Archives for November 2007

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Understanding the intricacies related to profile of consumers in a market like India

By Ritesh Gupta

In any market, it is quite intriguing to assess the profile of the consumers, their needs, preferences and choices available.

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

AMR poised to spin off its regional jet operation

AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, has indicated about its plans to shed its American Eagle regional airline unit.

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

AAA opts for Viator as preferred partner for worldwide destination tours and activities

Leisure travel organization AAA (www.AAA.com) has chosen San Francisco-based Viator as its preferred partner for destination activities.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

The supplier-intermediary distribution conflict set to be resolved

Back in September there was an anti-OTA feeling in the air, IHG had just pulled its inventory from OTAs and the low cost airlines were standing by their web direct-only strategy.  And now just a few months later, easyJet has shocked the industry by beginning to distribute through a GDS and IHG has made an exclusive pact with Expedia.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Budget airlines open up regional markets for British holidaymakers

The increasing number of budget airlines has directly contributed to the opening up of access to more global destinations for British holidaymakers, according to the Airport Operators Association (AOA).

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Virgin American appoints C. David Cush as CEO

Virgin America has chosen former American Airlines Global Sales Vice-President David Cush to succeed Fred Reid as Chief Executive of the low-cost start-up carrier.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Hilton Hhonors introduces Premier Online Rewards Store for its members

The Hilton Family of Hotels has launched the online Hilton HHonors Rewards Store, described as a  premier merchandise redemption offering.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Putting hotel sales team back in the driver's seat to boost revenue

Chaago.com, an online travel exchange for hotels and travelers, has launched its website for this holiday season.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

WAYN members set to earn money from adverts

WAYN members are the first to be able to earn money by having advertising placed in their member profiles.  This will allow members to effectively create a web shop on their profiles where products and services can be offered by a third party.  The move also signals advancements in social media sales and marketing strategies.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

S7 signs contract with EB2 for Internet Booking Engine

S7, the first airline to introduce online booking in Russia, has signed a multiple-year contract with EB2 International for an Internet Booking Engine solution in 2008.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Ancillary revenue profits bring backlash from consumers

Parallel to the sharp profit increases we have seen posted by such airlines as Ryanair and easyJet is the customer reaction to low cost carriers (LCCs).  The impressive Q3 figures come as a result of massive increases in ancillary revenue, which has become a key priority in ongoing business strategy.  Ryanair is seeking to grow ancillary to be 20% of total revenue and at the World Low Cost Airline Congress all executives signalled ancillary revenue was a key focus.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Mixing two one-way fares with different airlines

Online travel and leisure retailer lastminute.com has launched flight booking tools.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Bedsearcher eyes investment or partnership

Bedsearcher, an accommodation booking service, is actively seeking an industry partner to accelerate its growth plans.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Webjet expects to post US$5.25m profit in fiscal 2008

Webjet Ltd expects to garner up to $A6 million (US$5.25 million) in annual net profit this financial year.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: Eurostar on the future of rail distribution and competing with airlines

Jamel Chandoul, Head of Distribution Systems and Commercial Systems for Eurostar speaks to EyeforTravel about progress rail distribution for the future and how rail can be developed into a viable alternative to European air travel.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Expedia Corporate Travel headed for APAC region, to start with China

Expedia Corporate Travel (ECT) is to launch service in China through a strategic partnership with online travel company eLong, Inc.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Travelocity expands its hotel team in APAC region

Travelocity has expanded its hotel team across Asia Pacific. Grant Colquhoun has been appointed to the new position of Director of Hotels for Asia Pacific.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

JetBlue signs distribution agreement with Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline

Low-fare carrier JetBlue Airways has reached an agreement with online travel companies Orbitz Worldwide, Travelocity and Priceline.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

AirAsia once again delivers record profit growth

Low cost carrier AirAsia's net income more than doubled to 180 million ringgit, or $54 million, in the first quarter (three months ended September 30).

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

South Korea's Korean Air is planning to launch a low-cost airline next year. The airline is striving to become Asia's biggest budget carrier by 2012.

South Korea's Korean Air is planning to launch a low-cost airline next year. The airline is striving to become Asia's biggest budget carrier by 2012.

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November 26, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Why is Expedia choosing organic route to enter India?

Travel Distribution India Special

The Indian online travel market continues to get crowded. One of the most awaited launches is that of Expedia, considering its legacy and international offering.

