Travelport has signed a new long-term airline IT services agreement with German airline TUIfly. The e-Ticketing technology is utilised by TUIfly Vermarktungs GmbH (TUIfly.com), the flight travel portal of TUI Deutschland.

TUIfly.com has implemented Travelport E-Ticket Technologies in combination with their reservation system, New Skies, offered by Navitaire LLC, enabling the airline to fully leverage the benefits of outbound interline e-ticketing.

The new agreement is part of TUIfly.com initiative to broaden the worldwide flight offer for customers and combinability of different airlines through new airline partnerships. With this technology TUIfly.com is furthermore able to distribute, process and fulfill flights of traditional network carriers using e-tickets not only on the B2C website TUIfly.com but in non-IATA touristic distribution channels as well.

As airlines become more reliant on partnerships and the ability to react in real time to passenger needs, while also lowering costs, TUIfly.com – which has been ticketless so far itself and with all partner airlines - has chosen to join the Travelport E-Ticket Interchange™, the industry leading global e-ticketing solutions for the exchange of interline e-ticket messages between airlines, ground handlers and travel industry partners. TUIfly’s first interline partner is Lufthansa, which allows TUIfly.com to book customers on Lufthansa flights and issue own e-Tickets.

“Through this technology, TUIfly.com is delivering greater depth of choice and the ease of worry-free travel for our passengers on partner flights,” said Jörg Ahrens, Head of IT, TUIfly Vermarktungs GmbH. We are pleased to take this step with Travelport and look forward to the evolution with additional airlines.”

“Travelport E-Ticketing Technologies allow TUIfly to rapidly implement interline agreements with partner airlines, and therefore to expand the route network offered to customers, bookability and compete with the same advanced technologies used by traditional network airlines,” said Kurt Ekert, chief commercial officer, Travelport.

The Travelport Interchange Suite™ helps airlines worldwide expand partnerships, connectivity and sales with industry-leading technology, by eliminating an airline’s need to build and maintain its own interline connections to airlines, passenger service systems and travel industry partners. The portfolio is fully compliant with industry standards, and existing links are already established with virtually every airline, passenger service system, GDS and many ground handlers and rail companies in the world.