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Be Ahead of the Game with Abacus FareX Promotional Period: 1Jun – 31Oct 2015
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Abacus Poll Measures the Gap between Supply and Demand for Low Cost Carrier Content on Online Travel Agent Sites
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””] Providing a snapshot of the key issues for online travel agencies in the Asia Pacific region, Abacus is today sharing the findings of an ‘Online Travel Poll.’ This August the region’s leading travel technology provider questioned 62 travel agents invested in the online space on various aspects of their digital businesses and the revenues achieved. Comprising a mix of agency types, some regional, some traditional or niche, one in five were dedicated almost entirely to online business. Those more offline tended to fulfil that way, even if the query originated on the net, while those focused on online revenues tended to process the entire transaction digitally. Flight search served as the primary function of their sites with 82 per cent confirming that they sell air tickets online. Almost three-quarters offer accommodation and cross-sell other products. The ability to present competitive fares, including those of low cost carriers (LCCs), was seen as vital to the offering for most. But, while 42 per cent of participants acknowledged LCCs as having a ‘major presence’ in their markets, 60 per cent were unable to display and sell their inventory. Only 29 per cent of the agents have any agreements with budget carriers, the rest either excluded them from their search results or, as one in seven admitted, ‘screen-scrape’ the LCCs’ sites for the sake of content comprehensiveness. As further evidence of the disparity between supply and demand, almost a third stated ‘we ignore LCCs and focus on airlines that can be booked through our online booking engine.’ “We cannot assume users of these travel agents’ sites are familiar with all the airlines operating on their chosen routes, or to know where else to look to compare the available fares,” explained Martin Symes, VP Product & Marketing at Abacus International. “An LCC’s absence places the carrier, the intermediary and the consumer at a disadvantage.” Having bridged the content divide, though it seems other gaps appear. Where online travel agents are able to book LCCs, the low cost model, with fares often lacking flexibility and the emphasis on ancillary revenue generation, selling and servicing is made more challenging. One third of the agents cited a problem with ancillaries in quoting the total price. “It’s a snapshot of where we are on this important debate,” cautioned Symes. “In other parts of the world including the US, Europe and Australia, we have witnessed major LCCs work to gain share of the higher yielding corporate market, by evolving their products and GDS participation levels. It will be interesting to see if this is replicated here in Asia.” “LCCs in this region now have the ability to engage the trade in many different ways, given innovation in the distribution technology. They can readily scale a B2B model to complement their direct focus,” he added. Confirming the growing and largely untapped corporate opportunity, almost three-quarters of the corporate agents responding to the recent Abacus Corporate Travel Practices Survey noted greater demand for LCC seats from their clients. The LCCs distributing through the GDS appear to be reaping rewards too. The budget carriers integrated with Abacus have seen business from the channel grow by an average of 86 per cent over this last year. Commissioned from Travel Tech Consulting, the Abacus Online Travel Poll findings are available on request from: marketing@abacus.com.sg. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” … READ MORE
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Abacus FareX subscribed airlines stand to win fabulous prizes by filing eligible fares. Join now!
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Winners For Hotels Q3 Promotion Announced
The Hotels Quarterly Promotion (Q3) featuring hotel properties from Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and USA ended on 30 September 2015. Sabre-connected travel agents who made materialised bookings during the promotional period qualified for themselves a chance to win a complimentary hotel stay with breakfast for two. Click here to see if you are one of the lucky winners. Congratulations to … READ MORE
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Abacus Study Reveals Vast Untapped Opportunities for Mobile
Despite soaring adoption rates of smartphones and tablets across Asia Pacific, mobile applications remain a largely untapped opportunity within the travel industry here, according to a regional study released by Abacus International today. This is one of the primary findings of the ‘2013 Abacus Corporate Travel Practices Survey’ which collated the views of the most influential corporate travel companies and corporate travel agencies in Asia Pacific to uncover vital trends that are expected to impact their businesses over the next two to three years. Revealing a clear disconnect between the perceived importance and actual provision of smartphone and tablet applications in the industry, 83 per cent of respondents felt mobile technology would have a moderate to significant impact on their business, but only a third (33%) of those surveyed had implemented any mobile web or native applications as yet. Additionally, of those available only four in ten enable flight and hotel bookings via mobile and only one in ten provide the ability to make changes to existing arrangements. Just one in seven had created a specific app for tablet users. Corporate travel policy was another area where the prevailing trend was not reflected in the practice of agents. Despite the positive economic outlook acknowledged by all, 97 per cent had received instructions from clients to further tighten their policy terms. The pressure has led to increased demand for alternative flight and accommodation options, right into the long tail. More budget travel has clearly resulted. 