Article
The travel retail revolution and the rise of the travel consultant
BY CHRIS HENZ ON 26 MAY 2016
There can be too much of a good thing.
The revolution in travel retail has caused disruption across the industry and, more often than not, it is being led by the empowered traveler. An overabundance of travel information and booking options available online was initially viewed as a threat to traditional travel consultants, but it ended up creating a lot of noise — and that noise has proven to be a boon instead. Read more
Related Articles
-
Abacus Central Asia Forms Strategic Partnership with Association of Corporate Travel Executives to Boost Regional Education and Technology
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””] Abacus International, Asia Pacific’s leading provider of travel services and solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), the global organisation pioneering educational and technological advances in business travel. The two organisations, collaborating on initiatives to develop corporate travel in the Central Asian Republics are starting by co-hosting the third Abacus Corporate Travel Executive Forum in Almaty at the end of October 2013. The aim is to facilitate knowledge transfer between multi-national businesses developing commercial links with Kazakhstan, together with travel management companies and corporate travel agencies working with their Central Asian counterparts. Key topics for the Forum include traveller trends and intelligence, Government policy as it relates to corporate travel and new areas of travel policy compliance and process innovation, with Abacus contributing on the latest technological advances. Pavel Spitsyn, General Manager, Abacus Central Asia, explained, “This is an important initiative in helping to construct the framework for the industry to better engage with Kazakhstan, both as a destination and an outbound market. We look forward to partnering with ACTE to understand and unlock more of Central Asia’s potential, working with the local business travel community.” “We are pleased to partner with Abacus given the strength of their travel solutions regionally and we believe our partnership will positively impact the industry across Central Asia,” said Benson Tang, Regional Director at ACTE. “Facilitating knowledge transfer at a high level, this is a strategic step for ACTE.” The Forum takes place on the 29th and 30th October at the Rixos Almaty Hotel. Contact marketing@abacus.com.sg for more information. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” … READ MORE
-
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
-
Letter From Jet Airways – Jet Airways GDS Policy
Dear our valuable agents partner From now on, we shall not accept any further ADM waiver from you should this ADM is containing of GDS misuse policy, some of them are as follows: Duplicate PNR booking- ADM raised due to Duplicate PNR booking. As per the GDS misuse policy creating duplicate bookings in the same passenger name record (PNR) or across PNRs for the same passenger is prohibited. Also Post investigation we see that tickets were not issued for the misused PNRs, hence the ADM holds good for the same. Churning the PNR more then 3 times – As per the GDS misuse policy Travel service providers must avoid repeated cancelling and re-booking of the same or different flight, class, date or route (known as churning) to circumvent ticketing time limits or for any other reason whatsoever; as this leads to unreasonably high booking / cancelling volumes. Fictitious Name booking – PNR was generated using fictitious name. TEST/MR.Travel Service providers must not create any fictitious bookings, that block the airline’s inventory in the live GDS environment, Please klik to find attached detail of our GDS miss-use policies. Kindly please circulate and inform this to all of your respective staffs and or branch offices. Thanks Regards, Ikhsan Sarwa Raharja, Mr. Reservation & Ticketing Staff PT.AEROJASA PERKASA (AeroGSA) Aerowisata Park, Jl. Prof. DR.Soepomo No.45, Tebet, Jakarta 12810 Office hours: 0800 – 1700 (Weekdays) Saturday & public holiday – Closed Phone : +62 21 8370 2636 Fax : +62 21 8370 8376 Email: 9wsales@ajp.aerowisata.com … READ MORE
-
Sabre Red 360 Hardware Requirements
The new Sabre® Red™ 360 is a managed client application that is downloaded and installed in a variety of configurations. Sabre’s technical development and quality assurance teams have tested various scenarios to determine recommended hardware specifications for the end user’s workstation. Installation of the new Sabre® Red™ 360 on a workstation that does not meet these specifications may not function properly and cannot be supported by Sabre. Operating System Software: Supported Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7 – 32 and 64 bit Microsoft Windows 8.1 – 32 and 64 bit Microsoft Windows 10 – 32 and 64 bit Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012 The following Operation Systems are not supported: Windows XP is no longer supported as Microsoft stopped support in 2014, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 8 and Server 2008 Support for Windows 7 is limited Hardware Specifications The Processor Requirements: A multi-core processor that meets the above Windows requirements. For best performance, Sabre recommends the following CPU types: Minimum CPU recommended is Intel Core i5 Dual-core processor with 3.3 GHz (or AMD equivalent) Optimal CPU recommended is the Intel Core i7 Quad-core processor with 3.5 GHz (or AMD equivalent) Memory Requirements: 4 GB RAM for 32 bit OS or 8 GB RAM for 64 bit OS. 500 MB of free disk space for the first user on a standard desktop installation. 40 MB for each additional user. Additional storage may be required for other agency applications. Monitor Requirements: Monitor: 1366×768 is highly recommended. Monitors with lower resolution will work, but the user experience will be sub-optimal. Permissions and Rights Permission Requirements: Sabre Red Workspace requires “Full” rights or permissions to the installation and user directories that it will be installed to. Additional information on permissions, directory options, and locations can be found on the Advanced Installation User guide. Web Browsers Requirements: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8.X, 9.X, 10.X or 11.X. The Sabre® Red™ 360 requires 128-bit encryption. The browser should be configured to use TLS1.2. Connectivity Requirements: Although no minimum level is required, to experience the highest level of connectivity, we recommend the following: Minimum bandwidth recommended: Download 1.76 Mbit (220 KB/s) / Upload 320 Kbit (40KB/s) for upgrade/ installation Download 320 Kbit (40KB/s) / Upload 320 Kbit (40KB/S) for use Optimal bandwidth recommended: Download 1.76 Mbit (220 KB/s) / Upload 800 Kbit (100KB/s) for upgrade/ installation. Download 480 Kbit (60KB/s) / Upload 800 Kbit (100KB/s) for … READ MORE
-
Abacus-connected travel agent whom clocked the highest number of hours on Abacus eLearning portal will be rewarded
Learn to win an iPad mini! Come 1st March to 30 June 2015, Abacus-connected travel agent whom clocked the highest number of hours on Abacus eLearning portal will be rewarded. Klik here for more information or start … READ MORE
-
Abacus dan Lufthansa Agent Sales Challenge
-
Offer the Best Rooms with Abacus Hotel!
Choose the best for your customers. With the best hotel deals from Abacus’ extensive network across Asia Pacific, you can now book comfortable stays with the best rates from over 70 hotel properties in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and even the United Arab Emirates! In addition, earn commission of up to 20% and stand a chance to win complimentary hotel stay with breakfast for two. Terms and condition apply. Click for more information. … READ MORE
-
Abacus FareX subscribed airlines stand to win fabulous prizes by filing eligible fares. Join now!