Flight Booking Software Innovation

Airlines have led the travel industry by developing ways to offer special perks to their most loyal customers. Flight booking software that allows for Users to pre-select a seat on the airplane has been around for decades, however, many airlines have recently found innovative ways to charge additional fees to reserve the best seats onboard.  Seasoned airline passengers know the extra legroom that an emergency exit row seat automatically brings and have been grabbing these roomy seats for years. Aisle and Window seats tend to be the most popular with passengers overall and first to go.  Most airlines were quick to capitalize on these trends and began to charge a premium to passengers reserving these seats in advance.  Except of course for the most loyal frequent flyer program members who have been given access to “preferred seating” for a long time.

Distinguishing the experience for coach passengers must have been a success since it wasn’t long before airlines began introducing new “premium coach sections” to offer passengers perks like extra legroom and preferred positioning within the coach cabin.  Suddenly it has become apparent that not all coach seats are equal and the pricing options available when selecting a seat for some airlines today clearly reflect this.  How much extra a customer is charged to pre-reserve a particular seat or whether they are even charged at all can be determined by their loyalty program status.

But the special perks and treatment customer loyalty programs offer today are not limited to preferred seating.  Your preferred customer number may determine a customer’s experience throughout their entire journey.  Starting at the airport, a customer’s frequent traveler number can determine which line they wait on at the airport to check-in, whether they pay to check a bag or not, even their priority when it comes time to board the aircraft.  Once onboard, important things like which the seat they are actually seated in or whether they receive complimentary drinks and a meal can all be determined by their loyalty program status with a specific airline.  As airlines continue to invent new ways to provide a higher level of service and comfort for their most loyal customers, your flight booking software needs to be able to keep up and provide this information during the booking process.

Capturing and sharing a customer’s loyalty program information has always been important to only ensure individual customer loyalty programs are credited, but today this information may determine much more.  Everything from which line they have to wait on at the airport to check-in, the order they are allowed to board the plane as well as where they sit on the plane and even onboard service perks like complimentary drinks and meals that they may be entitled to.  Flight booking software needs to provide the right combination of product features to manage your travel agency business and provide operationally efficiencies that increase sales and reduced costs.  It should be easy to use for both agents and customers and provide live access to content.

Airline Reservation Systems Should Be Easy To Use

There are so many different places that consumers can go to purchase the same product, ever wonder why someone would choose to purchase an identical product from one vendor versus another?  The answer usually comes down to price, service or convenience.  Whether you are selling a bottle of designer cologne or a ticket on the airline, odds are consumers will base where they make their purchase based on one or all of these criteria.   Choosing one airline reservation system over another is no different for today’s online traveler.

If you want to reach price-driven consumers, make sure you offer the best value and price.  Your online booking engine must be able to search the best sources for content quickly and cost-effectively for you to offer a competitive price.  This includes the ability to adjust the selling price quickly and easily as well as offering value add offers right in the fare availability display.  Accessing the low rates offered by air consolidators is another way to get the best fares for your clients.  Different air consolidators specialize in different regions however, so you may look for an airline reservation system that allows you simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares.

Travel agents can be a great resource to consumers trying to make sense of all the options available and find the best deal possible.  To provide the expertise and service that only a professional travel agent can offer.  Your customers look to you for your expertise in travel, so make sure your clients get the VIP treatment they deserve.  Make sure your application allows them to select seats, request meals and add loyalty program information to their airline reservation.  Be sure to negotiate the best fares possible with the airlines and promote any special deals or amenities that are made available.

Make sure your airline reservation system is convenient for customers to use how and when they choose.  Today’s consumer has become accustomed to shopping using a variety of devices.  Some exclusively use their smartphone to research and purchase travel online.  Others may start their initial search using their handheld device but switch to a tablet or laptop to complete the purchase.  And you will always have the more traditional consumer who may research options online, but prefer to speak with a travel agent to make the actual booking.

