August 2006 Issue - UK Edition
Welcome

Welcome to the second issue of Fast Forward this year - I hope this finds you all happy and healthy and enjoying the warm summer days! Our Fast Forward Newsletter will catch you up on the happenings over the last few months by bringing you all the latest corporate and product news from Galileo.

 

As you will see from the news below, the past few months have been extremely productive. We have announced numerous new airline content agreements and released new and updated products – all of which I hope clearly demonstrates our commitment in providing you with the most up-to-date and content rich resources to serve you and your customers.

 

Last week we celebrated the launch of the new Travelport brand and we are pleased we can now “officially” refer to ourselves as part of Travelport. More than 20 consumer and business-to-business brands deliver an award-winning booking experience which enables you to access content to create competitive packages on your desktop which will help you earn more.

 

The recent announcement of the sale of Travelport to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group marks a significant milestone as we leverage the value of our combined assets as an independent company with one clear brand strategy. For more information view the Travelport Brand Story video clip.

 

I am very interested in hearing how we are doing, so don't hesitate to contact me directly if i can help in any way. Thank you for your business and have a happy and healthy summer.

 

Regards,

 

Patrick Lukan
UK Country Manager
Galileo by Travelport


E: patrick.lukan@galileo.com
T: 01753 288261 (office)
T: 07793 697292 (mobile)
T: 01932 229189 (home)
Galileo News

Galileo and Flybe

Galileo and Flybe, one of Europe's largest low fare airlines have signed a three-year, full content agreement with Galileo which will see Flybe’s published fares and inventory made available to all Galileo-connected travel agencies.  

 

Travel agents will benefit from the deal as it means they will continue to have access to Flybe’s lowest fares and avoid having to book through the Flybe website. The GDS system is an easy and accessible means for them to purchase tickets and also allows them to produce their own tickets and pay via BSP (Billing Settlements Plan).

 

The deal comes as Flybe continues its aggressive expansion policy across Europe with the recent announcement of new bases in Germany and Holland. The Flybe Winter Schedule, announced recently, saw the launch of 13 new destinations in the UK and Europe, further consolidating Flybe as the UK’s leading regional airline. 

 

So far in 2006, Galileo has announced full content agreements with airlines including Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Air France, clearly positioning Galileo as a key partner to all its customers.

Travelport and Virgin Atlantic 

 

Travelport and Virgin Atlantic have signed a new agreement that will guarantee full fare content for Galileo-connected travel agencies. With immediate effect, this agreement ensures Galileo-connected travel agencies worldwide will have full access to all available Virgin Atlantic fares, including their lowest classes and web fares, directly through the Galileo GDS.

 

This multi-year agreement is indicative of the very different type of distribution partnership that needs to exist in a rapidly changing travel industry. It addresses the traditional, yet vital travel agency channel via the GDS, whilst enhancing this with access to customers through a number of other online and offline channels.  

Leading the way in moving such agreements away from pure distribution, Virgin will also be exploring how they can use other elements of the Travelport portfolio, such as the OctopusTravel.com accommodation booking engine and gta hotel content to drive ancillary revenue opportunities
Welcome to Pakistan International Airlines
In March this year we welcomed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as an e-ticketable airline on the Galileo GDS by signing a full-content agreement. This will give PIA agents access to the airline’s full range of fares including their lowest classes and web fares, directly through the Galileo system.

To enable agents to provide their customers with a faster and more comprehensive service, they now also have access to PIA’s interactive seating plans and maps through Galileo’s Inside Availability product.

This new partnership between PIA and Galileo underlines our commitment to helping our customers to operate more efficiently.  We are continually working together with our airline partners to provide leading edge products and innovative solutions that enable them to offer a comprehensive and reliable service to their customers. 

We welcome PIA and look forward to continuing our successful partnership with them.

Galileo and United Airlines  

Galileo and United Airlines, one of the largest international carriers based in the United States have signed a five-year, full content, enterprise agreement, which designates Galileo as a preferred distribution channel for United’s ticket sales.  

 This agreement guarantees all published fares and seat inventory offered by United, including Web fares available on its own site and through third parties, will be available to all Galileo-connected travel agencies.  

