Travelport has signed new collaborations with four innovative travel companies, which are utilising Travelport’s Universal Application Programming Interface (Universal API), to power new services that give their customers a greater level of information, choice and flexibility.

Travelport has adopted an open approach to connectivity that allows its customers fully-flexible access to its platform, enabling travel agencies and intermediaries the ability to design their own customised user interfaces.

Travelport’s state of the art Universal API allows OTAs, corporate booking tool providers or other travel consultants, to pull together content delivered from multiple sources into a cohesive display for the travel buyer. This allows for more effective search, comparison, reservations and payments. It also means that they can understand an airline’s full value proposition, for example, including its branded fares and ancillaries, in the same way as a travel agent connected to Travelport’s point of sale solution, Travelport Smartpoint, would.

This open platform concept is attracting some of the best and brightest developers from around the world to build exciting new products on Travelport’s travel commerce platform. The approach is a key part of Travelport’s strategy to change its relationship with travel providers from being cost-focused to value-focused. In 2015, a broad network of approximately 1,100 developers utilised our Travelport Universal API, to create their own applications.

Ujjwal Sehgal, Director, Skylord Travel Plc. commented: “We have been in the travel business for 33 years and our focus has been serving travel agents and retail clients across the UK with fares and ticketing services. With the introduction of branded fares and ancillary content from Travelport, we can really improve our service. We want to be innovative and offer our agents and consumers the same information for the relevant travel alternatives that they previously would only receive by going to the airline’s website. Branded fares and ancillary content gives us the ability to service our customers, by enabling them to be more efficient and informed. It’s a win, win, win solution for Skylord, our customers and the airlines.”

Arno Van Rensburg, Senior Developer at Touchlab which develops on behalf of Travel with Lia said: “Enabling a self-service itinerary exchange solution for our travellers will bring major benefits for Travel with Lia. Our corporate travellers frequently have to change their travel plans and instead of the traditional and cumbersome process of having to connect with an agent, our customers can now perform a full ticket exchange on their mobile or desktop Travel with Lia application.”

JP Ephithite, Travelport’s Senior Product Manager, Open Platform commented: “Innovation is the common thread that ties the likes of Travel with Lia, Skylord Travel, OneTwoTrip and Travel Loop together. And with Travelport, innovative travel companies can realise their ambitions by developing travel solutions on our open platform. Our ability to help increase their revenues reinforces the value proposition of our travel commerce platform when compared to alternative distribution channels.”