Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, has today confirmed the signing of a new global full content airline agreement with EGYPTAIR that will give all of Travelport’s Galileo, Worldspan and Apollo-connected travel agents worldwide access to the carrier’s full range of published fares and inventory.

Effective immediately, the new multi-year agreement marks the start of a new global distribution system (GDS) partnership between the leading GDS provider and Egypt’s flag carrier. EGYPTAIR aims to actively promote Egypt to the travel trade as one of the world’s foremost tourism destinations, whilst leveraging Travelport’s extensive worldwide travel agency network to support its projected long-term growth.

Additionally, EGYPTAIR has enhanced its connectivity to the global distribution system, upgrading to the highest level of GDS functionality. As a result, bookings between EGYPTAIR and Travelport retailers are seamless and delivered in real-time.

Captain Hossam Kamal, Chairman and CEO of EGYPTAIR Holding Company said: “By dovetailing our long-term growth strategy with Egypt’s tourism goals, we aim to offer products and services via the global travel trade that encourage travellers to fly with us and discover a truly magical destination. With an impressive global network of loyal travel agency users, Travelport is ideally positioned to help us nurture this ever-important relationship.”

“As a respected national carrier and one of the most experienced airlines in the Middle East and Africa, EGYPT AIR is a valued airline partner of Travelport and we look forward to working with them closely over the next several years to maximize their exposure to travel agents and increase the accessibility of their fares,” said Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director for Travelport Middle East and Africa.

A member of the Star Alliance network, EGYPTAIR is one of the world’s oldest airlines, establishing its operations in 1932. Since then, it has greatly expanded its wings to cover more than 65 destinations internationally and 12 destinations from its main base in Cairo. Domestically, the carrier links travellers from Cairo to 11 other tourism hubs within the country through its regional subsidiary Egypt Air Express.

In 2009 Travelport set-up direct operations in Egypt, with an office in Heliopolis, Cairo that includes a full-service helpdesk and training centre to support both Galileo and Worldspan-connected travel agents. The company also maintains a presence in Alexandria, with dedicated resources to serve local agents.