GetThere’s
New SNCF Direct Connection Enhances Online
Rail Booking for Corporations and Business
Travel Agencies in France
Flexible solution
incorporates air and rail options
in an updated user interface
London, UK, 9 June 2008 – GetThere®,
the world's leading online corporate
travel procurement solution, today
announced the introduction of enhanced
SNCF French Rail booking capability
via the national rail line’s
new RIVA 3 platform. The direct
connection combines the flexible
fare and seat class options of SNCF’s
RIVA 3 platform with GetThere’s
user interface, which displays both
air and rail travel selections to
travellers and travel arrangers booking
online.
GetThere facilitated the booking of
$9.4 billion (USD) in online travel
in 2007, and more than 3,000 companies
in 40 countries worldwide use GetThere
today.
The new rail booking capability leverages
GetThere’s streamlined, leisure-like
interface with the shopping power
of SNCF’s new platform, giving
France-based travellers streamlined
access to SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys
fares. SNCF and GetThere performed
joint usability testing on this enhancement,
ensuring that the shopping and booking
process is simple for novice and
veteran users of self-booking technology.
Other highlights include:
- Shop air and rail options
in one matrix
- Travellers can compare costs in a
display that is consistent with traditional
air shopping
- Combinable flexibility levels
- Compose round trips by combining
different fare types on outbound
and inbound itineraries
- Negotiated rates
- All negotiated rates can be displayed
and identified, guiding travellers
to policy-compliant choices
- E-ticketing
- Paperless transactions increase tracking
capabilities, reduce manual errors
- Manageable fare displays
- Travel managers can exclude specific
fares from appearing
- Capability to label fares as ‘Company
Preferred’ helps meet contracted
usage goals
SNCF and GetThere worked together
to deliver this enhancement, which
builds upon work completed on earlier
SNCF platforms, to deliver a best-in-class
online booking solution for corporate
travellers in France. The new solution
works on the Amadeus and Sabre global
distribution systems today, with
rollout for Galileo users on track
for later this year.
“GetThere’s product development
team put in the time and testing
to deliver an impressive solution
for the growing number of corporates
that book SNCF rail online,” said
Valérie Assayag, SNCF Sales
Director for Travel Agencies and
Corporates.
“The interface makes it seamless
for bookers, and the behind-the-scenes
technology serves up multiple policy-compliant
options at the point of sale.” said
Jérôme Bourreau, Deputy
CEO on VSC Technologies, SNCF technology
partner.
“We continuously work
with our suppliers to provide convenient,
cost-effective shopping and booking
processes for business travellers,
said GetThere EMEA sales director
Annette Forbes-Marsden. “It’s
all part of our ongoing commitment
to deliver the widest range of content
through the most efficient booking
process in the marketplace.”
About GetThere
GetThere is the world's leading online
corporate travel reservation technology,
and is one of the key solutions offered
to the corporate marketplace by Sabre
Holdings Corporation. GetThere enables
global corporations and government
agencies to provide a convenient
way for employees to book travel
and plan meetings while significantly
reducing costs. GetThere's advanced
technology works with all major global
distribution systems (GDS) and all
travel management companies. More
than 3,000 corporations, including
60 percent of the Fortune 200 companies
that have online booking sites, use
GetThere. More information is available
at www.getthere.com.
Sabre Holdings (NYSE: TSG) connects
people with the world’s greatest
travel possibilities by retailing
travel products and providing distribution
and technology solutions for the
travel industry. More information
about Sabre Holdings is available
at http://www.sabre-holdings.com. |