Sabre announced the introduction of its new airline storefront Wednesday which makes it easier to comparison-shop increasingly complex airline offers in the indirect channel.
The new airline storefront capabilities are available via Sabre’s shopping APIs, which travel retailers can use to build a custom storefront and enhance their customers’ experience. Sabre expects to launch the new capability for travel agencies via Sabre Red 360 in the coming weeks.
Sabre’s new airline storefront provides digital “shelves” that organize an airline’s offering in a side-by-side display to help travellers make better buying decisions to meet their personal needs.
For airlines, the new airline storefront supports differentiation and more merchandising opportunities in the indirect channel, with flight search results displaying several product offerings for an individual flight.
For travel buyers, it allows for efficient comparison shopping across several flight options and helps travellers choose the offer that is right for them.
“I’m a 30-year veteran of this industry, and this is probably one of the most exciting opportunities I’ve had to announce, because it is truly transformational for the travel industry,” Kathy Morgan, vice president of offer sourcing at Sabre Travel Solutions, said during a virtual pre-launch event that was reported by Skift.
“Sabre’s new airline storefront not only empowers airlines to effectively market their unique product in the indirect channel, it also helps travel buyers communicate the total offer value,” said said Wade Jones, chief product officer for Sabre Travel Solutions in a release announcing the new product.
Through a pilot program to test the new airline storefront capabilities, Sabre has partnered with multiple agencies including Fareportal, the travel technology company powering CheapOair.com and OneTravel.com and Espressamente Viaggi, part of TravelMatic, a travel technology company and consolidator network in Italy.
Initial pilot results demonstrate the ability of the new airline storefront to deliver a broader set of upsell opportunities with more transparency of each fare.
