01 February 2010

Travelport clinches Ã¢â¬ÅâœhugeÃ¢â¬~ Thomas Cook deal

Travelport has won a multi-year deal for Galileo to become the GDS supplier to Thomas Cook in the UK.

The agreement follows a tender process and will see Thomas Cook migrate all of its UK businesses, including Gold Medal Travel, from their current GDS provider to the Galileo.

No price was put on the contract win.

The two organisations said they were also discussing "further opportunities" to extend their relationship beyond the UK.

The two companies aim to ensure a seamless migration of the travel giant’s UK GDS business to Galileo over the coming months.

This includes all scheduled flight bookings made by Thomas Cook’s UK businesses such as Gold Medal Travel and its online brand Netflights.com.

As part of the agreement, Thomas Cook will also implement new Travelport products such as its ePricing low-fare shopping solution.

Thomas Cook group chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: "The Travelport team invested considerable time understanding our business objectives and has been very responsive in meeting our needs.

"We feel confident that the GDS functionality, technology and support they can offer through this partnership will assist us in achieving our UK growth strategy."

Travelport president and CEO Gordon Wilson described the deal as a "huge win".

"We are thrilled that Thomas Cook has selected to migrate all of its UK business to the Galileo platform," he said.

"Thomas Cook told us that the decision was a reflection of the strength of our GDS offering, our commitment to product innovation and development as well as our ability to provide superior support."

by Phil Davies