Flight Centre Travel Group has continued its long-term relationship with Travelport, today signing a new multi-year agreement to be one of its global distribution system providers.
“The new deal represents a continuation of the relationship between the two organisations that spans more than two decades,” Travelport stated.
Travelport has also been Flight Centre’s preferred travel technology provider for over 25 years, and was a major sponsor at Flight Centre’s Global Gathering annual event in Macau last year.
Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner at the time said the technology used by Travelport helped Flight Centre to grow its business over the years.
“Our teams work very closely in a partnership approach to ensure both companies are aligned in strategy, enabling us to succeed,” Turner said.
The move comes shortly after Helloworld moved away from Sabre as its preferred GDS provider, and instead entered into a 5-year partnership with Travelport in April, naming it a “premium” preferred GDS partner for Helloworld branded, associate and affiliate agents in Australia and New Zealand as well as for the Concorde Agency Network and helloworld.com.au.
Travel agency group’s GDS contracts are hotly contested amongst technology firms due to its long-term nature and an increasingly competitive market.
Travelport, which lists more than 400 airlines and 600,000 hotels, transacted travel worth $US85 billion in 2014 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