73 per cent of respondents noted higher low-cost carrier (LCC) bookings for corporate travellers, mostly to comply with policies governing the choice of lowest fare. Robert Bailey, CEO of Abacus International notes, however, that the LCCs are also reaching out to the corporate sector much more. “While the low-cost market in Asia has yet to fully embrace corporate travel distribution, some budget carriers are now clearing a path to the corporate accounts, recognising the scale of the opportunity with trade partners, particularly on routes where low-cost competition is beginning to crowd out,” he said. Two patterns of corporate booking tool adoption were also seen to be emerging, which the study explores in more detail. Secondary expense management systems as a source of competitive differentiation were also identified, with over half looking to jump in on their popularity soon. “Despite the challenges, travel agencies are better placed to capitalise on the trends as they affect their businesses,” added Bailey. “The essential technology and content is already available and customised for clients in many different commercial settings.” The 2013 Abacus Corporate Travel Practices Survey was completed in April 2013 and is published today. For more information, contact … READ MORE
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Sabre Office Hours During Ramadan
Happy Ramadan! In observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Sabre will be open from 8.00 AM to 3.30 PM, Monday – Friday, and our Customer Support (Helpdesk & Technical) will be working on Monday – Friday (8.00 AM – 6.00 PM) and Saturday (8.30 AM – 2.30 PM). Customer Support after office hours HP : 0816920832 or 0812862323 Email : helpdesk@sabretn.co.id, technical@sabretn.co.id, marketing@sabretn.co.id Thank you for your kind attention and have a blessed Ramadan! Best Regards, Sabre Travel Network … READ MORE
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Four More Asian Carriers Adopt Abacus Paperless EMD Technology
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””] Abacus International, the leading travel solutions provider in Asia Pacific, today announced that four more Asian carriers have adopted the Abacus electronic miscellaneous document (EMD) technology: Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Cathay Pacific, together with Hong Kong-based Dragonair. Responding to the IATA mandate for all miscellaneous documents issued from January 2014 to be electronic, many airlines have partnered with Abacus to implement the required proprietary technology, creating a new paperless ticketing environment. Beyond the benefits of full digitization, carriers gain the ability to track their ancillary sales, with Abacus e-coupons for lounge access, baggage, in-flight Wifi and more. Databases will be more closely aligned with the trade channel on transactions. “With Abacus EMD, airlines can simultaneously go green, drive efficiencies and boost yields,” explained Division Head, Airline Distribution at Abacus, Ho Hoong Mau. “We are delighted to help four more powerful brands in Asia’s burgeoning aviation industry to achieve the EMD standard, realizing the benefits in terms of cash and credit card reimbursements and ancillary sales through the region’s trade channel.” Lee Ser Yi, Vice President, Corporate Sales and Distribution, Singapore Airlines added, “Adopting the Abacus EMD solution allows Singapore Airlines to improve our customer experience by automating miscellaneous fees and deposit payments, while reducing paper dependency and related costs. We are pleased to be able to take this to our key customers through Abacus.” Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair join the extensive list of global airlines who have adopted the Abacus EMD solution, contributing to IATA’s planned sunset of the legacy virtual Miscellaneous Charge Order (vMCO). For more information, contact: marketing@abacus.com.sg. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” … READ MORE
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EMIRATES GDS WASTAGE RECOVERY
Dear Trade Partner, Over the years, Emirates has been actively educating the trade to help Airlines reduce their continuously increasing GDS costs. While most part of this cost is unavoidable, there is certain wastage that can be controlled by you. Unproductive segments like HX, UC, NO and UN keep adding to the airline’s costs if not cancelled by your staff members on time. We would like to inform you that effective 01st October 2014, Emirates Airline will be raising ADMs for the recovery of such costs incurred due to such unproductive segments from your respective agency. The ADMs will be posted and settled through BSP billing. We urge you to educate your team members to adopt the policy of checking and removing such unproductive segments on a regular basis to avoid debits in this regard. Please feel free to contact Emirates Sales Team for any briefing and guidelines that may be needed. We thank you for your understanding and look forward to Nil GDS wastage which can only be achieved with your support. Thank you, Emirates Indonesia One Pacific Place Building 10th floor Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav 52-53 … READ MORE
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ABACUS ENTRIES FOR SKYTEAM FARES
Dear All Travel Agents, These are the SKYTEAM Fares Entries On Abacus System , Round TheWorld Entry (FQSELSEL01SEPRW-KE ) GO Africa Entry ( FQNBOJNB05MARIT-KQ/USD ) GO China Entry ( FQCANSHA20MAY-CZ¥PSKY ) GO Italy Entry ( FQROMPMO20MAY-AZ¥PITX ) GO Russia Entry ( FQMOWLED01MAYIT-SU ) Happy Booking , Thanks and Regards, Customer Support Abacus Indonesia Updated … READ MORE