AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
prnewswire | March 30, 2023
AMTRAV, the one connected platform for business travel, today announced upgrades to its corporate booking solution to continue delivering travelers and corporate travel customers the full selection of American Airlines' flights and lowest fares, even as American changes how the carrier's flights can be booked through third party corporate booking platforms beginning in April.
In an effort to modernize the shopping experience for travelers, American Airlines recently mandated that all travel agencies use "New Distribution Capability" (NDC) technology to shop and sell American flights by April 2023. NDC was developed by airlines to distribute fares, offers, and other products online faster and with more transparency than the previous travel technology. For those booking tools not connected, travelers will lose access to up to 40% of American's lowest fares and face the tough choice: book higher American fares with their current provider in order to maintain spend and safety visibility or let travelers book lower American fares outside the system, but lose spend and safety visibility.
Although many legacy travel management companies (TMCs) have resisted transitioning – citing the difficulty and complexity – AmTrav has been an outspoken proponent of modernization for many years. In 2019, AmTrav became the first business travel platform to process NDC bookings with American and today is one of a very small number of providers ready to provide uninterrupted access to American's lowest fares.
"Business travel tools already have a perception problem among travelers, because so few corporate travel booking platforms have been willing to invest time and money to modernize the user experience," said AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee. "We've taken a different approach. Because we build all of our own technology with fewer dependencies on slow, legacy third party systems, we can deliver for our travelers the type of shopping experience they get when they book personal travel, while at the same time providing their companies with the visibility, control, and savings they need."
With its latest enhancements, AmTrav's "NDC ready" solution, more than ever, brings business travelers and their companies:
Lower Fares on American: Booking tools that have not tapped into American's NDC content will be more expensive 40% of the time.
Access to All of American's Fare Brands: Compare and choose from the full menu of American's offerings, including the new Main Plus and Main Select bundles which include free extra legroom seats, among other benefits.
Full Choice of Seats: Get access to every available seat, including Preferred and Main Cabin Extra, with perks from your AAdvantage status (if applicable) automatically factored in.
Personalized Comparison-Shopping: A rich, complete comparison-shopping experience to help travelers make smart choices with details, photos, and reviews to inform fare rules, fees, seat size, WiFi, entertainment, and so much more.
Full Visibility and Control: Like any other booking, American NDC bookings work seamlessly with AmTrav's real-time reporting, travel policy and approval flows, unused ticket tracking, and traveler locator services, keeping travel managers and C-suite execs happy.
About AmTrav
AmTrav is an award-winning, modern technology and service platform designed to make business travel personal and productive. Companies of all sizes use AmTrav to book trips, find savings, set travel policies, manage payments and expenses, and keep their travelers safe. Travelers and companies love AmTrav's powerful platform that provides a seamless travel management experience supported by our experts who are always ready to help 24x7. More than 1000 businesses trust AmTrav to go places, meet people, and go further.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
businesswire | May 22, 2023
Against a surge in both business and personal travel, global fintech Airwallex and leading travel technology company Expedia Group announced today a joint promotion to help customers save when booking hotel stays.
Jessica Chiu, Head of North American Strategic Partnerships at Airwallex said global business and personal travel was regaining momentum and the new partnership with the world’s leading traveler technology platform, Expedia Group, meant existing and new Airwallex customers could enjoy an exclusive 10 per cent discount off hotel stays when booking on the platform, starting from today. The partnership gives Airwallex’s customers access to exclusive perks and highlights the two companies’ shared core value of customer-centricity.
“We know the cost pressures many companies are facing in their budgets but we also understand how important work travel can be to building new relationships and growing a business,” Jessica added.
“Whether it’s meeting new business prospects, attending a conference or an internal team gathering, we recognize face-to-face engagements help build better connections.”
“With so many business travelers looking to book trips amid rising costs and inflation, this partnership with Expedia makes travel more affordable for all Airwallex customers around the world.”
Clayton Nelson, Vice President, Retail Partnerships at Expedia Group said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Airwallex to offer their members a way to access discounts across our depth and breadth of global travel supply on our sites. We’re always looking for ways to connect our partners with travelers via our industry-leading affiliate technology.”
According to Expedia’s Traveler Value Index 2023, one in three people are planning on business travel in the year ahead. With this increase in demand, and as Covid restrictions are lifted all around the world, Airwallex has been identifying ways to continue to support businesses as they look to travel and grow across borders.
About Airwallex
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses. We remove the unnecessary friction and cost inherent in the traditional financial system to help entrepreneurs achieve their global ambitions. Leading companies around the world trust Airwallex to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend to embedded finance -- all in one single platform. Our purpose is to connect entrepreneurs, business builders, makers and creators with opportunities in every corner of the world. With an international footprint across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, we empower businesses to grow without borders.
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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Brand USA | May 23, 2023
Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization, opened IPW 2023 with an immersive press conference showcasing the USA as an unrivalled travel destination, as well as the reveal of the organization’s latest consumer marketing campaign, provided international travel forecast, and consumer sentiment insights. IPW is the leading trade show for inbound travel to the United States, bringing more than 5,000 industry professionals from more than 60 countries to San Antonio, Texas for the first time. Brand USA is the premier sponsor of the annual event produced by the U.S. Travel Association and taking place for the first time in San Antonio, Texas.
The press conference featured iconic and lesser-known destinations and attractions, from the best places to taste local cuisine to stepping into the song lyrics or movie locations that first inspired a visit, being pampered in the lap of luxury, or experiencing the USA through the eyes of a sports enthusiast.
“There’s no other destination like the United States,” said Brand USA President and CEO, Chris Thompson to over 200 international journalists. “What sets the USA apart is the diversity of our geography, the diversity of our experiences, the diversity of our people, and our one-of-a-kind pop culture.”
Mr. Thompson described how USA pop culture is often the way people around the world first get to know the United States, asking: “How did you first come to know the United States? Were you on the road with Jack Kerouac, walking the line with Johnny Cash, or having breakfast with Audrey Hepburn at Tiffany’s? Regardless, I bet you were left with a dream, an idea, and an intangible excitement, and you knew you just had to experience it all for yourself.”
Thompson, who is bullish on inbound travel to the USA, gave examples of how pent-up demand continues to drive economic recovery in communities throughout the country as more and more people are now booking travel and living out their dreams. During the press conference Thompson highlighted how two recent barriers to travel have been alleviated: that overall airlines expect a near 100 percent return of connectivity by the end of the year, and that effective May 12, international travelers are no longer required to have a COVID-19 vaccination to enter the United States.
The worldwide travel restart has created a highly competitive global market for the lucrative international visitor. To move consumers more quickly from aspiration to action, Brand USA recently launched a marketing campaign across 10 key markets. The campaign showcases how the USA delivers on the consumer promise that whoever you want to be and whatever experience you long for, the United States is where you can find it. Thompson shared two of the latest campaign assets which speak to travelers seeking adventure or family fun.
About Brand USA
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past 10 years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 8 million incremental visitors to the United States, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $58 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, more than 37,000 incremental jobs a year.
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