Travel Advisors to receive real-time visibility into every aspect of group travel
- New groups booking platform now available for European points of sale.
- The platform streamlines the booking process and provides enhanced customer service.
- Advisors for United States and Canada points of sale to receive access in 2021.
American Airlines is making it easier for travel advisors to book and manage group travel through the launch of a new digital platform. The new platform provides real-time visibility into every aspect of a group’s itinerary and access to modify bookings 24/7.
“We’ve listened carefully to our customers’ feedback about the groups booking process over the last couple years and have implemented several changes to make groups management more seamless,” said Kyle Mabry, Global Head of Leisure, Groups and Middle Market Sales for American. “Travel advisors will enjoy a convenient one-stop shopping experience that empowers them to manage nearly every aspect of their customers’ travel. American prides itself on being the airline that is easiest to do business with, and our new platform is just another way we can deliver on that promise for our customers.”
Improved groups management experience
This new solution will set the American Airlines group booking experience apart from competitors by providing more visibility into every aspect of booking and managing group travel.
Today, most groups bookings across the industry are managed through a multi-step process that often involves waiting several hours or even days for a quote, limited visibility into itinerary options, and a cumbersome process for making changes to existing reservations.
Platform features include:
- Enhanced search for availability and pricing for simple, multi-sector and multi-origin itineraries.
- Itinerary quotes and holds for up to 14 days after reservation.
- The ability to review terms and conditions and accept quotes when ready.
- An improved process to modify existing quotes and bookings, and re-quote a group trip.
- Automatic reminders for key important deadlines to accept quotes, enter traveler names and ticket travel.
- Automatic free seat assignments.
Global rollout
American began providing travel advisors who manage points of sale in Europe direct access to the platform this summer, and all contracted advisors with European points of sale will be eligible to receive access by the end of 2020. Customers with current access have praised the new platform’s user-friendly features and ability to self-service 24 hours a day.
Travel advisors responsible for groups travel from US and Canada points of sale can look forward to accessing the platform in the first half of 2021. Advisors will be able to register and progress through an account setup period over the next several months. Meeting planners will continue to manage travel for their customers through support from the airline’s Reservations team.
The new platform is projected to become globally available in the next couple of years.
Empowering travel advisors
The global rollout of this new platform is one of many steps American has taken to enhance the travel advisor's ability to support their customers. Last month, the airline introduced an enhanced AirPass account management platform enabling users to make real-time decisions for customers through enhanced fare transparency, full itinerary visibility and control of ticket from the time of booking to destination arrival through the new online platform.
