Travelport
on Monday launched an application programming interface through which users can
aggregate content from multiple sources, including competing global
distribution providers and supplier direct connections, the company said.
Travelport said the Universal API
is "central to the underlying architecture" of its upcoming Universal
Desktop agent system, which it continues to test with launch client Flight
Centre. A Travelport spokesperson said that although Universal API now is
available for agency use, most subscribers likely would not adopt it until the
Universal Desktop is live.
"Today's travel agencies and developers are
challenged by having to tap into multiple websites, GDSs, and supplier-direct
channels to access the content, functionality, and pricing they need to satisfy
consumer demand and in Travelport Universal API we have the solution," Travelport chief marketing officer Sally Balcombe said in statement on Monday.
Travelport
had been preparing to launch its Universal Desktop in the second half of
2010, though BTN sister publication The Beat reported last month that
Travelport now is aiming to broadly release its
next-generation agency workspace in the first half of next year.