Travelport and Emirates agree renewed GDS surcharge-free distribution deal

Gulf carrier is poised to introduce a charge on GDS bookings from July 1

Travelport has renewed its distribution agreement with Gulf carrier Emirates allowing surcharge-free bookings of New Distribution Capability (NDC) content.

The commercial deal means Emirates tickets and deals will continue to be made available to travel agencies connected to the Travelport Global Distribution System (GDS).

Emirates is due to implement a surcharge on GDS bookings from July 1 but the signing of the long-term deal means it will not be levied on Travelport bookings.

The agreement will also enable the distribution of Emirates content via Travelport’s next-generation platform Travelport+ and seals an extension to an existing IT agreement.

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer at Emirates, said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level.

“Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalized offers and access to the world’s best destinations.

“Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.”

Jason Clarke, chief commercial officer, travel partners at Travelport, said: “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to re-invent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

“With a shared vision for the future, our long-standing collaboration will continue to go from strength-to-strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travellers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”

From July Travelport’s network of agency partners will automatically be upgraded to a dedicated channel that provides access to un-surcharged content.

Agencies will be given greater access to the airline’s ancillary offers thanks to an extension of an existing agreement to use Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool.

Travelport agencies will also gain access to Emirates’ NDC content and services via Travelport Smartpoint and the company’s enhanced RESTful/JSON APIs once the agencies sign new NDC specific agreements with both companies.

Travelport said: “Travelport and Emirates continue to progress the NDC technical solution for travel retailers worldwide and are now in the process of developing enhanced features and functionality that will, when complete, be gradually rolled out.

“Travelport will also continue to provide Emirates with its industry-leading pricing, shopping and ticket rebooking technology as part of the agreement, to support the airline in the delivery of advanced shopping and rebooking options within its own internal sales channels, including its NDC channel and www.emirates.com.”