– Sabre Holdings companies help make airline more profitable and efficient –
lastminute.com has signed a deal to become the sole worldwide supplier of hotel products to the website of Dubai-based airline Emirates website.
lastminute.com is the UK’s leading travel website and will service Emirates customers’ global hotel needs across the 43 international markets where the airline currently operates.
The new service will give Emirates customers access to over 100, 000 city and resort based hotels worldwide, with access to lastminute.com’s full range of 3*- 5* luxury, holiday and hip hotels.
It is initially available in English, with customers able to pay for their accommodation in Pounds Sterling, US dollars and the euro. A wider range of languages and currency will be introduced in the future.
Vic Darvey, Group Trade Director for lastminute.com B2B said: “We’re delighted to be working with one of the world’s fastest growing airlines and we look forward to supporting them as they continue their expansion.”
“Our wide range of hotel content will be pivotal to this relationship and we see this as a strong endorsement of our capabilities as an integrated supplier of ancillary revenues,” concluded Darvey.
To complement the deal, Sabre Airline Solutions, part of lastminute.com’s parent company Sabre Holdings, will expand its existing involvement with the airline by implementing its Sabre Airflite flights planning and scheduling product. Sabre Airline Solutions is the leading provider of software and services to the airline industry, from planning to execution.
The deal with both Sabre Holdings companies will enable Emirates to reduce operating costs, offer an enhanced service to its customers and generate greater revenues. It is an example of the value, beyond the traditional GDS function, that the combined Sabre business is able to bring to travel providers.
Emirates joins other leading airlines such as Air France, Iberia and American Airlines in choosing lastminute.com as its worldwide supplier hotel supplier, and has used lastminute.com owned holiday autos as its worldwide hire-car provider since April.
lastminute.com’s agreement with Emirates follows sister company Resfeber’s deal with Sterling, the largest Scandinavian value-focused carrier. Resfeber, Scandinavia’s leading internet travel company, has provided Sterling with non-air content for its Web site since January last year. Sterling is also using operational and decision-support technology from Sabre Airline Solutions.
