Sabre Debuts New Tools for Corporate & Leisure Travel

Sabre Travel Network announced its latest foundational elements for end-to-end corporate and leisure solutions. These broad improvements to the Sabre Air suite, including the Sabre MyFares fare management system, core pricing and shopping capabilities and customizable fare displays, are the key building blocks of an end-to-end product suite that leverages open systems technology to speed and greatly enhance shopping and pricing beyond any other GDS offering.

Sabre has launched what it calls a game-changing merchandising solution by demonstrating Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping at the PhoCusWright Conference Travel Innovation Summit in Los Angeles.

The new Attribute Based Shopping tool will help travel agents and consumers navigate the abundance of travel content available. It will assist them to cope as airlines around the world continue to bundle and unbundle their product and service offerings. Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping will be available to the marketplace in 2009.

“Sabre continues to provide leadership to airlines, travel agencies and consumers by providing merchandising solutions that help generate new revenue, create efficiencies and cost savings and cut through the noise in the marketplace, allowing shoppers to easily compare travel options, with visibility to the total price,” said Greg Webb, chief marketing officer for Sabre. “This will make it easier for the shopper to identify and select the best travel options, fully considering the optional charges that are increasingly in vogue in the marketplace.”

Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping allows airlines the ability to fully differentiate their product and service offerings to travel agents and consumers. And, when booking travel, Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping takes agents and consumers beyond the standard screen showing various airfare options, with the ability to include or exclude certain product or service attributes, varying the total price accordingly. Through Sabre’s new solution, agents and consumers will now be able to choose from a list of products and services they wish to purchase.

For example, the information provided on Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping screen will allow the shopper to include additional optional charges, if applicable, for products and services such as seat selection, baggage charges, lounge access, trip insurance, and onboard meals, among other features. After selecting the desired service and product options, agents and consumers can then make a quick and easy fare comparison of flights from a single supplier or comparatively across airlines, as they wish.

“We recognize the need airlines have to generate new revenues in these continuing challenging economic times,” Webb said. “Sabre is focused on working with industry groups to develop standards across the merchandising area so we can quickly and more efficiently address the needs of airlines, agencies and consumers. We believe Sabre’s Attribute Based Shopping will make the travel shopping experience more efficient for agencies and travelers, while providing airlines the opportunity to differentiate, showcasing their value through product and service options,”

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