GOL Ups Performance Ability and International Expansion via Travelport’s Global Inter-Airline Messaging Solutions

Carrier also expands e-ticketing to several more regions through Travelport

2012-11-21 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, today announces new long-term technology agreements with Sao Paulo-based GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, one of Latin America’s fastest-growing airlines. GOL has chosen to participate in the Travelport Check-In Interchange to accelerate deployment of Inter-Airline Through Check-In (IATCI) messaging with airlines, ground handlers and travel industry partners worldwide. In addition, GOL has implemented e-ticketing technologies through Travelport in all regions where the carrier participates in Billing and Settlement Plans (BSP) and is accredited by the Airlines Reporting Corporation® (ARC). The initiatives are part of GOL’s ongoing international expansion using Travelport partner connections and e-ticket technologies.

The Travelport Check-In Interchange will open channels of communication between the departure control systems of GOL and its partners to perform real-time check-in, seat allocations, boarding pass issuance and other on-airport passenger management functions.

Travelport’s Check-In Interchange will be the newest addition to GOL’s technology portfolio, which currently includes the Travelport ETDBase™, a cost-saving e-ticket database hosting service that stores and manages e-ticket data for online and interline e-ticketing (IET). GOL also uses the Travelport E-Ticket Interchange, one of the largest global e-ticketing solutions for the exchange of interline e-ticket messages between airlines, ground handlers and travel industry partners. The Travelport E-Ticket Interchange currently serves over 5,700 IET relationships and processes over 55 million messages monthly. Through Travelport, travel agencies in Aruba, Barbados, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, the United States and Venezuela have all gained the ability to issue electronic tickets on GOL.

“We are further empowering our operations and international expansion efforts with Travelport Check-In Interchange and e-ticket technologies because of the hassle-free environment they offer,” said Renzo de Mello, GOL Management Revenue. “Interchange solutions are fully compliant with industry standards, and existing links are already established with virtually every airline, passenger service system, GDS and ground handler in the world.

“We have already realized significant costs savings and benefits from the ETDBase and E-Ticket Interchange,” Renzo de Mello added.  We have established IET agreements with 42 airline partners via the E-Ticket Interchange, and we look forward to the added efficiencies of Inter- Airline Through Check-In capabilities with our partners. These capabilities are allowing our customers to experience a seamless international journey when connecting with our partner carriers, which previously was out of reach.”

“With its rapid growth from a low-cost carrier into an international airline known for its use of the most advanced technologies, GOL is a major success story and example for other airlines,” said Dan Westbrook, vice president, Supplier Development, Travelport. “Airlines are increasingly reliant on partnerships and the ability to react in real time to passenger needs, while also lowering costs, and we’re pleased to support GOL’s leadership in Latin America and worldwide.”

The one-to-many design of the full Travelport Interchange Suite eliminates an airline’s need to build and maintain its own individual interline connections to airlines, departure control systems and travel industry partners worldwide. The suite also includes the Travelport Reservation Interchange™, which allows airlines to exchange real-time reservation information with their partners, such as seamless availability, interactive sell, interactive seat maps and interactive seat assignments. All Interchange solutions support unique airline business rules and EDIFACT messaging versions regardless of an airline’s operating platform. These benefits dramatically reduce the time and costs of activating partner connections, improving process efficiencies and performances, and helping airlines realize fast returns on their technology investments.

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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 GOL

GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (Bovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers around 810 daily flights to 63 destinations in 12 countries in South America and the Caribbean under the GOL and VARIG brands, using a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, the safest, most efficient and most economical of their type. It also offers its clients a further 12 Brazilian destinations through agreements with local regional airlines. In addition, the SMILES loyalty program, the biggest in Brazil, allows members to accumulate miles and redeem tickets to more than 560 locations around the world via flights with foreign partner airlines. The Company also operates Gollog, a logistics service which retrieves and delivers cargo and packages to and from more than 3,500 cities in Brazil and eight abroad. With its portfolio of innovative products and services, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes offers the best cost-benefit ratio in the market.