Galileo International

and AgentWare

, have announced Galileo`s Faring
Tools suite now offers access to a multitude of Web fares in addition to its
private fares and more than 2 million published fares. 
Caption: Mitch Gross, Executive Vice President and General Manager
The Americas Region
Galileo International
WebPoint, the Web
faring solution for travel agents, gives Galileo-connected travel agencies
in North America the confidence that they have access to multiple sources of
faring information to meet their customers` needs. WebPoint is available to
Galileo desktop users by clicking on the WebFares Shopping tool icon.

Travel agencies and corporations want access to airfares that best meet
their customers` requirements, and look to GDSs to provide Web fares as part
of their traditional offerings.  AgentWare`s WebPoint allows
Galileo-connected customers to search, locate, verify and book Web fares
available from more than 33 Internet sites with a single query. This
complements Galileo`s Preferred Fares(SM) program, announced last month, in
which airlines can provide Galileo access to all published fares, including
Web fares.  US Airways has enrolled in the program in exchange for lower
distribution costs.

“Our WebFares Shopping tool empowers our agencies to access and sell Web
fares in a way that is favorable to their clients, for those occasional
times when Web fares are preferable,” said Mitch Gross, executive vice
president of the Americas region for Galileo.  “With WebPoint, Galileo
continues to help agencies provide the best deals for their customers in the
most efficient way through technology innovation and strategic
partnerships.” 

“AgentWare and Galileo have developed the best Web fare solution for agents
operating in their tried-and-true GDS environment,” states Les Ottolenghi,
CEO and President of AgentWare.  “No other Web fare solution provides such a
wide range of fare information directly integrated with the travel agent`s
work-flow.  Galileo is clearly committed to the success of its agency
customers by making new tools like WebPoint available.”

Galileo recently concluded a successful Web fares pilot program with
WebPoint, which began in June 2002, with over 40 travel agents
participating.  Best Travel, a travel agency that offers corporate, leisure
and luxury travel services, piloted the Galileo WebFares Shopping solution.

“The ability to quickly search for and compare Web fares against published
fares has given us a terrific advantage from both a sales and account
retention perspective,” said Judy Anglada, vice president of Operations for
Best Travel.  “This product adds value to the service fee we charge our
corporate accounts.  We have found that the majority of our travelers stay
with the published GDS fares, however they now have the peace of mind that
they made the best choice after comparing all possible options.”

WebPoint is currently available for U.S. and Canadian agencies.  Rollout in
additional markets will follow in early 2003.  WebPoint search results are
returned in real time to ensure the best pricing, allowing agents to compare
these fares with their other published and private fare results. The
solution also gives agents the ability to save fare search results and place
them into their customers` PNR (Passenger Name Record) for auditing and
report generation.
Related stories on ITN:

(21/11/2002) Wasteels Group Partnership with Galileo
(07/11/2002) Galileo Business Builders Expands with Cendant Brands

(05/11/2002) 3 Australian Carriers Deploy Galileo`s Electronic Ticketing

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