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Travelport signs up South African Airways; SAA becomes the first airline in Africa to sign up for Travelport's Rich Content and Branding technology(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Langley, UK - Travelport, a leading Travel Commerce Platform providing distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the $7 trillion global travel and tourism industry, today announces a further merchandising milestone as South African Airways (SAA) becomes the first carrier in Africa to sign up for Travelport's Rich Content and Branding. Travelport Rich Content and Branding is highly progressive technology which enables airlines to more effectively control how their fares are visually presented and described on travel agency screens, bringing them more in line with the airline's own website experience. Now in final testing and due to be launched later in the year on Travelport Smartpoint agency desktops, Rich Content and Branding allows travel agents to access photos, images and extended descriptions aggregated into their usual booking flow to better inform and encourage customers' purchasing decisions around fares such as cabin type, seat type, meals, baggage allowance and ticket flexibility. The solution has received significant support and interest from airlines with more than 60 airlines having signed up, including leading carriers such as Delta, Ryanair, British Airways, Iberia, easyJet, Hainan Airlines and United Airlines. "South African Airways continues to expand its range of dynamic travel products tailored towards our increasingly sophisticated customers and we are pleased that the merchandising technology offered through Travelport's Travel Commerce Platform enables us to differentiate ourselves more easily," commented Sylvain Bosc, Chief Commercial Officer of South African Aiways. "We look forward to continuing to improve the shopping experience for our customers and their agencies through Travelport's distribution." Simon Ferguson, Travelport Managing Director, UK & Ireland, commented, "It is significant for Travelport to have signed up the largest airline in South Africa for our Rich Content and Branding technology and we look forward to implementing this with them over the coming months. The travel industry in Africa continues to grow and we're convinced the availability of this industry-leading merchandising technology will be valued by travel agencies." Simon continued: "The signing of more than 60 airlines for our Rich Content and Branding technology indicates that our airline partners fully support and share our views on the benefits it presents in terms of how fares and ancillaries are presented to travel agents." Notes to editors About Travelport (www.travelport.com) Travelport is a leading Travel Commerce Platform providing distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the $7 trillion global travel and tourism industry. With a presence in over 170 countries, approximately 3,600 employees and 2013 net revenue of $2.1 billion, Travelport is a privately owned company comprised of: Our Travel Commerce Platform, through which we facilitate travel commerce by connecting the world's leading travel providers with online and offline travel buyers in our proprietary business to business ("B2B") travel commerce marketplace. As travel industry demands evolve, we are utilizing our Travel Commerce Platform to redefine the electronic distribution and merchandising of airline core and ancillary products, as well as extending our reach into the growing world of travel commerce beyond air, including to hotel, car rental, rail, cruise line and tour operators. In addition, we have leveraged our domain expertise in the travel industry to design a pioneering B2B payment solution that addresses the needs of travel intermediaries to efficiently and securely settle travel transactions. We also utilize the extensive data managed by our Travel Commerce Platform to provide an array of additional services, such as advertising solutions, subscription services, business intelligence data services and marketing-oriented analytical tools to travel agencies, travel providers and other travel data users. Our Technology Services, through which we provide critical IT services to airlines, such as shopping, ticketing, departure control and other solutions, enabling them to focus on their core business competencies and reduce costs. For media enquiries, please contact: Mark Hamilton, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications Tel: +44 (0)1753 288342+44 (0)1753 288342 Mob: +44 (0)7552 212132+44 (0)7552 212132 Email: [email protected] SMSAdd to SkypeYou'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype . (c) 2014 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |