flydubai and Travelport sign key distribution deal

Press release

Published May 4th, 2011 - 10:49 GMT

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai shaking hands with Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director of Travelport at ATM 2011

flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost airline, and Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, have today reached a landmark agreement that will ensure that all Travelport-connected travel agents worldwide have full access to flydubai fares.

The multi-year deal will enable the fledgling carrier to tap into the extensive worldwide network of 63,000 travel agents who currently use Travelport’s Galileo or Worldspan global distribution system (GDS) for their travel booking needs. In turn, these agents will gain access to content from one of the Middle East’s leading low-cost carriers.

Importantly, from today, travel agents will be able to book flights with flydubai and partner airlines under the same passenger name record.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai said, “Since the start of commercial operations less than two years ago, flydubai has gone from strength to strength and making our great fares available to travel agents is now the next major step in our growth plan. Partnering with Travelport will give us exposure to an important global network of travel agents and help diversify our customer base, bringing our success to the next level.”

“flydubai has a winning formula and a great future ahead. There is so much growth potential within the Middle East’s low-cost carrier (LCC) sector that it only makes sense for LCC’s in the region to capitalise on the opportunities available through the travel agency distribution channel,” said Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director, Travelport Middle East and Africa. “We are delighted to offer our travel agents such valuable airline content and look forward to adding more into our fold in the months ahead.”

Travelport is the first GDS provider to be able to offer travel agents fares and inventory from flydubai, which operates a growing route network of 36 destinations with a fleet of 16 aircraft. Building momentum in the Middle East for its low-cost carrier offering, Travelport last month announced a full content agreement with Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways.

Background Information

flydubai

flydubai began operations in 2009 with the aim of taking more people to more places, more often. In just a few years, flydubai has firmly established its place in the region. Today, we fly to more than 90 destinations operating out of Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum International (DWC). We’re creating opportunities for travel, tourism and trade across the region. By opening up new markets, we’re changing the way people look at travel while contributing to the growth of Dubai as an aviation hub.

Company Profile

Travelport

Travelport is the technology company that makes the experience of buying and managing travel continually better for everyone. It operates a travel commerce platform providing distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the global travel and tourism industry. The Company facilitates travel commerce by connecting the world’s leading travel providers with online and offline travel buyers in a proprietary business-to-business (B2B) travel platform.

Travelport has a leadership position in airline merchandising, hotel content and distribution, car rental, mobile commerce and B2B payment solutions. The Company also provides critical IT services to airlines, such as shopping, ticketing, departure control and other solutions. With net revenue of over $2.5 billion in 2018, Travelport is headquartered in Langley, U.K., has over 3,700 employees and is represented in approximately 180 countries and territories.