipt upon landing
"We're excited to be partnering with United to introduce our new offline QR code functionality, adding more ways for customers to check out with PayPal in more places, especially in offline or low connectivity areas," said Frank Keller, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Segment Solutions and Digital Commerce at PayPal. "Bringing PayPal QR Codes inflight reinforces our commitment to offering customers choice and provides a new level of touch-free convenience for consumers when making in-flight purchases, within the PayPal app they know and trust."
United's New Buy-On-Board Menu
Customers can pay using PayPal QR Codes to enjoy one of many new food and beverage offerings United launched this year. In June, United unveiled its refreshed buy-on-board menu, which includes:
Three New Snack Boxes: A Tapas snack box with European-inspired offerings; a Takeoff snack box with high-protein options; a Recline snack box with movie theater themed treats.
New A la Carte Snack Options: Including sweet potato "tortilla" chips with roasted pepper salsa, trail mix and chocolate-covered dried fruit.
New Adult Beverage Options: Mango White Claw®; red, white and sparkling wine, and new beer options such as Breckenridge Brewery Juice Drop Hazy IPA and Michelob ULTRA®.
New Fresh Options: Last month, United also added five new fresh retail offerings to its buy-on-board menu including:
New Domestic Premium Cabin Menu Items
United also introduced brand-new meal offerings to customers seated in domestic premium cabins on flights over 1,500 miles and hub-to-hub flights over 800 miles.
The enhanced meal service includes a choice of entrees – including fresher options like egg scramble with plant-based chorizo and grilled chicken breast with orzo and lemon basil pesto – sides and dessert.
United has also teamed with Eli's Cheesecake to create a uniquely United chocolate pie flavor called "Pie in the Sky."
The meals will be served on one tray, with items individually wrapped, to limit person-to-person contact and further the safety of our employees and customers.
For information on food and beverage options available, United's contactless payment technology and FAQs, visit United.com/snacktime.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united.com/careers and more information about the company is at united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About PayPal
PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering more than 400 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.
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COMMERCIAL TRAVEL
Rocket Travel & Points International | November 19, 2021
The global leader in powering loyalty commerce, Points International Ltd. (NASDAQ:PCOM) (TSX:PTS), will collaborate with the industry-leading provider of bespoke white-labelled travel booking platforms, Rocket Travel, Inc., a Booking Holdings Company (NASDAQ: BKNG), to enhance the overall booking experience offered to its roster of Loyalty Program partners.
As part of the collaboration agreement, Rocket Travel’s best-in-class white-label loyalty hotel and car booking services will replace the services currently provided by the Points Travel solutions while still leveraging Points’ Loyalty Commerce Platform capabilities. In addition, pointshound.com will become a Rocketmiles.com channel provider, enabling accelerated rewards with even more worldwide loyalty partners in a streamlined user journey.
“We are thrilled to expand Rocket’s global reach by collaborating with Points and working with their partners. We’ve long admired the capabilities of their Loyalty Commerce Platform and are confident that complementing it with Rocket Travel’s white-label travel solution will create significant value for Points partners and their customers.”
-Bart Welch, CEO of Rocket Travel
Points’ loyalty program partners and their members will continue to enjoy a robust travel booking platform and leading user experience, while benefiting from an unmatched breadth of hotel and car inventory backed by Booking Holdings’ worldwide network and Rocket’s leading full service, white-label travel booking platform. Points will continue to manage the loyalty program relationships and process the miles and points portion of each transaction.
“We are excited to launch this new initiative with Rocket. Establishing a robust travel services offering with clear industry leaders allows us to continue building on our deep and long-standing loyalty program relationships as well as the unique transaction capabilities of our Loyalty Commerce Platform. Seamlessly combining these with Rocket’s leading white-label travel booking offering will significantly add to the value we bring to our current and future loyalty program partners.”
-Christopher Barnard, President and Co-Founder of Points
Rocket Travel and Points are committed to seeking additional opportunities to more effectively serve their respective loyalty partners and members by complementing one another’s offerings and core competencies.
