British airline bmi
is using Sabre
technology to let travel agents take control more easily of group bookings created by the airlineå‘s own reservation staff. The å‘Claim PNRå’ tool lets agents take over airline-created bookings with just two keystrokes, replacing a cumbersome process that involves calling the airline and manually inputting all the relevant itinerary information.

bmi will be using the product for all group bookings made on the airline. Hamish Broom
, director of European associate sales and service, said this was an example of how Sabre was adding value to the core distribution service that it provides to its airline customers.

“Agents often need to access the details of a group booking made by an airline, so bmi is using this product to enhance its relationship with them, and to help them benefit from a more streamlined system that saves time and money”, he said.

Barbara Hunter, bmi’s divisional manager of sales support and distribution, said the airline had also upgraded its availability displays in Sabre to give travel agents, and all online travel sites powered by Sabre, precise information about the number of seats for sale on any given flight.

“We are taking advantage of these GDS tools to enhance our relationship with agencies, and to make booking with bmi easier than with our competitors”, Hunter said. 

Related stories on ITN:

(19/12/2002) bmibaby Fares Available Through Galileo

(26/11/2002) E-Ticketing Through Worldspan Agencies for BMI & Virgin

(21/11/2002) bmi outsources its reservation services to Amadeus

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