Worldspan announced at the Business Travel Show 2003 the launch of a new set of products and services to allow businesses to switch their travel booking and management processes online.

Worldspan
, which already processes more than 50 per cent of all online travel agency bookings through customers including Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia, thomascook.com, and lastminute.com, has used its e-commerce experience to create a unique set of online business travel tools which can cut travel spends by up to 20 per cent. 

As well as streamlining the travel management process and creating a range of benefits for the business traveller, Worldspan’s new offering will also integrate fares and availability from low-cost airlines into the booking process for the first time.  The new ‘Making Business Travel’ initiative is being launched initially in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Graham Nichols
, Worldspan’s vice president and general manager for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, said:

“Worldspan’s e-commerce solutions have revolutionised the online market for leisure travel and today, more than half of all online travel agency bookings pass through our system.

“We’ve taken that expertise and applied it to the business travel market, with the launch of our ‘Making Business Travel’ initiative.

“Our set of products and services marks a new direction for travel technology in the corporate sector.  Companies need far more than a piece of booking software on the desktop - and so we’ve created a full offering that makes a real difference to the travel process for businesses and their agencies.”           

‘Making Business Travel’ offers a set of travel booking and management tools, coupled with technology consulting to ensure companies and their agencies realise significant benefits from taking their travel processes online.

These tools can be integrated seamlessly into companies’ existing travel and financial management information systems, ensuring full control over travel and expense budgets.

It is this integration, says Nichols, which is critical:

“A clear example is our focus on including low-cost airline availability and booking within the system.  Not only will this allow direct comparison of all the travel options available, it means travel spend on low-cost airlines will be integrated into the companies’ main financial information systems.”

Related stories on ITN:
(31/01/2003) Worldspan Increases European Market Focus

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