For more information on how Points can help loyalty programs unlock their full potential, visit Points.com.
About Rocket Travel Inc.
Rocket Travel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), partners with companies around the world to provide industry-leading bespoke white-labelled travel booking platforms, with a deep focus on earning and redeeming loyalty currency. Rocket Travel’s dozens of partners include major airlines and financial institutions around the world, who benefit from the best of Booking Holdings’ global reach. Rocket Travel also operates www.rocketmiles.com, a one-stop accommodation booking solution for consumers eager to earn outsized rewards at competitive rates with over 50 loyalty programs around the world. For more information please contact media@rocketmiles.com
About Booking Holdings
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through six primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK and OpenTable, together with Rocket Travel. The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. For more information, visit BookingHoldings.com and follow us on Twitter @BookingHoldings.
About Points International Ltd.
Points, (TSX: PTS) (Nasdaq: PCOM) is a trusted partner to the world’s leading loyalty programs, leveraging its unique Loyalty Commerce Platform to build, power, and grow a network of ways members can get and use their favourite loyalty currency. Our platform combines insights, technology, and resources to make the movement of loyalty currency simpler and more intelligent for nearly 60 reward programs worldwide. Founded in 2000, Points is headquartered in Toronto with teams operating around the globe.For more information, visit Points.com.
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AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
philippine airlines | March 03, 2022
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its regional affiliate PAL Express (PALex) have partnered with IBS Software to provide their employees with a new, fully digital system for booking and managing staff travel. The airline group has signed up to implement IBS Software's fully automated SaaS solution iFly Staff, which enables them to automate leisure and duty travel processes. Through the new system, PAL can better support employees, their beneficiaries and PAL retirees to manage travel through a self-service digital platform, empowering employees and enhancing staff satisfaction.By replacing its in-house travel booking solution with an omnichannel self-service platform, PAL can deliver employees the flexibility to book and amend travel plans through desktop or mobile channels. The iFly Staff solution also allows flexible payment options, including integration with e-wallets such as PayMaya and GCash.
PAL will also benefit from significant operational benefits through iFly Staff. Automating the travel booking process greatly reduces manual processes, reducing the administrative burden while improving quality of service. It also allows the PAL staff travel team to create and roll out new policies and process in real-time, and dynamically implement policy changes quickly and efficiently, using the configuration capabilities of iFly Staff.
"At PAL we fully support our employees. Their wellbeing and happiness could not be more important to us. We're delighted to be able to roll out such an innovative and forward-looking platform to our employees,"
-Mr. Danreb M. Oira, Senior Vice President for Human Capital at PAL.
Ensuring staff have maximum flexibility over their travel and the ability to manage it effectively is a must-have for modern airlines. We're thrilled to be partnering with PAL, who are dedicated to supporting their employees and committed to delivering them with cutting-edge technology to put their travel plans in their own hands, Through iFly Staff, employees can book flights and hotels themselves in a single flow, while administrators get full management control to create policy-based rules without the need for any technical support. That's a powerful combination for progressive airlines like PAL and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.
-Sunil George, Vice President and Regional Head at IBS Software.
More information on iFly Staff can be found here.
About Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the Philippines' flag carrier and only full-service network airline. PAL was the first commercial airline in Asia and is celebrating its 81st anniversary in March 2022. PAL's young fleet of Boeing 777s, Airbus A350s, Airbus A330s, Airbus A321s and De Havilland DHC-8-400 Next Generation aircraft operate out of hubs in Manila and Cebu to 29 destinations in the Philippines and 31 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. PAL was rated a 4-Star Global Airline by Skytrax in 2018 and was voted the World's Most Improved Airline in the 2019 Skytrax worldwide passenger survey with a ranking of 30th best airline in the world.
www.philippineairlines.com
About IBS Software
IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise and hospitality industries. IBS Software's solutions for the aviation industry cover fleet & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Further information can be found at https://www.ibsplc.com/.
IBS Software
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