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November 26, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Airlines need to invest in unifying customer information across their systems

CRM Technology for Travel Special

Even as commercial databases are allowing airlines in developed markets to uniquely identify above 90 percent of all of the customers who get on their aircrafts, there is need for airlines to invest in unifying customer information.

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November 26, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Thomas Cook to deliver personalised travel booklets

Thomas Cook AG has selected its Group 1 Software's e2 Customer Communications Management (CCM) solution to deliver personalised travel booklets to its tourism customers.

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November 26, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Facebook responds to criticism of its ad programme

Facebook recently issued a statement in response to online activist group MoveOn.org's charge that its "Beacon" advertising programme is a violation of users' privacy.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Air France-KLM Group net profit jumps 97% in 2Q

Air France-KLM Group's profit almost doubled in the second quarter as the figure jumped 97% to $1.1 billion in the three months to 30 September.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Most typical mistakes in Revenue Management

It is a real art to sell the right room to the right customer at the right price at the right time. Revenue Managers in hotels are the ones who specialise themselves in this area.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: Isango! speaks about maximizing ancillary revenue

Jess Butcher, Partnerships Manager at Isango! talks to Eyefor Travel about the current ancillary revenue climate, added value to the brand and the limitations of ancillaries.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

IAC to spend $100 million expanding in China: media

Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp has indicated about its plans to spend $100 million within a year to expand its presence in China. This was shared by its Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Diller.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

WAYN.com surpasses 10-million members mark worldwide

Travel and lifestyle-focused social networking community website WAYN.com has surpassed 10-million members mark worldwide.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

During economic downturn, in Asia we trust

This November saw the launch of EyeforTravel’s 5th annual Travel Distribution Summit Asia, which is scheduled for this coming March in Singapore. Widely regarded as Asia-Pacific’s essential online travel event, TDS Asia has quickly established itself as an excellent mechanism for benchmarking businesses and forecasting for the ensuing 12 months.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

For how long OTAs in India can sustain aggressive marketing and cash back offers?

Travel Distribution India Special

"By end of 2007, some online companies will go bust / bought over."

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Comtec buys back Amadeus' 20% equity stake

UK-based leisure travel technology company Comtec has signed an agreement with Amadeus to buy back latter's  20% stake in the company acquired in early 2004.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Low fares may end up costing more than airlines think

Jetstar, Australia’s newest low cost carrier, offered 5000 fares for just five cents in a move to draw the spotlight away from Tiger Airways launch on the Australian domestic network.  However, shadowing this move is the threat that Jetstar may be investigated over the way they treat their customers under the Fair Trading Act.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"Interactions with a travel agent will continue to be the basic steps in booking travel"

Travel Distribution India Special

GDSs acknowledge that distribution models changed in the North American region due to 'zero-commission' levels for travel agents and also airlines adopting the latest trend of charging for ancillary services provided on their flights.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Dynamic pricing needed to beat the ‘tariff-busters’

A new trend is emerging where consumers are taking advantage of hotels that do not have full dynamic control of their pricing by ‘tariff busting’.  These customers are reacting against the hotel industry’s incongruous multi-channel pricing models, which mean that on any given day hugely different prices are available for the same room.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Suppliers fight back as "online aggregators own little"

The online travel market is experiencing an evolution with the balance of power shifting over the past 12 months from online agencies to the suppliers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

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November 22, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

AirAsia not to raise its fuel surcharge

AirAsia will reportedly not raise its fuel surcharge despite the rise in world crude oil prices, which topped US$99 a barrel yesterday.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Evening Standard: EasyJet 'to outspeed Ryanair on profits'

Robert Lea, Evening Standard 20.11.07

EasyJet threw down the gauntlet to arch-rival Ryanair today, declaring that its profits will grow 20% over the next year on top of the 50% increase in earnings it has posted for the last 12 months.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Cruising for profits - 50% growth expected by 2015

‘The cruise market has experienced some of the healthiest growth rates of all tourism related markets over the last few years. Expectations are that between 2005 – 2015 50% growth will be achieved.’

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Thomas Cook expect to achieve not less than €200 million merger synergies

Thomas Cook has increased its cost saving guidance from its recent merger.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Orbitz Worldwide signs global CORREX agreement With TRX

Orbitz Worldwide has signed a global CORREX agreement with TRX to manage the full volume of Orbitz for Business' reservation processing.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Jetstar to offer five cent airfares

Jetstar is offering five-cent interstate flights as Singapore-backed Tiger Airways prepares for its first flights on Friday.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Skyscanner attracts £2.5 million funding, targets global coverage

Flight search engine Skyscanner has attracted a £2.5 million first round funding package from venture capital group Scottish Equity Partners (SEP).