To serve all these customers, your airline reservation system must allow you to distribute your products and serve your customers via several online channels.  For applications that support customers via a call center, you will want to consider an application that is easy to use and requires little agent training.   For those consumers shopping via your website, you’ll need an application that allows you to promote special deals and value add offers.  And for those “on the go” mobile consumers, you’ll need a mobile-ready application that adjusts the screen display to fit various devices.   Ease of use and convenience are important when deciding on the right airline booking solution for your travel business, choosing the right technology partner can be even more important.

Flight Booking Software Started It All

The marketplace for travel products online continues to advance as more and more consumers use some type of online travel technology when making travel arrangements.  There is online travel software available to research and book just about any type of travel product.  Whether someone is booking airline tickets for a quick business trip or they are booking the annual family vacation, there are online travel booking engines that can help guide a user through the entire research and booking process.

One of the most popular online travel products available today is airline reservations. The flight booking software the airlines developed years ago became the backbone of today’s Global Distribution Systems (GDS’s) and many of today’s online travel applications.  There are countless airline reservation systems and booking engines in the market today, so the choice can be somewhat overwhelming even for the most seasoned professional. 

It is always a good idea to start by evaluating the way you currently make airline bookings and identify any improvements that can be made there.  Is your business operating as efficiently as it could when making airline reservations? Is your product priced competitively and easily available for your clients to book?  Has your technology kept pace with your competitors?

This is where a little research on the options available will pay off in the long term. There are airline booking systems designed to meet the requirements of just about anyone selling travel online, but finding flight booking software with the right combination of content sources, price and product features for your business will be key to your success. 

And as today’s consumer continues to shift just about all their purchases online, you will want to make sure your online booking engine is mobile-ready so you can avoid the need to develop a separate, expensive dedicated Mobile APP in the future.  For this, you will want to make sure the flight booking software you choose is using responsive technology that will automatically adjust the screen size based on the type of device being used. 

Next, consider how your customers like to research and book their travel arrangements.  Whether your customer prefers to research and book their flight arrangements online or speak with an experienced travel professional, travel technology should be designed to make it quick and easy for travel agents as well as consumers to use.  Applications should be simple to use and not require the user to input or remember complicated formats. Researching and booking travel online today should be as easy as just a few clicks of the mouse.

You will also want to ensure that any application you choose provides the business management tools that you will need to properly control and manage your business.  At a minimum, you’ll need the ability to adjust the selling price as well as offer targeted sales promotions or include “value adds” to customers using your services.

Finding flight booking software with the right combination of content and product features for your business can be a critical decision, choosing the right technology partner can be just as important.

Airline Booking Engine Options Can Vary

Most airline booking software can provide “live” connectivity with airlines so that the most up to date pricing and availability is used. Some air booking engines even have the ability to search multiple content sources simultaneously for the best price, allowing agency owners the ability to combine their own content with content from other sources. Many travel agents look for an online booking engine that allows them to customize the branding such as headers, footers and style sheets to reflect their agency’s unique identity and provide a seamless online experience for their customers shopping online.

So many of today’s airfares come with specific rules attached to them that choosing the right fare can be confusing.  Some fare rules are important for Consumers to be aware of such as the ability to change their itinerary, class of service or receive a refund on their ticket.  While other fare rules may only make sense to the Travel Agent such as published verses private fares, fare basis codes, combinability, and other GDS information.

The flexibility to choose which information your airline booking engine displays to specific types of users of the application can prove to be an important and valuable tool.  Whether you choose to display the information directly from the GDS or customize the display to contain only the information you want to display can be left up to you.

Look for an airline booking the engine that allows you to set up and control what rules are shown to the user. Many of today’s applications allow you to set up different rules for published verses private fares for example.

The business management tools that an airline booking engine includes is an important factor to consider and something which can vary greatly from system to system.  Most applications include the ability to adjust a product’s selling price, but the level of flexibility defining business rules is where systems can vary tremendously. Most have the ability to adjust selling fares by the airline, but some go much further and allow for Rules to be defined by itinerary, class of service, travel or booking dates and much more.

