Southwest Airlines now takes corporate travel bookings through industry-standard business travel booking systems.
All Southwest’s everyday low fares along with industry-standard booking, ticketing, and functionality with business-relevant content are available in Travelport’s Apollo and Worldspan systems. In addition, the airline will settle tickets booked via the new GDS processes through Airport Report Corporation (ARC).
Previously, corporate travel managers who preferred to manage their organisation’s travel on Southwest through a GDS channel, could only book or cancel a reservation. Now, with Travelport, business travel decision-makers now have more access to Southwest’s low fares.
“Our new GDS capabilities allow business travel managers the ability to book, modify and cancel Southwest travel without having to pick up the phone, and they can better track and manage their organisation’s travel,” says Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s executive vp and chief commercial officer. “While we weather the current business climate, we’re working as hard as we can to be ready for a rebound, and welcome travellers back to the skies.”
“This level of access offers agents a single point of sale for shopping, pricing, booking, and after-sale support, providing for an unprecedented level of superior customer service,” says Greg Webb, Travelport ceo. “
The carrier has plans to add similar capability to Amadeus’s GDS by the end of 2020.
