Flight Centre Limited in August launched Travelport's Universal Desktop in Queensland, Australia, and is planning a rollout to the rest of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The tool "will dynamically reshape how travel is booked at our agency, and greatly redefine the overall retail experience for our customers," according to Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner. The companies said Universal Desktop has reduced training time and improved round-the-world bookings. "Travelport is also actively working with a number of beta customers across the globe to complete the next phase of validation and completion of in-market testing prior to a broader rollout plan," Travelport announced. "During the coming months, Travelport will be working closely to support Flight Centre in its forthcoming rollout as well as ensuring beta customers are prepared for a wider market engagement." Travelport recently named corporate agency Global Travel Management as the United Kingdom's first test customer of Universal Desktop.