Sabre Travel Network enters SA market

Sabre Travel Network has officially entered the South African market, with the local offices based in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.

Sabre’s South African operation has been launched in conjunction with its partners EmQuest – part of the Emirates Group – and African-based Rogers Aviation, which will act as the main distributors in the market.  The partnership allows Sabre to combine its global expertise with local experience and knowledge – an essential requirement for Sabre to meet the needs of the local market.

“Our collaboration with EmQuest and Rogers Aviation means South African agencies will profit from Sabre’s global reach and the partnership of a local specialist. We want to work with travel agents whose priority is impeccable customer service and sustained growth,” said Dean Bibb, vice president Sabre Travel Network, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Sabre enters the market with its Sabre Red total travel solution, designed for corporate and leisure travel agencies to manage every aspect of their business.  At the heart of this is the Sabre Red Workspace, a highly configurable platform for travel agencies to shop, book and manage travel, while delivering excellent customer service.

Sabre will also make South Africa the first country to launch its new graphical view in the Sabre Red Workspace. This provides agents the option to shop, book and manage travel in a graphical setting. Using this, agents will be able to book air, car and hotel using format-free, point-and-click functionality, making training on the Sabre system, whether for a novice or seasoned agent, simple and easy. More experienced agents can speed through bookings using both the new graphical view and traditional ‘green screen’ format.  The company will also launch a range of mobile, social media, business intelligence, travel security, and efficiency tools for agencies.
                          
Customers of Sabre will be supported by a local customer support team, located in Johannesburg, and benefit from the out-of-hours support provided by Sabre’s global network.

The official launch comes a day after Sabre announced a full-content agreement with South African Airways. Last month the company’s airline business, Sabre Airline Solutions, also signed a reservations agreement with kulula.com.