IndiGo Signs its First Ever GDS Agreement with Travelport

IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline and one of the world’s fastest growing low cost carriers, and Travelport, a leading Travel Commerce Platform, on Thursday announced a strategic partnership, which will see IndiGo distribute all of its fares and ancillary products to Travelport-connected customers worldwide. Travelport is a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to Travelport, this is the first time that IndiGo has struck a deal with a global GDS, and the choice of Travelport as its distribution partner reflects the value the airline sees in Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. The platform offers fully integrated, industry leading merchandising capabilities and is used extensively by travel agencies in India as well as other key target markets for IndiGo.

“It is a testament to our product leadership, geographical coverage and customer engagement that IndiGo has selected Travelport as its global distribution partner”, Derek Sharp, Travelport’s managing director, Air Commerce, said. “Today’s announcement is very good news for all of our connected travel agencies in India and around the world.”

IndiGo, which commenced operations in 2006 with a single aircraft, now operates a fleet of 112 aircraft including the new Airbus A320 Neos with 424 more on order. Its approach has been to offer “low fares, on-time flights and a hassle-free experience”.

Through the strategic partnership with Travelport, IndiGo will place its fares, ancillary products and offers into the Travel Commerce Platform. This distribution platform, unique to Travelport, will enable IndiGo to provide its content via an API connection, rather than the more traditional fare filing methods often favoured by network carriers, and still have their fares and ancillaries displayed, compared and booked in exactly the same way.

“This arrangement with Travelport will allow us to reach new customers, both at home and overseas, in a cost effective manner without incurring the traditional costs associated with participating in global distribution platforms using old style industry mechanisms and instead, enabling our real time connectivity to the GDS platform via an XML API link”, Aditya Ghosh, President & Whole Time Director, IndiGo said.

In addition, the airline will also use Travelport’s leading merchandising capabilities to bring IndiGo’s brand proposition to life for travellers arriving into India and then seeking domestic flights within the country. The distribution partnership will also help the airline reach travellers in international markets as it continues to expand its route network into destinations in the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and South East Asia.