 

The agreement establishes Galileo as a competitive distribution channel for airline ticket sales in the USA. 

 

And don’t forget Galileo previously this year announced long-term full content deals with US Airways, United, Delta and Continental.

Bastion Surety adds IATA and Airline bonds 

Bastion Surety, the independent UK bond provider for the UK travel market, from Travelport, is to sell IATA and Airline bonds in addition to the ABTA and ATOL bonds it currently offers.

 

We are pleased that Bastion Surety is also celebrating the success of its first nine months in business as one of the leading bond providers in the industry, with sales increases of 300%. These developments mean the future looks even brighter for the organisation; the only bond provider owned by a travel company. 

 

Bastion Surety’s consultancy approach has attracted small and large businesses alike, with its client portfolio including Virgin Holidays, STA Travel and Barnes Worldwide Travel.

If you have any bonding questions or requirements, please contact Caroline Allen - 01753 288296

More Hotels added to "Best Available Rate"

Seven hotel organisations have been added to Galileo International's Best Available Rate scheme which now gives a total of 87 guaranteeing lowest rates through the GDS.  

The new signings are Abba Hotels, Great Hotels Organisation, Hotusa Hotels, Keytel, Maritim Hotels, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels and Supranational Hotels.  

The additions increase the inventory in the Galileo programme by more than 2,000 properties.  

The Best Available Rate programme provides travel agents with the reassurance that the rate they see is the best available published, non-restricted rate. This addresses the inconsistency of hotel rates across distribution channels and allows our travel agents to save time by only needing to search in one place.  

Properties participating in BAR are now identified with an exclamation mark in the display screen making it easy for agents to identify hotels.
Product Update

E-Ticketing Update

Galileo continues to go from strength to strength in electronic ticketing, with more new carriers being activated on Galileo. 

In the last issue of Fast Forward, we were able to announce that the number of e-ticketable carriers in the UK had increased from 50 to 57.  We are pleased to announce that we have now activated our 74th e-ticketable carrier in the UK.  Recent additions include Air Namibia (SW), Dragon Air (KA), Korean Air (KE), Nationwide (CE), Royal Jordanian (RJ) and two premium class-only, trans-Atlantic carriers, Eos Airlines (E0) and MAXjet (MY). 

 

Galileo continues to offer subscribers the best possible e-ticketing solutions.  And in doing so, Galileo has exceeded the target of 70% penetration of e-tickets by the end of 2006: already more than 75% of tickets issued in the UK this year are e-tickets.

Galileo launches Where2Guv

Earlier this month, Galileo launched Where2Guv – a taxi and transfer booking system fo the trade.  This new complimentary taxi and transfer reservation service allows you to price and pre-book taxis for your customers while increasing your revenue by earning 10% commission.

This additional initiative from Galileo earns you commission by being able to make reservations through an intuitive booking process available through Galileo Viewpoint, Galileo ClickPoint or Galileo Leisure.  

 

Where2Guv delivers a safe, reliable and convenient way of booking a taxi or transfer anywhere in the UK providing accurate pricing and booking capabilities from and to any postcode.

 

Where2Guv works with licensed taxis that are monitored for reliability and safety and is a partner of the Safe Travel at Night campaign. The service only utilises quality fleets, including reputable private hire companies and the major black cab fleets. 

 

Click here to visit Where2Guv at Galileo Leisure

New Galileo E-Tracker Tool

 

Galileo E-Tracker is a web-based solution that enables you to view the current status of all electronic tickets using its extensive search and sort capabilities.

 

IATA has stated that as part of its Simplifying the Business programme that it is looking to achieve a 70% penetration of e-tickets in IATA BSPs by the end of 2006.  The need to be able to track the status of e-tickets is accentuated by the fact that approximately 4% of all e-tickets issued remain unused, potentially costing clients and agencies millions of pounds  unnecessarily every year.

 

Galileo E-Tracker enables these tickets to be tracked and also voided easily, with no need to log into the central Galileo system. Status reports can be produced at any time and downloaded for use in applications such as Microsoft Excel, giving both the agency and the client immediate transparency and enabling them to manage the bookings appropriately in a timely fashion. 

