5th Nov 2007 10:00
easyJet PLC05 November 2007 Monday 5 November 2007 easyJet signs break-through distribution deals with Amadeus and Galileo for the corporate travel market easyJet will target the $90 billion* European corporate travel market withbreak-through distribution deals with Amadeus and Galileo, part of TravelportGDS. This innovative business development will enable corporate travel agencies toview and book easyJet flights within their preferred GDS environment, alongsideother carriers to make easy comparisons and bookings. This is the first time a major European low-fares airline has made its inventoryavailable to the GDS providers. easyJet, Amadeus and Galileo recognise thedemand from the corporate travel market for easier access to easyJet's low-faresand attractive business-related services. easyJet also aims to grow itsproportion of business passengers, currently around 20%, through the managedbusiness travel segment, which is largely booked by travel agencies through theGDSs. Distribution through Amadeus and Galileo is specifically targeting travelagencies specialising in business travel and easyJet will apply a point-of-salefee (the same principle applies to all non-internet sales, such as telephone andairport sales) to the cost of the airfare. To enable the agreements, Amadeus and Galileo have separately delivered newtechnology to connect each GDS directly to easyJet's inventory, allowing travelagents, for the first time, to make bookings on the airline within theireveryday workflow and channel. The agreements represent the next step in the evolution of the low-fare airlineindustry and reinforce the value of the GDS as a sales channel bringing gainsfor the low cost airline segment. Andy Harrison, easyJet's Chief Executive, said: "This is a major step forward in our strategy to attract more businesstravellers. easyJet has always appealed to businesses by offering an excellenthigh-frequency, flexible product between Europe's major airports and nowEurope's travel managers and their clients can book with easyJet, thereforeremoving the last barrier to the corporate travel market." "easyJet will maintain its direct sell business strategy, by adding apoint-of-sale fee we can ensure our website remains our primary distributionchannel and fares will always be cheapest when booking direct online." "However, even with the point-of-sale fee, easyJet seats sold through the GDSwill still be dramatically cheaper than those offered on any of the traditionalairlines." David Jones, Executive Vice President, Commercial, Amadeus, said: "This agreement with easyJet underscores and validates the effort we have madeto understand and offer a tailor-made solution for the low fare airline segment." "We have built a solution that connects the GDS directly to the inventory ofticketless carriers, enabling them to distribute efficiently through the GDS.Using this technology we can now offer business travel agencies key easyJetcontent, with a booking process that is integrated directly into their regularwork process." Bryan Conway, Managing Director, EMEA, Travelport GDS said: "By integrating easyJet's services directly into our core GDS, we are able tooffer even richer content to our business travel agents and their customers." "Galileo can now provide agents with the same straightforward and highlyefficient way to book this content as they have with other airlines, whilst alsooffering today's low-cost carriers with a simplified means to distribute to thetravel trade." Amadeus is carrying out detailed pilots in Germany, France, Spain and UK whichwill end in November. As soon as those pilots are concluded, Amadeus will makeeasyJet flights available to all eligible agencies worldwide. easyJet flightswill also be available through Galileo in the UK by the end of the year and therest of Europe in the New Year. This announcement is the latest development in easyJet's campaign to increaseits proportion of business passengers, currently around 20%. easyJet offers anextensive route network, high frequencies to main city airports and low-faresand this move follows the recent introduction of business passenger targetedservices such as speedy boarding and the hop on an earlier flight for freepolicy. - ENDS - For more information contact: easyJet press office: Tel: +44 1582 52 52 52 Email: press.office@easyJet.com Galileo press office: Kate Aldridge Tel: + 44 1753 288720 / + 44 7921 698757 Email: Kate.aldridge@travelport.com Amadeus Corporate & Marketing Communication: Tel : +34 91 582 7809 Fax : +34 91 582 0188 Email: mediarelations@amadeus.com Notes to editors: *According to PhoCusWright Corporate Travel Distribution Report August 2006, thevalue of European corporate travel market was estimated at $88.2billion in 2005,representing a third of the total travel market and is expected to grow at arate of 11% over the next three years. The point-of-sale fee per sector is variable, incentivising corporate travelagents to book more sectors; the basic fee is €7.50 per sector for bookings withone sector, reducing to €6 per sector for bookings with two sectors and €5 persector for bookings with three of more sectors. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
easyJet