Orbitz for Business plans to expand its international booking platform to non-English speaking European markets in 2009 and is on schedule for its planned November launch of a U.K. point-of-sale, according to COO and senior vice president Dean Sivley. Meanwhile, this month the travel management company will consolidate the former Travelport for Business with Orbitz for Business creating more flexible travel policy configuration for its customers.
Orbitz for Business will not actively sell to non-English speaking local markets. While Orbitz for Business now uses Galileo and Worldspan as its global distribution system providers, Sivley said the international launch could call for further diversification of its GDS portfolio. "The one we have to reserve judgment on is Amadeus in a few markets in Europe, but right now there are no plans to do that," he said.
The Galileo Traversa-powered Orbitz for Business International platform is in use in Canada. Traversa is Galileo's new online booking tool technology codeveloped with IBM
(BTNonline, July 9, 2007). IBM's travel program began testing it last year and it will replace the Travelport Classic platform. The company initially will launch U.K. service later this year and an Australian offering in early 2009. Traversa's six-language capability "facilitates us getting into these places a lot quicker than we thought we could," Sivley said.
Meanwhile, platform consolidation of Travelport for Business and Orbitz for Business is set to occur this month. Travelport for Business and clients have been working on an Orbitz for Business "advanced policy" platform. Users will complete migration in the next three to four months, Sivley said.
Sivley said parent company Orbitz Worldwide's Austin platform, still under development, would become the underlying online booking technology for Orbitz for Business beyond 2010. "We will look at that becoming our online booking tool and the Orbitz for Business product will evolve and become Austin—the globally consolidated product," he said, "but that's still more than a few years from now."
Orbitz for Business also last month announced its addition of Southwest Airlines content. Customers now can access consolidated reporting without having to pay for report extracts from Southwest and Orbitz's data consolidator TRX. However, Southwest does charge an additional transaction fee for an Orbitz for Business booking.