 

Galileo E-Tracker has been designed specifically to be used alongside the Galileo GDS through the Internet, not additional software – helping you to save time and money for your clients and your own businesses.

For further information or for any queries you may have please call your Key Account Sales Executive (KASE) or call Sales Support on 0870 013 4700

New release of Custom Fares

Thanks to customer feedback, we have continued to improve Custom Fares, the tool which brings web fares, Published Fares and Private Fares together in one source.  We have now launched the latest version of the product, Custom Fares 4
How will your agency benefit? 

Improved efficiency - Custom Fares 4 suppor.ts travel agency and customer log-ons for web carriers where supported by the carriers’ websites. This means agents can use the carrier’s website to add to or amend a booking after it is made. 

 

Enhanced Customer Service - Custom Fares 4 improves error handling with more meaningful information messages in the unlikely event of problems using the tool. Agents will now be able to see that all carriers have been searched on, and if no flights are shown a reason will be given. 

 

Time Saving - Custom Fares 4 pre-fills agent and traveller information when making Web Fare bookings. The traveller’s details are also pre-populated as well when making a Galileo Published or Galileo Private Fare booking. 

 

Ease of Use - Custom Fares 4 has an easy–to-use GUI interface that uses web-based technology with a simple installation process. 

Please note from the 1st August previous versions of Custom Fares will no longer return web fares.

For further information or for any queries you may have please call your Key Account Sales Executive (KASE) or call Sales Support on 0870 013 4700

Galileo Leisure enhancements

The improvements aim to add time-saving benefits for Galileo agents, in addition to saving consumers money.  

Apartment Search Pages
To provide increased functionality the Apartment Search Pages of the system have been redesigned in the style of the hotel search facility to include enhanced filters. In addition, the hotel search pages will display special offers for hotel properties.

Stay Offers
A new feature that will enable you to offer your customers free nights on selected hotel properties. A number of hotels provide special offers to travellers who stay for a minimum number of consecutive nights. These offers are in the form of free nights and the Galileo Leisure hotel search results will clearly identify these with a green currency icon. 

These new additions to the Galileo Leisure Portal demonstrate our continued commitment to offering our agents and their customers the best possible service. 

Visit www.GalileoLeisure.com

Promotions & Events

Galileo Leisure & OctopusTravel Incentive Parties

The surprise guest appearance of Olly Octopus, two England triumphs and strawberry champagne cocktails saw agents having a ball at our recent joint Galileo Leisure and OctopusTravel Incentive parties held at the Opal Lounge in Edinburgh, Sugar Reef in London and the Kro Bar in Manchester during June. 

 

A fun time was had by all and not only did the agents enjoy a steady flow of food and drink they had a chance of winning some fab prizes awarded during the night.

The parties were held as a result of our Galileo Leisure and Octopus Travel Incentive which was held from during spring where agents were asked to just make 3 bookings on Galileo Leisure or Octopus Travel to be awarded with an invitation to a party of their choice! 

 

At each party a star prize of a 5 night Spa weekend for 2 in Marrakech was awarded to one lucky agent. Congratulations to all our prize winners and a special thanks to everyone who came along and made the evenings such a success!

 

Star Prize Winners
Jonathon Vine, Connoisseur Travel
Sarah Blake, FCM
Jasiah Francis, National Express 

European City Savers on Galileo Leisure 

 Whatever your customers' tipple of choice, Galileo Leisure has got a city destination that will quench their thirst for a change of scenery. And now Galileo Leisure is offering some fantastic new European City Saver midweek hotel room rates (Monday ­- Thursday inclusive) in Paris, Rome, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam and Dublin for travel until the end of August. 

You can also boost your earnings by suggesting that your customers put the money saved on their hotel towards a little holiday treat - a private transfer from the airport, a river cruise, a sightseeing tour round the city Courtesy of Galileo Leisure’s wealth of look and book ground content.

 

From now until the end of August we will be sending out 6 city-focussed info-mails to help you maximise your sales to these world-class locations.

