XL Travel and Travelport launch new app

XL TRAVEL and Travelport have
teamed up to create a brandnew
app that offers agents and
clients a convenient communication
tool that will give travellers all the
information they need before, during
and after a trip.
XLGO will assist XL Travel clients
across South Africa, with flexible
itinerary management, duty of care,
and travel assistance with real-time
communications and flight updates.
“The provision of sophisticated
mobile services in travel is no
longer an option; it has become a
necessity,” says Marco Ciocchetti,
ceo of the XL Travel Group.
“With this in mind, the launch of
the XLGO app is the first step in our
new mobile strategy, with additional
mobile features and functionality
to be regularly rolled out,” adds
Marco.
Aadil Esack, product and
marketing manager of XL Travel,
says the app is the first in the
South African market that utilises
Trip Assist, Travelport’s mobile
technology that pulls client
information directly from the PNR.
The app is then populated with
the client’s information as it is on
the PNR, says Aadil.
XLGO was designed by the
Travelport and XL teams and is
engineered to be light on battery
and data use and will not spam
its users. It will only update with
information that is relevant to the
traveller.
“Apps like Uber have put people
into taxis, who might have never
otherwise considered it,” says
Douglas Jewson, md of Travelport
Africa. He adds that apps like XLGO
will take away some of the fears
associated with travelling, and
as a result, will get more people
travelling than before.
The app also utilises Travelport
Engage, a flexible mobile messaging
tool that delivers relevant and
personalised travel content and
information to each traveller. Other
features include automatic itinerary
updates, organised trip segments
and real-time assistance either
telephonically or through a chat
system (which will be introduced at
a later date).
Robyn Christie, gm of Travelport
Southern Africa, said: “In an
increasingly smartphone-led
communications world, we
are committed to improving
customers’ travel experiences with
sophisticated mobile solutions that
exploit the expertise and experience
of Travelport Digital.”
XLGO is available to download free
from both the iOS App Store and
Google Play store for Android.