Travelport becomes sole GDS provider of AI's domestic flight content

Technology company Travelport said on Thursday that it is now the sole global distribution system (GDS) provider of Air India's domestic flight content in India.

The contract, which was awarded to Travelport following a competitive bidding process, came into effect in November 2018 and was fully implemented as of January 1 this year.

Travelport is now the only GDS provider through which travel agents in the country can receive both Air India's domestic and international flight content.

The company also continues to provide all domestic and international flight content from the carrier to its wide network of travel agents across the world.

Martin Herbert, Regional Managing Director for India and Sri Lanka at Travelport, said wide and cost-effective distribution coupled with impactful merchandising is important to all airlines.

"We are now the sole GDS provider of these services to Air India when it comes to both domestic and international content in India. The results the carrier has already achieved since it started adjusting its distribution strategy have been extremely positive," he said.

The milestone comes just one month after Meenakshi Malik, Executive Director of Commercial Operations at Air India, said the carrier had already seen a growth of 22 per cent in operational profit and cut down cost by about Rs 300 crore since it began changing its distribution strategy.

Malik also projected a saving of Rs 3,200 crore in the next five years.

Travelport is one of the leaders in airline merchandising, hotel content and distribution, car rental, mobile commerce and B2B payment solutions. The company also provides critical IT services to airlines like shopping, ticketing, departure control and other solutions.

With net revenue of over 2.5 billion dollars in 2018, Travelport is headquartered at Langley in Britain. It has over 3,700 employees represented in about 180 countries and territories.

In India, Travelport partners with InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), a strategic business unit of InterGlobe Enterprises.