Sabre Travel Network today is announcing the launch of its new Traveler Security and Data Suite. The application provides buyers and agencies with traveler-tracking and reporting tools using Sabre air, car and hotel reservation data of up to a year for pre-trip and three years of post-trip information. With no additional fees related for housing or retrieving data, the suite can be purchased as a separate product or as a component to Sabre's recently released mid-office tool set
(BTN, May 7). The product is being used by a beta group of agencies, including Dedham, Mass.-based Colpitts World Travel and corporations including Indianapolis-based Thomson.
Euro Parliament: Defunct Carriers Must Aid PassengersThe European Parliament voted last week to compel airlines to provide financial protection for passengers in the event of insolvency or loss of license. If, as expected, the European Council of ministers of member states endorses the move by Oct. 1, the legislation could be in place by year-end. According to research put before the parliament, 50 European carriers went bust between 2000 and 2005, leaving 63,000 passengers stranded abroad between them. The parliament also voted for a prohibition on airlines differentiating the fares they charge based on the country of residence of a passenger or their travel agency. The European Commission initially attempted to impose uniformity on a voluntary basis, but there has been persistent evidence that carriers have continued to discriminate between different national markets. In addition, all fares promoted by airlines, including those booked on the Internet, will need to be quoted inclusive of taxes and charges.
GetThere Releases Mobile Booking ApplicationGetThere has announced the release of an application for booking travel on Web-enabled handheld mobile devices. In a partnership with mobile technology provider Usablenet, GetThere2go is used by an initial launch group of corporations, with a full worldwide deployment for GetThere accounts scheduled for fall 2007, according to Ray Pazerekas, GetThere vice president of corporate sales. The mobile version has a slimmed-down text-based GetThere interface with full booking capabilities including air, hotel and car, as well as customization features supporting a specific program's policy requirements, including agency information and preferred vendor listings. While the fee strategy has not been finalized, Pazerekas said, additional transaction fees and incremental service fees would apply for corporate accounts.
TSA Reworks Secure Flight For 2008 LaunchThe Transportation Security Administration is in the midst of rebuilding Secure Flight—its next-generation passenger prescreening system—for a 2008 launch. The program, whose last incarnation came undone amid controversy and failures to meet standards set by Congress, has been revamped to address privacy, redress and cost concerns, among others, a TSA spokesperson said. "The main role of Secure Flight is to prevent people on the No-Fly list from getting on an airplane," a spokesperson said. "It is watch-list matching—that's what it will be, and it won't use commercial data. We've spent the last year rebuilding the program to assure both privacy and security." In that time, the TSA "scrubbed" the No-Fly list, ridding it of people determined not to be a threat to air travel safety. "The list itself has been cut in half by removing a number of people," the spokesperson said. Also, the agency plans to take away prescreening responsibilities from airlines, while it will leverage a redress program launched by the Department of Homeland Security in February. Through the redress program, travelers who feel they incorrectly may be included on a government watch-list can petition the agency online to rectify the situation
(BTN, Feb. 21).Amadeus Releases Online Booking Tool EnhancementsAmadeus last week launched enhancements to its E-Travel Management online booking tool that include a new indicator for unused air tickets and links to local preferred travel vendors, such as car rental firms, restaurants and individual hotel properties. Integrated into the recently launched Quick Shopper user interface, the enhancements enable travelers to book air, car and hotel concurrently. The new version of the online booking tool was released in the Europe and Asia/Pacific markets earlier this month. Other enhancements coming in early 2008 are a first-quarter launch of an online unused-ticket exchange and an interface specifically designed for one-way air itineraries, which will be released to a Scandinavian test market later this year and to the United States within the first half of 2008, said Amadeus vice president of product strategy and operations Mary Keagul, who added that the company is researching distribution channels for the addition of Amtrak to its U.S. booking capabilities in early 2008.