Worldwide leader in travel retail, Travelport, and one of the world’s largest international airlines, Emirates, today announced they have reached a commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s surcharge on bookings via Global Distribution Systems (GDS) that will be introduced from 01 July 2021. Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+, and an extension to its longstanding IT agreement.

Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level. Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalized offers and access to the world’s best destinations. Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.”

As of 01^st July 2021, Travelport’s global network of travel agency partners will automatically be upgraded to a dedicated channel that provides access to un-surcharged content. These agencies will also continue to benefit from a graphically rich experience when searching for and booking Emirates branded fares, as well as greater access to its ancillary offers, thanks to a long-term extension of the airline’s existing agreement to use Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool.

As part of the deal, Travelport-connected agencies will be able to gain simplified access to Emirates’ NDC content and services via Travelport Smartpoint and the company’s enhanced RESTful / JSON APIs once the agencies sign new NDC specific agreements with both companies. Travelport and Emirates continue to progress the NDC technical solution for travel retailers worldwide and are now in the process of developing enhanced features and functionality that will, when complete, be gradually rolled out.

Travelport will also continue to provide Emirates with its industry-leading pricing, shopping and ticket rebooking technology as part of the agreement, to support the airline in the delivery of advanced shopping and rebooking options within its own internal sales channels, including its NDC channel and www.emirates.com.

Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport, said: “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to re-invent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible. With a shared vision for the future, our long-standing collaboration will continue to go from strength-to-strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travelers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”

Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient said, “Cost-efficiency in travel bookings is exactly what our customers have been asking for in these unprecedented times. To be able to save more by avoiding surcharge on booking Emirates flights followed by providing branded Emirates fares and ancillary offers to their customers through NDC shall be a game-changer.”