Sabre today announced the signing of five agreements with air carriers American Trans Air (ATA), Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, National Airlines, and US Airways to provide co-branded versions of the Sabre Virtually There Web site to the airlines` customers.
The announcement said the airlines will be able to broaden the scope of their customer service initiatives by offering real-time itinerary, travel information, and destination content to their travelers. Using Virtually There travelers who have booked through the airlines` Web sites or reservation centers can access their itineraries via the Internet, personal digital assistants or Web-enabled wireless phones.
“Combined, these carriers handle more than 90 million travelers a year,” said Nancy Raynor, senior vice president and general manager for Sabre Virtually There. “We believe the customers of each of these airlines will benefit from the real time access to their itinerary and destination information.”
She said Sabre Virtually There is the largest Web site of confirmed travelers, and provides a unique, targeted marketing opportunity for advertisers. Travelers can access Virtually There travel information by either clicking on the link to their itinerary after receiving it via e-mail from the ATA, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, National Airlines, or US Airways travel desks or accessing the Virtually There Web site.
In addition to containing all components of a traveler`s itinerary, the Virtually There Web site provides real-time information on flights, gate assignments and weather. It also provides valuable destination information such as restaurants, sporting events and sightseeing recommendations. Both the link and the itinerary are currently available in seven languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian and Dutch.
Virtually There is available to travelers when they book their trip through a Sabre Connected travel agent, online booking site, or participating travel supplier. Since its launch in November 1999, Virtually There has been used by 10 million travelers, has had more than 29 million site hits, including over 183,000 in a single day, according to Sabre.com
According to a recent Sabre survey of Virtually There users, 93% of the respondents reported that they were satisfied with the site and 72% said that they were happier with their travel arranger as a result of having anytime access to their personal itinerary.
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