Atlanta, 2012-11-13 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, today announces a new long-term IT services agreement with Panama-based Copa Airlines (NYSE: CPA), the national airline of Panama. Through the agreement, Copa Airlines joins airlines worldwide in saving time and money through the use of Travelport Rapid Reprice technology, the first and most advanced tool of its kind for automating the complex process of re-pricing, exchanging, re-issuing or refunding airline tickets.
Copa Airlines is deploying Rapid Reprice across its website (www.copa.com), reservations offices, airline ticket offices and city ticket offices, as well as external distribution channels, including global distribution systems (GDS). The broad-based deployment means Copa’s online customers, reservations agents, as well as travel agencies, will be able to quickly and accurately perform ticket exchanges and refunds. Travel agencies, including those that subscribe to Travelport’s GDSs, will gain the ability to automate ticket reissues and refunds on Copa Airlines directly through their GDS.
“Several airline IT vendors offer similar products for this purpose, but in our analysis, Rapid Reprice is the best fit for Copa,” said Frank Kardonski, director of Distribution for Copa Airlines. “Monitoring the integrity of our data and pricing is a priority, especially when calculating published, private and negotiated fares during ticket exchange or refund processes. Rapid Reprice will immediately address this challenge, saving considerable resources for our airline, and enable our airline and travel agency partners in more efficiently serving our passengers.”
“Employing Rapid Reprice technology is one of the most important steps an airline can take to protect revenue integrity and streamline daily operations,” said Derek Sharp, Travelport group vice president and managing director, Global Distribution Sales and Services. “Both Copa and its travel agency partners will improve customer satisfaction, save time, improve productivity, and avoid debit memos through accurate and reliable automation of replacement fares, rules and associated fees.”
Travelport Rapid Reprice performs the complex re-pricing function by comparing old (already ticketed) and new itineraries, and calculating new fares, complete with additional collections, fees, taxes or refunds – in a matter of seconds. Both airline reservations agents and travel agents are freed from a time-consuming task and able to focus more time on new sales.
How Rapid Reprice Helps Airlines:
http://www.travelport.com/Products/Travelport-Rapid-Reprice-for-Airlines
How Rapid Reprice Helps Travel Agencies:
http://www.travelport.com/Products/Travelport-Rapid-Reprice-for-Agencies
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About Travelport (www.travelport.com)
Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry.
With a presence in over 170 countries, approximately 3,500 employees and 2011 net revenue of $2.0 billion, Travelport is comprised of the global distribution systems (GDS) business, which includes the Galileo and Worldspan brands and its Airline IT Solutions business.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Travelport is a privately owned company.
Follow Travelport on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Travelport
About Copa Holdings
Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia, subsidiaries of Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA), are leading Latin American providers of passengers and cargo services. Copa Airlines operates the most complete and comprehensive intra-American network though its Hub of the Americas in Panama’s Tocumen Airport, with more than twice the number of international flights and destinations than any other hub in the region. Currently, the airlines provide service to 64 destinations in 29 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, while operating one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the industry, consisting of 83 aircraft: 57 Boeing 737NG aircraft and 26 Embraer-190s. Since 1998 Copa Airlines has been part of a comprehensive alliance with Continental, now United, including co-branded participation in MileagePlus, code shared flights and other marketing initiatives. The Copa-United alliance is considered the most complete and successful airline alliance between a US carrier and an airline in Latin America. To make reservations, check seat assignments, log on to a MileagePlus account, create a trip log, check in for flights, print boarding passes or purchase tickets via secure transactions in 11 currencies, visit copa.com.
Media Contacts
Jill Brenner
Senior Director
Corporate Communications, The Americas
Travelport
jill.brenner@travelport.com
Phone: 1.973.939-1325