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

USA3000 Airlines fares to be made available on Orbitz.com and Orbitz for Business

Online travel company Orbitz Worldwide has signed an agreement with USA3000 Airlines to distribute its fares through its orbitz.com and Orbitz for Business brands.

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

New President Asia Pacific for Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Berthold Trenkel has been named president Asia Pacific for CWT as part of a shift for three senior executives in the organisation

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

We don't think price is all that consumers care about": Travelocity's Noreen Henry

EFT's Travel Distribution Summit North America 2007 Special

"When shopping a la carte, it may be cheaper to book directly, but we don't think price is all that consumers care about. Price is foundational, but we think the future rests more on the end-to-end experience."

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Another year of record profit at easyJet

easyJet has posted a record pre-tax profit, up 56% to £202 million, as the carrier shared its preliminary results for the 12 months to 30 September 2007.

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Lehman leads $10m fundraising for travel search engine Qunar.com: media

Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners Ltd has reportedly led the fundraising of nearly $10 million for Chinese travel search engine Qunar.com, in its first deal in China's consumer Internet sector.

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Orbitz for Business introduces international product offering

Orbitz for Business has announced an addition to its corporate travel product portfolio, with the launch of Orbitz for Business International (OFBI).

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Orbitz Worldwide's Corporate Travel Solutions Group re-branded

Orbitz Worldwide's Corporate Travel Solutions Group, comprising Orbitz for Business and Travelport for Business, is taking on a new name and a single brand identity.

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: Kuoni talk web, social media and the future

Elliott Pritchard, E-Business Manager at Kuoni gives EyeforTravel his take on the web direct market, the role of social media in travel and speculates on what the future holds for online distribution.

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November 19, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Carrentals.co.uk invests £100,000 on its website

Carrentals.co.uk, a comparison site for car hire, is undertaking investment worth £100,000 in order to enhance its website.

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November 19, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Are travelers prepared to change their travel habits to offset environmental damage?

Holiday-hungry Brits are shunning environmental advice when choosing holiday destinations, according to a new report.

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November 19, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"Internet offers our guests choices without having to speak to a service representative"

EFT's CRM Technology for Travel USA 2007 Special

When you have an increasing amount of information at your disposal, there is a natural tendency to use inferred, rather than customer-supplied data.

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November 19, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"MakeMyTrip.com's brand strength is reflected by the ever increasing direct visitors"

Travel Distribution India Special

In a relatively young online travel market like India, OTAs are making rapid progress in deployment of CRM technology and using it to drive a greater number of personalised marketing campaigns via email and online, as well as in the call centers to improve service and reduce costs.

Continue reading ""MakeMyTrip.com's brand strength is reflected by the ever increasing direct visitors""

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November 19, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Travelodge to open 100 hotels in Spain

Budget hotel group Travelodge is set to foray into overseas market, marking an investment worth 1 billion euros (715 million pounds) for Spain.

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November 16, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

The Spanish travel market sees massive growth in outbound travel market thanks to the Internet

“in 2006, 60% of online buyers purchased travel related products and services, of which the most important groups were airline and hotel bookings.” Juan Rodriguez, Editor of Rumorismo.

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November 16, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Aviation industry in India battles with high aviation fuel prices and low fares

Travel Distribution India Special

The aviation industry in India has witnessed consolidation this year after a spate of launches, especially in the low-cost sector in the last few years.

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November 16, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Revenue model still unproven for most web 2.0 companies

EFT's Travel Distribution Summit North America 2007 Special

Even for a travel and lifestyle community like Where Are You Now? (WAYN.com), which has nine million members, the company candidly acknowledges that revenue model still unproven for most web 2.0 companies.

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November 16, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

An online friend of consumers and hotels

Chaago.com, an online travel exchange positioning itself as "a friend of consumers and hotels", offers consumers a new online avenue to search for hotel deals and to make-your-own-deal without ever entering a credit card number and without any obligation.

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November 16, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

InterContinental Hotels Group and Expedia, Inc. have entered into a multi-year agreement under which consumers can now book IHG hotels on Expedia sites globally.

InterContinental Hotels Group and Expedia, Inc. have entered into a multi-year agreement under which consumers can now book IHG hotels on Expedia sites globally.

