Sabre Switches Virtually There Users

Sabre Travel Network in late March switched 30,000 agency subscribers to its new Web-based Virtually There travel information and itinerary management platform.

While all of the core functions of the current Virtually There will carry over, the new system eliminates the need for users to know their reservation codes for access, provides segmented views into the itinerary and uses a Sabre-hosted mobile browser that mirrors the user interface of the desktop site.

Sabre also has partnered to access British Airways' online checkin system through the Virtually There desktop version. The company is in discussions with U.S. carriers as part of a later online checkin rollout phase, according to product marketing manager Bobby Thoms.

Mobile capabilities are not yet available for the BA offering, but Thoms said, "It's a natural extension that, with mobile capabilities, we would check in via the barcode. Discussions now include the online aspect and also extend to mobile."

While the new browser-based mobile version is a far cry from the previous text-based fall 2007 release, Travel Tech Consulting president Norm Rose said that without a downloadable mobile application Sabre is missing the opportunity "to add more services like location-based services, which is a natural for an itinerary.

"Anytime you are going to try and do a browser-based service, like linking over to BA, depends upon the speed of the network. Every time you want to use an application you have to refresh a screen," said Rose. "It's not really the best development practice at this point."

In the new version, travelers have more control over their profiles and such preferences as language, flight notification and modes of communication through a single screen. Travelers now can access airport security wait times through a direct data feed from the Transportation Security Administration.

Other enhancements include MyTrip, a central entry point for travelers to manage their current and past trip itineraries. MyTrip also houses e-invoices for 90 days and e-ticket information for 13 months after trip completion.

The Virtually There site receives about 30 million page views monthly. It is available in 17 languages. The current version has been in use since 1999.