Sabre Travel Network has launched in Europe an enhanced air shopping and pricing platform called Sabre Air. Based on quick ‘open systems’ technology and integrated with all Sabre GDS booking tools, Sabre Air helps travel agencies find the best fare options for their clients more efficiently. The company has also launched Sabre MyFares, a new fare management system that enables agencies to quickly and easily load their private fares into the Sabre GDS.
Sabre Travel Network’s European senior vice-president, Richard Adams, said Sabre Air improved low-fare searching by displaying more choices and delivering more alternative itineraries with different fare options.
Sabre Connected agents are now able to access all fare information for all passenger types by using a single entry key. They also have easy access to their negotiated rates, along with the full content available in the Sabre GDS, with screen displays clearly differentiating agency negotiated fares from industry published fares.
Other enhancements include:
• Improved data quality, with airlines filing fare information directly into Sabre Air. By reducing the need for airlines to perform manual updates and using automated ATPCO and SITA rules, Sabre Travel Network has ensured that agents have access to the most current fares and minimised debit memo exposure.
• Advanced pricing capabilities and re-designed displays meeting ATPCO industry standards, allowing agents to more accurately price complex itineraries while viewing the associated fare rules using new simple and easy-to-read rule displays.
• Choice of twelve different templates to view displays from one or more carriers, and the ability to view and compare fare information based on different airports in the same city.
• A ‘jump cabin’ feature that automatically searches for lower or equal fares in a higher class of service, so if an agent has booked an economy fare the system will check to see if a comparable business class fare is available.
Following the launch of Sabre Air in the US last year, an independent study conducted by Topaz International revealed that US agents who use Sabre Air found the lowest fares as much as 21 times more often than other GDSs. In addition, when finding the lower fares, Sabre Air delivered an average of approximately 50% more in savings.
Another key component of Sabre Air is Sabre MyFares, a new fare management system. Sabre MyFares combines robust fare-filing capabilities with a graphical interface that enables agencies to quickly and easily load their private fares into the Sabre GDS. Using Sabre MyFares, agents can improve their productivity and accuracy and thereby reduce the cost of managing and distributing their private fares, leading to an improvement in the quality of service they offer to their customers.
“This will be of particular benefit to agents who serve the corporate market, where productivity and customer response times are critical. By combining Sabre MyFares with our leading low fare shopping capabilities, agents have easy access to their preferred content, as well as to the best tools to comparison shop across both published and private fares,” Adams said.
Since November 2005 Sabre Travel Network has been undertaking a global technology conversion project to move Sabre Connected agents from proprietary mainframe standards to the more flexible and robust open systems platform. Over 28,000 Sabre Connected agency locations across Europe and the Middle East have been successfully upgraded to Sabre Air, including agents in countries such as Russia, Jordan and Yemen. This follows the conversion last year of 27,000 travel agency locations in North America.
Adams said: “This milestone, which marks one of the world’s most comprehensive technology conversions, is a result of significant product investment and resource allocation. As a result our agency customers can take even more advantage of the full content provided by our airline partners.”
About Sabre Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network, a Sabre Holdings company, provides access to the world's leading global distribution system (GDS). The Sabre GDS is a ready-built efficient marketplace that connects suppliers, including hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels, with more than 50,000 travel agency locations. Suppliers get access through one single connection; travel agents get real time access to thousands of travel products from multiple suppliers through one source integrated into their businesses; consumers get access to a global supermarket of the world's greatest travel possibilities
Key brands of Sabre Travel Network include GetThere, the leading Web-based corporate travel reservation technology, and Jurni Network, the unique leisure travel agency consortium that enables members to sell more products from preferred travel suppliers using sophisticated market intelligence.
Sabre Travel Network works closely with sister company Sabre Airline Solutions, the world's largest provider of products to help airlines market themselves, sell their products, serve their customers and operate more effectively, from planning to execution. The combined portfolio of marketing, sales, distribution, operational and decision-support technology is unique, and of huge value to airlines all over the world.
Sabre Holdings (NYSE: TSG) connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