The ability to easily run reports to track your business and help you make adjustments along the way is also an important consideration when evaluating any air booking engine.   Who are your top customers?  What are the top destinations your customers are interested in? Are your customers finding what they are looking for on your website?  Many applications include reporting tools that track your bookings, but some can even provide search statistics that can let you know quickly and easily what your customers are looking for when they come to your website.

This can be valuable information for a business owner to consider when reviewing their overall product offering as well as negotiating preferential rates with Suppliers.

Choosing an airline booking engine with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision.   Finding a technology the partner that will help you reach today’s mobile consumer with the content they are looking for can be just as important.

Flight Reservation Systems Help Sell More

An easy to use flight reservation system can have your agents selling faster and allow you to customize the look and feel to match your agency’s own brand identify.  Today’s online travel booking engines include robust business rules features that allow agency owners to easily adjust a product’s selling price and deliver the appropriate marketing message to their Users.  Unique and easy to follow process flows can even help you easily expand the products and services you provide your customers.

Whether your clients are making their flight arrangements for the business trip they have to take or the two-week vacation they NEED to take, chances are they may need assistance with a hotel or ground transportation to make their travel arrangements complete.  Today’s custom packaging solutions allow agency owners to pre-package a travel itinerary to be sold online.  The ability to easily combine all the different components of a trip itinerary into a single custom travel package can help you offer clients more services and quickly increase your overall sales volume.  The optional packaging modules available with some travel booking solutions combine the various live supplier connections with the travel booking engine’s innovative rules engine.  Dynamic packaging solutions allow agents or consumers to build their own unique travel packages with live pricing and availability for cruises, flights, and hotels as well as other travel products.

But your travel business will need more than great technology to be successful in selling flights online.  You need to make sure you have access to the lowest fares and best value to serve today’s price driven customer. Your flight reservation system must be able to search the best sources for content quickly and cost-effectively to ensure you offer a competitive price.  Make sure the technology you choose can provide live access to airline content to be sure the most accurate availability and pricing are used.  It helps to negotiate the lowest fares and best deals possible with the airlines when using your own agency credentials and be sure promoting any special deals that are available.   Accessing low rates offered by air consolidators is a great way to easily access the lowest fares available.  Since many air consolidators specialize in specific markets or destinations, you may look for a flight reservation system that allows you to simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares. You will need the ability to easily adjust pricing and perhaps include value add offers right in the fare availability display.

The right flight reservation system can be a great resource for any online The user that is trying to make sense of all the options available and find the best deal possible.  Make sure your agents have the expertise and tools to provide the topnotch service that only a professional travel agent can offer.  Finding online airline reservation software with the right combination of features for your travel business can be a difficult and critical decision to make.  Finding a technology partner that can help your travel business drive efficiency through innovation can be just as important.

Putting the Technology Puzzle Together

For many businesses, internal technology systems come together like a huge puzzle that fits multiple pieces tightly together to form a complete operating system. For example, the flight booking software required to operate an airline must perform multiple functions quickly and easily. Systems used to operate an airline must be accurate and incorporate important functions such as departure control and In-flight systems, passenger reservation management systems as well as the distribution of airline schedules and fares.  This includes access to seat maps& meal selection, interface with airline frequent flyer programs and access to onboard amenities is all things that a flight booking engine needs.

Flight booking software is one of the most important pieces of any airline’s technology puzzle and the flexibility for an airline’s system to easily interface with its distribution network has been a priority with most airlines for years.  Many of the older legacy systems that some airlines were using became outdated as technology has evolved, forcing them to migrate to newer and more flexible platforms.  The same is true for many traditional as well as online travel agencies.  Having the right travel booking solution can be central to your business.  Whether you are selling one of your client’s tickets for a business trip or a week’s vacation at a resort, they are probably going to need to book a flight to make their travel arrangements complete.

For today’s price driven customer, you’ll need to make sure you have access to the best value and price.  Your online flight booking engine must be able to search the best sources for content quickly and easily in order for you to offer a competitive price to your customers.  You will also need the ability to easily adjust the selling price and perhaps include value add offers right in the fare availability display.  Accessing low rates offered by air consolidators is one great way to ensure you are offering the best fares to your clients.  Since many air consolidators specialize in specific markets or destinations, you may look for an airline booking engine that allows you to simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares.

