TAM, the leading Brazilian airline, has signed a long-term, full content agreement with Sabre Travel Network to extend the airline’s reach through the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS). Under the agreement, Sabre will be able to provide all TAM published fares and inventory to Sabre Connected agencies and corporations globally, including those in Brazil, through the efficiency of the Sabre GDS.
“This agreement is another example of Sabre’s strong commitment to the Brazilian marketplace, providing solutions that enable our agency and corporate customers to optimize their business performance,” said Luiz Ambar, vice president, international, Sabre Travel Network.
TAM flies to 42 destinations in Brazil and, with regional airlines agreements, serves 79 different destinations within Brazilian territory. TAM’s international operations encompass direct flights to 18 destinations in the U.S., Europe and South America.
“We are pleased to reach this important agreement, as we know Sabre will provide travel agents and corporations with efficient access to our content and help us extend our distribution reach,” said Paulo Castello Branco, vice president commercial and planning of TAM.“Our expectation is to have TAM’s full content for point of sale Brazil available through the Sabre GDS early in the second quarter of 2010. We believe our customers are the ultimate winners when they can choose where to shop and purchase TAM tickets. It is therefore important to TAM that we ensure our distribution partners compete on a level playing field. Sabre subscribers in Brazil will have access to the exact same TAM content and services as all other GDSs, and even TAM’s own travel agency portal e-TAM.”
“We’re pleased to be able to offer TAM’s full content through the Sabre GDS to our customers in Brazil who participate in Sabre’s Brazil Efficiency Program,” said Sabre’s Ambar. “We believe Sabre, along with our agency and corporate customers in Brazil, will deliver tremendous value to TAM under this new agreement.”
With over 20 years of experience and more than 1,400 employees in the region, Sabre is partnered with over 80 percent of the top 100 travel agencies in Latin America.
Langham Picks Sabre
Langham Hotels International, a global chain with hotels in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, has selected Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ comprehensive suite of distribution and marketing products for its three brands: The Langham, Langham Place and Eaton.
Langham Hotels will use Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ SynXis Central Reservation System (CRS) to connect seamlessly to all channels including the four Global Distribution Systems, thousands of online travel agents and to power its own website bookings coming from www.langhamhotels.com.
Langham Hotels will switch its LO chain code in early 2010 and establish a new chain code, EQ, for its Eaton Hotel brands. Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ experience managing more private label chain codes than any other reservations provider contributed to Langham’s decision to switch, Sabre said.
Other reasons cited by Langham Hotels officials for the move were the unsurpassed reliability of the CRS and the deep level of systems integration that Sabre Hospitality Solutions offers including enhanced interfaces to Langham’s Property Management System (PMS) and Revenue Management System (RMS).
“We were impressed with Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ end-to-end solution for our hotels. We appreciate the ease of getting all of our distribution and marketing needs met by one single company,” said Bob van den Oord, vice president, sales and marketing for Langham Hotels International. “Not only do they offer a breadth of products and services that we can benefit from, but their expertise in successfully managing chains will benefit all of our properties.”
Langham has a legendary hotel heritage dating back to 1865 when The Langham in London originally opened as Europe’s first Grand Hotel. Today, all Langham Hotels worldwide inherit the same philosophy that reflects elegance in design, innovation in hospitality, genuine service and captivation of the senses creating a truly unique hotel experience. The group is pursuing an aggressive portfolio growth strategy using its distinctive brands and affiliates – The Langham, Langham Place, Eaton Luxe and Eaton Smart. Currently 20 hotels, including affiliates, are open or in the pipeline across four continents.
“Langham Hotels is well known throughout the world for offering a first-class hotel experience and we are honored that they recognized Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ power of a strong, integrated solution to help build revenues online and offline through multiple channels,” said Patrick Andrès, managing director, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Asia Pacific. “We have worked hard to build our reputation as the leading provider of distribution and marketing products and services and this big win affirms the direction we have taken. We look forward to creating another success story for Langham Hotels.”
Visit www.sabre-holdings.com.