Continue reading "InterContinental Hotels Group and Expedia, Inc. have entered into a multi-year agreement under which consumers can now book IHG hotels on Expedia sites globally."

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Will easyJet’s new global distribution system (GDS) agreement start a trend, as competition among low and medium cost airlines heightens?

easyJet recently won few travel management company (TMC) friends when they decided to sell seats using GDSs Amadeus and Galileo. Naturally the disillusionment that has arisen revolves around responsibility for the new associated costs. These costs are likely to squeeze the healthy TMC profit margins.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Integrating customer data into the day-to-day operations of RM

EFT's Revenue Management in Travel USA 2007

The key to driving profitable customer relationships is an integrated RM and marketing approach.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: Premier Inn discuss their alternative distribution strategy

Premier Inn’s Sales Director, Peter Gardiner, speaks to EyeforTravel about the successful distribution of an economy product, their strategy of increasing sales in new markets and how to push down the cost of distribution.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Integrating CRM efforts within higher level of marketing mix modeling

CRM Technology for Travel USA 2007 Special

Consumers are always looking for good deals, and in travel, those deal often only exist for short periods of time. So it is critical to let consumer know about them as soon as possible.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

British Airways re-launches customer-focused High Life Shop! website

Customer publishers Cedar Communications in partnership with web agency Reactive, has re-launched British Airways' premier gift portal www.highlifeshop.com.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Webjet updates its profit guidance

Webjet Ltd has lifted its annual profit guidance by a further 15% this financial year, prompted by a better than expected start to fiscal 2008.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Virgin America creates travel booking microsite for North American flights

Virgin America has chosen EzRez Software, Inc., a provider of online travel packaging and merchandising solutions, to create a branded microsite, www.vxvacations.com.

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November 15, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Travelocity introduces new service for mobile devices

Travelocity has launched a new mobile service that allows travelers to access travel information from anywhere using a cell phone or other web-enabled mobile device.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Virgin Holidays comment on their 25% increase in online conversions

Virgin Holiday is beginning to reap rewards from its long term overhaul of their site.  The first stage of this redesign has seen online conversions rise 25% and key to this strategy was usability.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Travelport expects to achieve $150m of annual run rate Worldspan synergies

Travelport Limited garnered net revenue worth $761 million and EBITDA of $165 million as the parent company of the Travelport group of companies shared its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Sabre signs developer agreement with nuTravel

Sabre Travel Network and nuTravel Technology Solutions have signed a new multi-year agreement that confirms nuTravel as a Sabre Authorised Developer.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

eLong manages to stabilise the decline in growth rates

Online travel service provider eLong, Inc. posted a net loss of RMB 7.4 million for the third quarter, compared with net income of RMB2.7 million for the same period last year.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

OpenTravel CRM integrates Facebook

Hartford-based Travel Sciences has integrated Facebook with its customer relationship management solution known as OpenTravel CRM.

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November 14, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Flight Centre raises $A100m, to acquire Liberty Travel

Flight Centre Ltd has successfully completed a placement of shares to raise $A100 million, a development which emerged after it agreed to acquire US travel agency Liberty Travel for $US135 million.

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November 13, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Orbitz posts net loss of $32 million in 3Q on IPO charge

Online travel company Orbitz Worldwide reported a net loss of $32 million in the third quarter of 2007, as compared to a net loss of $9 million in the third quarter of 2006.

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November 13, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Orbitz Worldwide expands hotel supplier relations team, makes 20 appointments

Online travel company Orbitz Worldwide has appointed more than 20 EMEA and Asia Pacific-based market managers and senior staff in order to support the company's hotel supplier relations team.

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November 13, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

ASAP Ventures goes for re-branding of Carrentals.co.uk

The owners of car hire price comparison website Carrentals.co.uk are re-branding as ASAP Ventures, in a move that highlights their growing breadth of services.

Continue reading "ASAP Ventures goes for re-branding of Carrentals.co.uk "

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November 13, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Genares to provide WorldRes.com with its GDS representation for hotel properties

WorldRes.com, a division of provider of online reservations Web Reservations International (WRI), has partnered with Genares Worldwide Reservation Services.

Continue reading "Genares to provide WorldRes.com with its GDS representation for hotel properties"

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November 13, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

CarTrawler focuses on translated content to strengthen its global presence

Global car rental distribution system CarTrawler is flexing its international muscle with 26 languages live on its AJAX-based booking engine.