Training News

Galileo Training

GALILEO 360 LEARNING
 
New additions
Exchange Ticketing
Automated MCO's
 
Coming Soon
Ticketing Set-up

 

Galileo UK for the past year have been working with Hewlett Packard to provide a full and flexible range of training for our customers. 

Through HP Galileo can offer:-
HP Instructor-led mentored training, custom course development, employee and organisation certification, traditional & virtual classrooms, direct hiring of trainers.

To find out more or to make an online booking visit www.hp.com/uk/galileo

Galileo Functionality

Service Centre Update

In the past few months Galileo UK has been hard at work implementing a comprehensive Service Improvement Plan for our customers. The foundation of this plan is to ensure that our all UK-based Help Desk is providing timely, effective, and courteous service to all our customers. To this end, we are in the process of doubling the number of analysts who work on the desk. This will ensure we can answer queries in a more timely manner than we have previously, additionally, all members of my team are going through additional training to ensure the quality of the service we provide is nothing less than world class.

We will also be introducing in the month of August a new online support tool called ASK GALILEO. This tool will allow our customers to ask questions online and obtain real-time answers without having to telephone the Help Desk.

I hope you will agree that we have started to make good progress in enhancing the service we provide. Do not hesitate to contact myself or Lisa with feedback, concerns or suggestions.

 

Lynne Daniels                                                                      Lisa Thwaites
Operations Manager                                                             Team leader
E: lynne.daniels@galileo.com                                                 E: lisa.thwaites@galileo.com
T: 01753 288 766 (office)                                                     T: 01753 288 912 (office)

T: 07715 540 983 (mobile)                                                   T: 07793 696 700 (mobile)

Frequently Asked Questions
 

How do I Enter ticket Numbers into a Booking?
To enter ticket numbers into a booking you first need to know if the airline require it in an SSR or OSI format, this can be done by using the entry GC*200/5/YY – where YY enter in carrier code. SSR
The SSR entry is:
SI.S1-2P1/TKNM*21412345678901 – where S1-2 enter the segment numbers the ticket relates to. Where P1 enter the passenger number the ticket relates to.
OSI
The OSI entry is:
SI.YY*TKNM21445678901203 – where YY put the carrier code.

 

What is a Duplicate Booking?
A duplicate booking is where an agent makes 2 or more bookings in the same name with 1 or more segments of the exact same flight, class and routing.
Agents should never make duplicate bookings as this will cause the airline to cancel your bookings and the cancellation message may not come through to your Galileo booking.

 

How do I action Name Changes?
In order to change a name in a booking you first need an authority to change the name added in by the airlines as a Vendor Remark. The airline would need to change the name on their system before you should change it on Galileo.


Once the airline have done both of the above, as long as no e ticket has been issued on the booking you can change the name with the following entry:
N.P1@TEST/GALILEOMR - Where P1 enter passenger number. Where TEST/GALILEOMR enter the new name.


If you are unable to perform the name change yourself, as long as you have the authority from the airlines in the booking as a Vendor Remark and you have not issued any e-ticket in the booking then you can call Galileo and we will be able to change the name for you. 

 

Who changes coupon statuses on an e-ticket?
The coupon status that is seen on the *HTE of a booking is controlled by the airline. If for any reason you require the status of an e-ticket changed you would need to contact the airline, they are the only ones that can change statuses.

 

How do I add an infant into a booking?
 The entry to add an infant into a booking has changed; the entry you now need to do is:
N.I/TEST/GALILEOMSTR*06MTHS – where *06MTHS enter the age of the infant in months.
When this is done the system will automatically update the booking with an infant SSR for the airlines to see.

 

Divides
 The correct way to divide a booking is as follows:
On the booking you wish to divide.

1.

Ensure you have a Vendor locator for the booking.

2.

The entry to divide a passenger is DP1 – where you see 1 put the passenger number.

3.

Enter a received from field on the new booking. Eg. R.TINA

4.

Enter F to file the divided booking.

5.

Enter a received from field on the original booking. Eg. R.TINA

6.

End the booking with E.

7.

