A BIT ABOUT AMERICAN AIRLINES
At almost 100 years old, American Airlines knows a thing or two about adapting to change. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the airline takes pride in providing every traveler the best service on the the thousands of daily flights it operates to more than 350 destinations worldwide.
To make that happen, the airline needs support making their products available to travel agencies in an easy, and consistent way — including its NDC content. And that’s where Travelport comes in. Scott Laurence, Senior VP of Partnership Strategy, told us how American Airlines uses Travelport+ to satisfy millions of customers and achieve its strategic goals.
THE GOAL
Connecting with new customers — and building relationships with current ones — is a huge priority for American Airlines. Because customers today often turn to agents to get the range of choice they desire, agencies are a core part of American Airlines’ growth and distribution strategy.
“Travel agencies are incredibly important to us, and working with them in a modern way is critical. This helps us develop a deeper understanding of what our travelers need, and ensures they’re clear on what they’re buying so expectations always align with reality ” Scott explains. Using Travelport+, expanding into new markets and reaching more customers is easier, and gives the airline easier access to high-value corporate consumers and those who typically don’t book direct.
ADVANCING NDC FOR AGENCIES
To retail effectively, American Airlines needs to be able to sell content from any source in a way that’s easy for customers to search, book and service — including NDC content. Often, the challenge with NDC is breaking down information and getting it to display consistently in an agents’ platform with other sources. But not with Travelport+.
For American Airlines this is one of the key reasons our technology adds so much value. Scott said “We needed a proven NDC solution to help us move forward with agencies — Travelport was first to do that. Its technology lets the agent see and sell products that are retail ready, regardless of the delivery format. And therefore they can really market better to the customer, service them fully, and really just focus on selling dream trips straight away without any technical work on their end”.
Travelport was first over the line with a proven NDC solution, and that’s made it easy for us — and for agencies — to be modern retailers.
SUPER SEARCH AND SERVICING
Scott told us that Travelport+ enables his team to deliver a more personalized experience for the traveler. It’s now easier and faster for agents to search, find, and filter the right personalized offers for their traveler, as the platform ignores options that don’t meet minimum requirements.
Travelport+ has also helped agents to cross-sell to the traveler through their ancillary solutions, ensuring the traveler has the right options for their trip, and of course, ensuring complete transparency for both parties.
Another benefit for the airline is the platform’s automated tasks functionality, which gives agents more time to dedicate to their customers. That means, flights sold, more happy customers, and more repeat business.
MODERN RETAILING FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
We asked Scott what stands out most about working with Travelport, compared to other technology providers. He told us “Together we have something that’s more than transactional. It’s a true partnership, we share the same vision, we consult each other, we talk, we share strategies together. Working with Travelport helps us sell through agents more efficiently, with fast new solutions that make our modern retailing journey easier”.
So, what’s next for the airline? As corporate booking is a large part of American’s business, offering full NDC capabilities through Deem is something they’re really excited about. Scott told us this is something other corporate booking tools have been lacking, and bringing a modern solution to business travel is something that’s been long awaited.
Deem and Travelport’s ability to service customers through NDC is something that our customers have been asking for, and we’re delighted it’s here.
He adds “We’ve been through a lot as an industry, and the world we’re in now is very different. But our partnership with Travelport supports us as we continuously adapt to change”. And as for the next 100 years? The airline will remain focused on making travelers happy, empowering agents to retail its products, and staying at the forefront of modern travel retailing.
