SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 24, 2005–Consumers have long wondered how to decode the mysteries of airfares and the airline industry. And Travelocity has now given travelers a secret weapon – Flight Navigator(SM) – to become more knowledgeable and in control than ever before in making their flight purchases. Flight Navigator gives consumers unheard-of-until-now information such as: fare and seat availability, flight and fare details/offers, as well as numerous options for saving money by comparing dates and airports – all in addition to Travelocity’s already great flight deals.
“Travelocity ushered in the era of online travel and Flight Navigator is the first definitive step of Online Travel V2,” said Tracey Weber, senior vice president air, car and last minute deals for Travelocity. “We are confident that we have created the ultimate flight shopping and buying customer and supplier experience through Flight Navigator. We know that consumers want price plus value when making their flight choices, and we’re convinced that Flight Navigator delivers both.”
According to “Forrester’s Consumer Technographics(R) August 2004 North American Travel Online Study,” nine out of 10 leisure air bookers said it was important for them to have control over their travel planning. With the new information and options available on Travelocity, travelers now can make more informed choices when shopping and booking their airfare. Also, suppliers have more options for innovatively merchandising their products and services.
The new features available on Flight Navigator include:
-- Number of Seats Left: Not currently available anywhere else
online, shoppers are told when there are three or fewer seats
available at the quoted price on a particular flight, alerting
them that a fare may no longer be available soon
-- Fare Notes: Travelers will be given more valuable
flight-specific information than ever before - including
flight, airline, fare and deals information -- allowing them
to make more informed decisions before purchasing their flight
-- Multiple Airports: Travelers can select multiple nearby
airports to search and receive up to nine different departing
and returning combinations to help identify the best price and
flight to meet their needs
-- Date Shuffler: Customers can search up to three days before
and/or after the requested departure and arrival dates to find
the cheapest available flight and date combination, including
an additional "plus one-day" scrolling grid and calendar
display of the dates considered
-- Alternate Dates: Travelocity automatically searches and finds
fares for nearby date combinations when lower prices are
available on those dates
-- Seat Maps: Customers can view available seats before booking a
flight, giving them the option to view their preferred seat
location or even to choose another flight based on seat
preferences
-- Additional Options and Grid: Travelocity now offers many more
flight options and an extensive grid showing more airlines and
prices available on a given route
-- Arched Bar: To keep consistent with Travelocity's new look and
feel, an arched progress bar has been included to help
customers know what stage they're at during the shopping and
booking process
According to a November 2004 report titled “Travelocity’s New Flight Navigator Soars” from Henry Harteveldt, Forrester’s lead travel analyst, “Travelocity’s enhanced flight shopping interface better meets Web travelers’ desire for more information and control… The wide-ranging suite of improvements will help Travelocity to favorably distinguish itself from its competitors.”
About Travelocity
Travelocity’s industry-leading technology and straight-talking, honest information help travelers take more rewarding and affordable trips. With millions of registered users and booking $4 billion of travel in 2003, Travelocity negotiates thousands of low-priced deals with the world’s most reputable travel providers – top airlines, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, and other destination attractions and services. Additionally, Travelocity offers deeply-discounted rates for weekend getaways and dynamic packages through its Last Minute Deals and TotalTrip(SM) shopping engines, and provides customer service support over the phone 24 hours a day. Based in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also operates Travelocity Business(SM) for corporate customers, powers international travel Web sites in eight languages, and has been recognized for its consumer advocacy and global leadership in online travel. More information about Travelocity is available at www.travelocity.com. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE:TSG), a world leader in travel commerce. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at www.sabre-holdings.com.
Cautionary Statement
Statements in this release which are not purely historical facts, including statements about the expected capabilities or benefits of Flight Navigator or other statements about anticipations, beliefs, expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies for the future, may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to Sabre Holdings Corporation on the date this report was submitted. Sabre Holdings Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Any forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements, including risks or uncertainties related to structural changes within the travel industry, such as competition from alternative travel distributors such as online vertical search engines. Sabre Holdings Corporation may not succeed in addressing these and other risks. Further information regarding factors that could affect our financial and other results can be found in the risk factors section of Sabre Holdings Corporation’s most recent filing on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission
CONTACT: TRAVELOCITY
Judy Haveson, 212-808-6541
judy@vollmerpr.com
or
VOLLMER
Chintan Talati, 972-488-4790
chintan@vollmerpr.com
SOURCE: Travelocity