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November 12, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity sign agreement with VFM Interactive

Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity have recently selected VFM Interactive Inc. to provide a complete solution for the sourcing, management and distribution of hotel photos, videos, virtual tours and other hotel rich media.

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November 12, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

New air fare comparison site launched in India

Indoflights.com, described as a first of its kind airfare comparison travel site, has been launched in India.

Continue reading "New air fare comparison site launched in India"

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November 12, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Calculating how much hotel commission that potentially is lost

Net Trans has launched new Hotel Commission Calculator, offering travel agents and online booking sites a better idea of how much hotel commission that potentially is lost.

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November 12, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Dolphin Dynamics to introduce tour operator solution

Dolphin Dynamics, a technology provider to the travel industry, is set to launch a new, totally integrated platform for the tour operator market.

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November 12, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Priceline.com's shares continue to climb

Shares of Priceline.com rose by more than 15% last Friday, after the online travel company reported its third quarter earnings.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"Overseas travel an integral part of consumers' annual expenditure"

TUI has shared that its third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) grew 45% to 830 million euros ($1.22 billion).

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Priceline.com acquires Agoda Company to its strengthen presence in APAC region

Priceline.com has acquired Bangkok- and Singapore-based Agoda Company, an online travel company specialising in hotel discount bookings throughout Asia.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

New tool for hotels to monitor online reviews

Standing Dog Interactive has launched ReviewAnalyst, an online dashboard for tracking consumer-generated hotel reviews, videos and images on popular travel and social sites.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Booking.com records a 97.9% increase in gross travel bookings

Priceline.com Incorporated has shared that its gross travel bookings for the third quarter rose 54% year-over-year to $1.39 billion.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Unitravel.com makes steady progress after its recent launch

Unitravel.com, the recently launched website for online hotel booking worldwide, confirms its expectations by rapidly grown the number of visits and the percentage of bookings.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

WTM-ChinaContact forum on China’s travel industry takes place on 14th November from 10:00-17:30 in South Gallery room 21/22, World Travel Market (ExCel, London).

As China gets ready for its initiation onto the world events stage with the 2008 Olympics next August, ‘China – the Future of Travel’ forum looks at how the growing Chinese interest in sports is stimulating demand for outbound tourism from China. Until now, international sports events have only received media attention there when China did extremely well. Popular sports have traditionally been badminton, ping pong or volleyball where China is so dominant.

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November 9, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: KLM on GDSs and that easyJet deal

EyeforTravel speaks with Rob Westerman, Director of Distribution Strategy for KLM.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Podcast: Hilton on distribution technology

Download an exclusive interview with Philippe Garnier, Senior Director of Distribution Sales, Hilton talking about distribution, control and the GDSs.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Kayak announces European launch of paid search solution

Travel search engine  Kayak.com has announced the European launch of Kayak Network ( www.kayaknetwork.com) paid search solution.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Yatra.com to leverage Sify Technologies retail presence in India

Online travel company Yatra.com has tied up with Sify Technologies Ltd in India in order to enlarge its customer base.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Social advertising concept introduced

Facebook has launched a new advertising system that allows companies to create their own pages and target ads based on what users buy and do online.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

isango! partners with Hertz and Zoom Airlines

Continuing its tie-ups with travel service providers, isango! has tied up with Hertz and Zoom.

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November 8, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Expedia's brand portfolio delivers record revenue in 3Q

Online travel company Expedia posted third quarter net income of $99.6 million or $0.32 per share, up from $59.0 million or $0.17 per share in the prior year quarter.

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November 7, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Role of technology in ensuring success of dynamic packages

EFT's Revenue Management in Travel USA 2007

With pricing in travel changing so quickly plus the volume of consumer shopping being high, it takes very powerful systems to sort out personalisation.

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November 7, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Ryanair maintains an industry leading after tax margin of 26%

Ryanair has posted record half year after tax profits of €408m, a 24% increase over last year.

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November 7, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Transactions are more important than loyalty programmes for British travel consumers

Nearly 86% of British consumers who have conducted transactions online in the past year have experienced problems completing transactions.

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November 7, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

GOL carries 70 million people in less than seven years

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. has stated that GOL Transportes Aereos has transported 70 million passengers, achieving the milestone two months shy of its seventh anniversary.

