Travelport is trialling a new service which will allow travel agents to book private car transfers via the GDS.
Targeting selected Galileo-connected travel agents in Asia, the new ‘Travelport Drive Me’ solution works with two car rental companies to provide access to 21 airports in China, India, the Philippines and Singapore. Pending the completion of a successful trial, Travelport plans to make this service available to all Galileo-connected travel agents worldwide.
“There is a huge demand for chauffeur-driven car transfers in Asia, particularly in cities where there are language and security issues or where public transport is not widely available,” explained Joe Lim, Travelport’s Regional Director of Car & Hospitality for the Asia Pacific region. “Travelport Drive Me provides greater peace of mind to travellers and delivers real value to both corporate and leisure customers travelling through China, India and beyond.”
Booking a car transfer in Asian countries has long been a complex manual process for travel agents, who often rely on third party suppliers and hotels. By booking with Travelport via the GDS, agents are able to automate the process and bookings are integrated back into the passenger name record (PNR). The tool uses the functionality of the Galileo CarMaster system and transmits flight and destination details to the transfer provider. All bookings through Travelport Drive Me will be commissionable at between five and 10%.
The scheme will initially be available at 12 airports in China (Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Capital, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Wuhan) and seven in India (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata), as well as Singapore and Manila airports.
