Sabre Corporation, a global technology provider to the travel and tourism industry, has introduced an enhanced Sabre Branded Fares solution to help airlines merchandise their products in new and different ways to travellers through the travel agency channel.

The upgraded solution allows airlines to utilise the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) industry technology standards to distribute their branded fares to more than 425,000 travel agents as well as online travel agencies (OTAs) via Sabre’s travel marketplace.

Airlines can differentiate their branded fares in the Sabre global distribution system (GDS) with each branded fare offering its own unique package of services and ancillary products such as checked bags, advance seating and premium check-in. Several major carriers across North America and Europe have already signed up to use implement the enhanced capability.

Travel agents can now easily shop and book the airlines’ branded fares in the same air pricing and shopping applications that they use every day. Travelers shopping airfares in a Sabre-connected OTA will have access to the same branded fares and information displayed on the airlines websites.  

“As airlines continue to explore the best way to merchandise their products and services, many are introducing branded fares as a way to offer travellers bundled services based on their specific needs and trip,” said Greg Webb, president of Sabre Travel Network. “Our enhanced Branded Fares based on ATPCO’s industry technology standards will allow them to quickly and efficiently distribute their branded fares into the travel agency channel in a way that differentiates their products from other airlines.”

In the Sabre Red Workspace, travel agents can easily see the specific brand attributes and included ancillaries by simply hovering over the brand ID or brand name, allowing them to provide services to the traveller based on their specific needs.

Additionally, with one click, agents can see a comparison of attributes of all the carriers’ branded fares, making it even easier to upsell travellers to the fare family that makes the most sense for them. Developers will have access to Sabre Branded Fares through an updated shopping and pricing API available via Sabre Dev Studio.  

Sabre continues to deliver technology that optimises airlines’ merchandising strategies, delivering a streamline shopping process for travel agents, travel management companies and online travel agents. – TradeArabia News Service