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November 7, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Tiger Aviation, South Korea's Incheon city in low-cost airline JV

Tiger Airways Pte, the budget airline unit of Singapore Airlines Ltd, is to set up an airline in South Korea in partnership with the Incheon city government.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Ryanair ancillary revenues sending shockwaves through the industry

The hype at the moment over ancillary revenue is well founded; check the news-wires and everyone is talking about Ryanair’s profit margin of 24% for the first half of 2007.  Their forecasted net profits for 2007 have now been raised to 17.5%.  Miraculously, an extra £326m of profit has been generated in unfavourable economical conditions – airport charges have soared 50%, fuel is up 19% and even Ryanair’s famously low staff costs have risen.  Compensating for all of this is their 54% rise in ancillary revenue to £175.2m.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"Clearly, there's a place for social media within the travel spectrum"

EFT's Travel Distribution Summit North America 2007 Special

This year travel MSEs have raised funds even to the tune of US$15m this year in order to aggressively scale key areas of the business, while growing vertical search and building out media and user-generated content offerings.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

"It's official – easyJet is just another high fares airline": Ryanair

Ryanair has accused easyJet of being a "closet high fares airline" following its deal to sell flights through travel agencies.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

easyCar.com appoints Bill Jones as CEO

Car rental broker easyCar.com has appointed Bill Jones as it's new CEO.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Serving advertising in and around the personal pages on social networking sites

MySpace is set to share details of how it is building discrete audiences out of nearly 110 million users worldwide in a format it calls HyperTargeting.

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November 6, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

easyJet signs break-through distribution deals with Amadeus and Galileo

easyJet is to target the European corporate travel market with break-through distribution deals with Amadeus and Galileo, part of Travelport GDS.

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November 5, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Which is the next battleground for airlines when it comes to reducing their costs?

EFT's Travel Distribution Summit North America 2007 Special

With total seat price being under pressure, airlines don't just need to reduce cost but they also need to boost other sources of revenue.

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November 5, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Is decline in number of bookers a concern for online travel industry?

Online travel is expected to produce double-digit sales growth this year in the US, but unlike other major segments, this one is actually losing customers.

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November 5, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

AirAsia X expects to be profitable in a year's time

Newly launched long- haul budget airline AirAsia X reportedly expects to be profitable in a year as economic growth boosts demand for leisure travel.

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November 5, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

BA sees possibility of achieving 10 percent operating margin by March 2008

British Airways posted a 52 percent increase in first-half net profit as it shared its results for April-September 2007 period.

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November 5, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

A social networking site for the over-50s

A new social networking site for the over-50s Saga Zone has been launched.

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November 2, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Sticking to `KISS principle'

"We believe in the KISS principle – keep it simple, stupid".

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November 2, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

US carriers raise fares to offset fuel costs

American Airlines has raised its US round-trip fares by $20, termed as the biggest in a series of hikes carriers have pushed through in recent weeks as oil prices have surged.

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November 2, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Abacus makes steady inroads with service related to travel agent last mile availability

Travel facilitator Abacus International has witnessed a favourable response for its 'subscriber last mile' monitoring system (SLMS) introduced in July this year.

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November 2, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

KLM partners Mondial Assistance for online travel insurance distribution

KLM and Mondial Assistance have signed a global agreement to distribute travel insurance via KLM.com.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Managing the discord between Revenue Management and CRM

‘Whereas CRM aims to increase the life-time revenues generated by a particular customer by giving members of a loyalty scheme preferential treatment – the purpose of Revenue Management is to maximise the profit from the flight network or hotel every single day by dynamically changing prices.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Social trip planner launched

TripWiser, an online community for sharing and planning personalised travels, has launched Road Tripper 2.0 to personalise road trip itineraries and share trip routes with friends.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Aviation community is a popular whipping post for the environmental lobby

Senior executives from the aviation industry discussed the failure of the airline community to communicate its environmental credentials and the folly of limiting or taxing aviation activity under the pretext of saving the planet.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

SideStep to launch new airport guides

Travel search company SideStep.com has announced the beta launch of Airport Guides.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

Galileo by Travelport to continue as Webjet's sole GDS provider

Travelport GDS has extended its exclusive GDS arrangement with Webjet for another five years.

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November 1, 2007 | Permalink | m-Travel.com

American Express Business Travel introduces hotel booking tool

American Express Business Travel has launched AX HotelHub, a new interface for better control of hotel spend and a more efficient way to manage corporate hotel programmes, both online and offline.

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