Retrieve the New booking created by the divide and add in the following vendor remark: V.AYY*DIVIDED PNR PLEASE CFM AND ADV NEW LOCATOR – where YY enter the carrier code.

8.

End the booking with E.

9.

Do not modify or make any entries in either the original or the new booking until you have received a new locator for the divided booking; any modifications that are made prior to having received the new locator could cause your bookings to be cancelled by the airline.

10.

Once you have received your new locator for the divided booking you will need to re-enter all SI information into that new booking as it is not transferred across.

And Finally...

The Galileo Users Association - There for you!

A Message from the Chairman

The Galileo Users Association was formed some years ago to act as single voice for Galileo subscribers and to act as a focus group for Galileo/User issues.

 

In recent times the Galileo Users Association has undergone a makeover and is formed of a cross section of subscribers from the Galileo client base reflecting business travel, leisure, tour operating and consolidators. The group meet 4 times a year, generally in the Langley offices of Galileo, to discuss items raised by the group and to review progress on the various products in the Galileo development plan. This latter aspect gives the group an opportunity to comment on what they see and influence the way forward on what will be a final product deliverable to users.

 

During the last 12 months the group have seen a range of presentations and commented on products such as Fare Shopping, Dynamic Packaging, Cruise, Rail, Viewtrip, e-ticketing, Galileo Leisure etc.

 

In addition to this, a number of issues have been raised from the floor covering a number of operational needs from automated MCOs to Help Desk support all of which we believe has improved a number of areas.

 

At the most recent GUA meeting the group took the opportunity to contemplate what it had achieved and to plan a way forward to ensure that we best serve user needs. To this end we need your input! Not only your problems although we are happy to hear them but what you would like to see improved in the Galileo product portfolio and perhaps, more importantly, what you would like to see on their product road map.

 

Please take the time to think about your way forward and how we can assist you. You can contact the GUA on the following email address. We are here to help you and be assured your voice will be heard.

 

Barry Ramsay
Chairman GUA and Director Service Development - Carlson Wagonlit Travel

The next Galileo User’s Association (GUA) meeting will take place on Tuesday 12th September 2006.

 

If you would like to suggest a discussion item for inclusion in the agenda, email us.

5th Window from Travel 2 Travel 4

Looking to increase your agency’s profit margin?  We can help.
 
The 5th window from Travel 2 Travel 4 opens the door to the best consolidated airfares. 

Here are five great reasons for you as a Galileo user to register for access to the best fares via the 5th Window: 

  • Fast and easy access
    5th Window is a quick way to book Travel 2 Travel 4 seat only consolidated airfares using your existing Galileo desktop
  • to the Best airfares
    You have direct access to the airfares from AC AF AZ BA CO EY EK KLM NW LH LX OK QR SK SQ TG UA with more carriers coming soon.
  • allowing you to make a booking
    search for a price and availability then make a booking and file the fare using standard Galileo entries
  • control the booking
    you to control the booking so there’s no need to call
  • and queue when ticket is required
    when the ticket is required simply queue to us for issue

Open 5th Window to increase your agency’s profit margin
To register for access to 5th Window email access@travel2.com

New family dynamics – What do you think?

In order for us to continually improve our service to you and in turn the service you offer your customers it is crucial that we keep in touch with modern consumers and understand their changing needs.

 

We’d like to know what you think about the increasing trends in family holiday bookings - As the traditional family is gradually becoming less mainstream what changes have you seen to bookings over the last two years?

1.

Have you seen an increase in single parent family bookings?

2.

Have you seen an increase in demand for holidays that cater for the gay market?

3.

Are family groups getting bigger? To incorporate grandparents, stepchildren etc?

4.

Is there an increase in families joining up for holidays? Renting larger villas etc? Specifically single parent families holidaying together?

5.

Are you still seeing the majority of families opting for package holidays?

6.

Has there been a marked increase in family groups booking long weekends as supposed to traditional week/two-week holidays?

7.

What is the top location this summer for families? (resort, country or region)

8.

Can Galileo offer you anything further to deal with these changing trends?

Email us at ukmarketing@galileo.com  - and let us know what you think!

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