Sabre reports it has extended its relationship with Aegean Airlines so the carrier can sell pre-paid baggage through Sabre-connected travel agencies. Agents will be able to view the discounted pre-paid baggage option at both the shopping and pricing stage of a fare search.
The two companies have a multi-year distribution agreement in place that gives agents access to the airline’s fares, schedules and inventory.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, managing director of Aegean Airlines, said: “It is important that modern airlines maximize revenues generated by the sale of ancillary services. Sabre’s global reach into the travel industry community allows us to do so by putting our fares and the pre-paid baggage option on agency desktops around the world.”
David Gross, senior vice president of Sabre Supplier Distribution, said: “Aegean Airlines recognizes the value of being able to market and sell products, including ancillaries, to millions of travelers worldwide. We’re seeing more carriers turn to ancillary products to boost their revenues, and choose to sell through Sabre’s high-yield marketplace.
“It’s an area in which we’ve made significant investments so airlines can market and sell their products, and so agents can improve efficiency and service by booking and fulfilling tickets and ancillaries together, while capturing data for their corporate customers," Gross said.
Sabre notes that Aegean has chosen to sell its ancillaries through Sabre using industry technology standards developed by ATPCo and IATA. The electronic miscellaneous document (EMD) allows an agent to efficiently purchase an airline’s ancillary products on behalf of customers in the same way they would a base airfare.
Aegean joins a list of global airlines, including Alitalia, Air New Zealand, Finnair and US Airways already selling ancillary products through Sabre. Sabre connects 370,000 travel agents. More than $100 billion of travel is purchased through this channel annually, Sabre reports.
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