Emirates waives GDS surcharge for Travelport-connected agencies

Zurich, Switzerland - June 18, 2017: Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline approaching Zurich airport. Emirates is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to more than 140 cities in 81 countries across six continents.

By Travel Weekly

Travelport and Emirates have reached a commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s new surcharge on bookings via Global Distribution Systems (GDS).

Travelport’s global network of agency partners have been automatically upgraded to a dedicated channel that provides access to un-surcharged Emirates content in response to the airline’s new US$14 to US$25 ($19 to $33) GDS booking surcharge, which came into effect yesterday.

Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+, and an extension to its longstanding IT agreement.

As part of the deal, Travelport-connected agencies will be able to gain simplified access to Emirates’ NDC content and services via Travelport Smartpoint and the company’s enhanced RESTful/JSON APIs once the agencies sign new NDC specific agreements with both companies.

Travelport and Emirates are both in the process of developing enhanced NDC features and functionality that will, when complete, be gradually rolled out.

Jason Clarke, chief commercial officer for travel partners at Travelport, said: “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to reinvent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

“With a shared vision for the future, our longstanding collaboration will continue to go from strength to strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travellers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer at Emirates, said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level.

Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalised offers and access to the world’s best destinations.

“Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.”

Featured image source: iStock.com/Jetlinerimages

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Adnan Kazim booking surcharge emirates gds Global Distribution Systems Jason Clarke ndc Travel Agencies travelport