Wireless travel itinerary for corporate travelers

ATLANTA -- Travel Incorporated, a US travel management company, has launched m-Itinerary, a wireless application powered by wireless platform provider Air2Web. The new m-Itinerary service is being marketed as one of the country's first wireless applications to provide corporate travelers with their full travel itinerary, as well as airport security warnings, reservation changes, and weather delays, via alerts to web-enabled phones, text messaging phones, or personal device assistants (PDAs).

Travel Incorporated is offering two levels of service. m-Itinerary is for customers who want to receive their travel arrangements via text messages. Customers will receive their air, car and hotel reservations as text alerts to their phone. An enhanced product, m-Itinerary Plus, is for customers who would like to receive their travel arrangements in WAP format, as well as text alerts, via their web enabled phone or PDA. The WAP format includes their air, car and hotel reservations, plus imbedded links giving hotel directions, nearby restaurants, and other places of interest to travelers.

With both m-Itinerary and m-Itinerary Plus, if any changes such as plane delays or airport closings occur after travel has commenced, an alert is sent to the client's device with the phone number of the reservation agent so that the client can contact the agent directly.

Up-to-the-minute

"Recent world events have demonstrated the need for travelers to have the up-to-the-minute information available at all times," said Mike Brown, president of Travel Incorporated. "With the maturation of our wide-ranging suite of Web-based products, branching out into wireless service delivery was the next logical step. We are greatly excited about the potential for further applications development in this area as wireless technologies continue to advance."

Travel Incorporated's clients also receive their full itineraries by e-mail in an eItinerary (a customized itinerary which provides flight, car rental, and hotel information, as well as imbedded links giving hotel directions, nearby restaurants, etc). 

The first customer of the service is Ormandy Software CFO Judith Kale. "I just began receiving my travel itineraries via text messaging on my cell phone, and I know this technology is going to be very beneficial to many corporate travelers," Kale said.

"It is especially meaningful to me, as a woman who travels alone extensively," she said. "I now have my itinerary at a touch of a button no matter where I am. Previously, when I would make or change travel plans while in route, I had to rely on my office staff to ensure that they booked the correct itinerary and that I wrote down the right flights. Now, I only need to contact my travel agent at Travel Incorporated and the flights are confirmed to my cell phone. Additionally, in today's world where security is upper most in everyone's minds, I can be secure that my travel plans are completed and that I have the most up-to-date data about my travel."

Pricing for the services is $24.95 per year for m-Itinerary and $34.95 per year for m-Itinerary Plus. A credit card number is all that is required when the customer is going through the m-Itinerary setup and provisioning process. 

Frequent traveler

"As a frequent business traveler, having my itinerary at my fingertips and being alerted to changes or delays via my wireless device, is invaluable," said Sanjoy Malik, president and CEO of Air2Web. "Travel Incorporated has taken Air2Web's wireless solution and created a service which will enhance their customers' travel experience and save them countless hours now lost in airports, and this is priceless to the business executive." 

Air2Web's wireless technology mobilizes e-mail, instant messaging systems, corporate applications and multimedia content to employees and consumers. Air2Web solutions generate new revenue streams through mobile marketing and cost-saving productivity gains for both carriers and enterprises. To date, Air2Web powers close to 100 wireless applications in 30 countries and 27 languages for blue-chip companies such as UPS, ABN AMRO, Hoover's, eBay, and The Weather Channel.

Travel Incorporated is a privately held travel management company founded in 1979. By concentrating on service and investing in technological innovation, Travel Incorporated has grown to be one of the largest travel management companies in the United States. With travel associates and corporate on-site personnel, Travel Incorporated serves both the corporate and leisure traveler with the most advanced travel technology solutions, 24-hour assistance, the latest in management reporting technology and cost savings management programs, Web-based travel booking tools, and comprehensive travel management consulting.