In an ongoing effort to deliver the best online solutions to corporations, KDS has announced a partnership with Byrail, the new online booking tool from Eurostar, that will enable customers to view and book both train and flight schedules, availabilities and fares on the same screen.

Caption (left):
Yves Weisselberger
, CEO - KDS International
With this agreement, Byrail provides a wider choice of business solutions to corporations with its direct Internet booking solution specialised in trains, on one hand, and KDS
solutions for multi-segment bookings including trains, on the other.

Rail travel amongst business travellers is on the rise in Europe. Continued cost cuts for Corporations and security concerns with regard to air travel have resulted in a significant percentage of corporations in Europe selecting rail as a preferred means of transport.

Charles Fenton, General Manager of Byrail told Internet Travel News: “With such a high percentage of business travellers travelling by rail, the added convenience of online rail services will have an immediate impact and will play an important part in driving companies online.”

Online train capabilities such as direct access to availabilities and booking, have risen on the list of priorities for corporations along with the integration of low cost carriers’ attractive air fares
According to PhoCusWright
, travel e-commerce is showing the strongest growth on the Internet market, moreover 20 percent of corporate trips are booked online today.

Charles commented that Byrail are looking to increase their presence in the rail market with the key objective of being the rail provider of choice for European corporate travellers. He revealed that Byrail are expecting a massive increase in rail bookings since customers can now experience the luxury of booking 24 hours a day, and firmly believes that corporations can now save huge amounts of time booking online with the ability to view all the fares on one screen.

Using XML functionality, Byrail clients can display train information and booking functions within their own corporate portals.

Yves Weisselberger
, CEO of KDS commented “If you look at the evolution of online travel, it is no longer enough to offer customers what is available via the GDSs. Corporate customers want to view low cost airline fares and rail fare at the click of a button - bringing information in from everywhere”. Yves added that “Greater adoption of the system can results in greater compliance with corporate travel policies and company profiles”.

According to GetThere
, a Sabre company, online bookings for corporations can result in massive savings. Richard Adams, vice president and general manager of GetThere, revealed: “booking online frequently generates a 15% saving on ticket prices and savings in travel management fees of approximately 50% This can result in savings of up to £80 for a typical business trip”

Although GetThere have recently reported an upward trend towards online travel by European corporations, complex trips and fairing systems as well as multiple languages mean that Europe has previously fallen behind when it comes to adopting new technology. However, this new functionality for corporate travellers marks a key step towards electronic travel management in Europe.

Traveldoo
have also recently announced a move that brings business travellers the ability to book train tickets online with SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys. The solution enables corporations to do comparison shopping for transportation services (airlines and railways) on a single page.

Additionally this month Worldspan
launched their ‘making business Travel ’ initiative in an effort to cut European corporations travel spends by up to 20 per cent. This new offering integrates fares and availability from rail and low-cost airlines into the booking process.

——-