Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
India’s low cost carrier, IndiGo has partnered with global commerce platform Travelport to launch its first ever GDS (Global Distribution System). The platform offers fully integrated, industry leading merchandising capabilities and is used extensively by travel agencies in India as well as other key markets. This is the first time, the domestic carrier has opted for a GDS system. Speaking on the occasion, Aditya Ghosh, president and whole time director, IndiGo, said, “This is a logical extension of our global strategy as Travelport will enable us to reach out to more customers. There are over 60,000 online and offline travel agents that will have access to IndiGo’s fares and ancillary services through the platform. This strategic step allows us to reach out to more customers without incurring the traditional costs of marketing.”
Commenting on the partnership, Gordon Wilson, president and CEO, Travelport, stated, “IndiGo’s airfares and ancillaries will now be available to global travel agents around the world. This is a great step for the domestic airline to get better international tractions. A total of 192 airlines actively merchandise their products through our portal and have been able to reach wide range of consumers. India is currently the third largest market in air bookings after US and Germany but it is likely to rise in the near future.”
Travelport, a travel commerce platform provides distribution, technology, payment, mobile and other solutions for the global travel and tourism industry. Also, one of the leading B2B platforms, its association with IndiGo will make the local carrier reach out to a wider audience and with better services.
Mathew Powell, regional managing director, Middle East and Asia, Travelport, mentioned, “It is common for local airlines to consider Travelport at a later stage in order to reach out to more customers. Many airlines in the past like Ryanair, SpiceJet, Tigerair have benefitted from the platform in the past.”