SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 24, 2005–Consumers have
long wondered how to decode the mysteries of airfares and the airline
industry. And Travelocity has now given travelers a secret weapon –
Flight Navigator(SM) – to become more knowledgeable and in control
than ever before in making their flight purchases. Flight Navigator
gives consumers unheard-of-until-now information such as: fare and
seat availability, flight and fare details/offers, as well as numerous
options for saving money by comparing dates and airports – all in
addition to Travelocity’s already great flight deals.
“Travelocity ushered in the era of online travel and Flight
Navigator is the first definitive step of Online Travel V2,” said
Tracey Weber, senior vice president air, car and last minute deals for
Travelocity. “We are confident that we have created the ultimate
flight shopping and buying customer and supplier experience through
Flight Navigator. We know that consumers want price plus value when
making their flight choices, and we’re convinced that Flight Navigator
delivers both.”
According to “Forrester’s Consumer Technographics(R) August 2004
North American Travel Online Study,” nine out of 10 leisure air
bookers said it was important for them to have control over their
travel planning. With the new information and options available on
Travelocity, travelers now can make more informed choices when
shopping and booking their airfare. Also, suppliers have more options
for innovatively merchandising their products and services.
The new features available on Flight Navigator include:
-- Number of Seats Left: Not currently available anywhere else
online, shoppers are told when there are three or fewer seats
available at the quoted price on a particular flight, alerting
them that a fare may no longer be available soon
-- Fare Notes: Travelers will be given more valuable
flight-specific information than ever before - including
flight, airline, fare and deals information -- allowing them
to make more informed decisions before purchasing their flight
-- Multiple Airports: Travelers can select multiple nearby
airports to search and receive up to nine different departing
and returning combinations to help identify the best price and
flight to meet their needs
-- Date Shuffler: Customers can search up to three days before
and/or after the requested departure and arrival dates to find
the cheapest available flight and date combination, including
an additional "plus one-day" scrolling grid and calendar
display of the dates considered
-- Alternate Dates: Travelocity automatically searches and finds
fares for nearby date combinations when lower prices are
available on those dates
-- Seat Maps: Customers can view available seats before booking a
flight, giving them the option to view their preferred seat
location or even to choose another flight based on seat
preferences
-- Additional Options and Grid: Travelocity now offers many more
flight options and an extensive grid showing more airlines and
prices available on a given route
-- Arched Bar: To keep consistent with Travelocity's new look and
feel, an arched progress bar has been included to help
customers know what stage they're at during the shopping and
booking process
According to a November 2004 report titled “Travelocity’s New
Flight Navigator Soars” from Henry Harteveldt, Forrester’s lead travel
analyst, “Travelocity’s enhanced flight shopping interface better
meets Web travelers’ desire for more information and control… The
wide-ranging suite of improvements will help Travelocity to favorably
distinguish itself from its competitors.”
About Travelocity
Travelocity’s industry-leading technology and straight-talking,
honest information help travelers take more rewarding and affordable
trips. With millions of registered users and booking $4 billion of
travel in 2003, Travelocity negotiates thousands of low-priced deals
with the world’s most reputable travel providers – top airlines,
hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, and other destination
attractions and services. Additionally, Travelocity offers
deeply-discounted rates for weekend getaways and dynamic packages
through its Last Minute Deals and TotalTrip(SM) shopping engines, and
provides customer service support over the phone 24 hours a day. Based
in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also operates Travelocity
Business(SM) for corporate customers, powers international travel Web
sites in eight languages, and has been recognized for its consumer
advocacy and global leadership in online travel. More information
about Travelocity is available at www.travelocity.com. Travelocity is
owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE:TSG), a world leader in
travel commerce. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at
www.sabre-holdings.com.
Cautionary Statement
Statements in this release which are not purely historical facts,
including statements about the expected capabilities or benefits of
Flight Navigator or other statements about anticipations, beliefs,
expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies for the future, may be
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements are based upon information available to
Sabre Holdings Corporation on the date this report was submitted.
Sabre Holdings Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Any forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from the events or results
described in the forward-looking statements, including risks or
uncertainties related to structural changes within the travel
industry, such as competition from alternative travel distributors
such as online vertical search engines. Sabre Holdings Corporation may
not succeed in addressing these and other risks. Further information
regarding factors that could affect our financial and other results
can be found in the risk factors section of Sabre Holdings
Corporation’s most recent filing on Form 10-Q with the Securities and
Exchange Commission
CONTACT: TRAVELOCITY
Judy Haveson, 212-808-6541
judy@vollmerpr.com
or
VOLLMER
Chintan Talati, 972-488-4790
chintan@vollmerpr.com
SOURCE: Travelocity