Global Travel Management has signed up to use the GDS’s Travelport Business Insights tool. It will use the product to gain near real-time access to actionable insights from different data sources to help it “optimise supplier contracts, enhance customer service and improve operational efficiencies”.

Travelport Business Insights uses data from traditional and non-traditional travel sources, augmenting it with predictive analytics.

Paul Broughton (pictured), Travelport’s country manager, UK and Ireland, said: “Our customers often tell us the volume of data available to them is dramatically increasing but so too is the time and cost of interpreting it. Travelport Business Insights is specifically designed to help agencies manage this by forensically analysing large pools of data quickly, accurately and cost effectively.”

Meanwhile, Travelport has become a “Level 3” aggregator under Iata’s NDC initiative, which is intended to create a new distribution standard for the airline industry. Level 3 is the highest certification Iata awards to companies that can demonstrate the ability to execute full offer and order management. The company claims it is the first global distribution system to reach level 3, and it will work with Farelogix to implement an NDC connection with an as yet unnamed airline. Travelport also worked with Meon Valley Travel to prepare for the certification.

Derek Sharp, Travelport’s senior vice-president and managing director of air commerce, said: “We already connect travel buyers through the airline database ATPCo to more than 280 ancillaries. This NDC status will complement that.”

Yanik Hoyles, Iata’s director NDC programme, added: “GDSs are a fundamental business partner for NDC to drive significant volumes. As a certified aggregator, Travelport will now be able to bring NDC to their existing customer base and broaden the scope to a wider range of airlines.”