Travel agents can be a great resource to consumers trying to make sense of all the options available and find the best deal possible, so make sure your agents have the expertise and tools to provide the topnotch service that a professional travel agent can offer. Negotiating the best rates and amenities with Suppliers combined with promoting any special deals that are available will help keep your business competitive. A good travel agency can make sure consumers get the best price as well as the VIP treatment many of today’s consumers look for.  Make sure the flight booking software your application uses allows your agents and/or clients to select seats, request meals and add loyalty program information to airline reservations.

Identifying the right combination of content and product features for your flight booking engine can be critical for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner to help your business grow can be just as important.

Your Flight Booking Software Should Provide Options

There are so many different types of travel related content available and so many different online travel technology solutions available today that it is sometimes difficult to know which the best fit for your needs is. While some travel booking software may have the great functionality and the features you need, it may not have the type of Supplier content your clients are looking for.  On the flip side, you may find an online booking solution with the perfect content source, but find that it is missing the functionality and features you need.

If you are selling multiple travel products, you may want your booking engine to access hotel content using one source, but look to use a totally different connection for your flight booking software or perhaps several other sources when booking certain destinations.  Finding the all the right travel related content sources in a single online booking solution that has the features and functionality you need can be overwhelming at first and a bit of a challenge at best.

The solution to your problems may be found with travel booking software that includes the features and functionality you need to properly manage your business as well as a flexible supplier connection gateway which will allow you to access different content sources for different travel products.  Some of the more advanced travel technology solutions even allow you to choose specific content sources by Supplier, providing the ultimate in content source flexibility.  Say you want your flight booking software to use your GDS ID to make most of your airline bookings, except one or two where you prefer to use an air consolidator to ensure you offer the most competitive price.   Your travel booking software needs to be able to quickly and easily support these different connections and know when to use each.

Flight booking software also need the ability to quickly and easily define business rules so you can maximize profits and include value add offers or special deals in the availability display.  Your online booking engine needs to be able to keep up with all the different specials and promotions that Suppliers make available today.  Selling price adjustments and value add offers should be easy to define and have the flexibility to define a rule by a specific market, travel dates, booking dates, supplier uses and more.

And finally to serve today’s growing number of consumers who use their mobile device to purchase travel products as well as those that switch between devices during the research and booking process, many companies are building travel technology solutions that use responsive technology that automatically adjusts the screen layout based on the type of device being used.  For those looking for a dedicated Mobile App, there are several companies designing and developing custom Apps.

Finding flight booking software that has the right functionality and the specific content your customers need is an important decision for your travel business. Finding the right technology partner to assist you can be even more important.

A Flight Booking Engine Needs Flexibility

Access to the right content combined with powerful business rules and flexible distribution capabilities is key to any travel business today. While this may be true in all sectors of the travel industry, it is particularly true when it comes to a flight booking engine. Travel technology solutions that allow a business to aggregate airline content from multiple sources and distribute it to a network of affiliated agencies or home-based agents can be a valuable tool in today's competitive online marketplace.

There are multiple content source options for a flight booking engine to choose from today. The ability to search multiple sources for airline content can be important for those businesses that are taking advantage of the special rates and content that many air consolidators or aggregators bring to the table. For example, some air consolidators focus on a specific geographic or ethnic market and work with a network of affiliated agents to book airline seats for their customers using the consolidator or host agency's credentials. Air consolidators aggregate sales with airlines and leverage their overall volumes for better prices and access to special deals. Some focus on specific destinations or regions of the world and are experts about every aspect of travel there. Others serve specific ethnic or specialty groups and have developed a vast network of sub-agents deep-rooted in a specific market. By combining your own agency's fares with those of an air consolidator or aggregator you work closely with, you can ensure that you always offer the most competitive price and provide your clients with the best value possible.

The ability to expand your agency footprint while taking advantage of what these specialists have to offer can be a valuable tool for you to have as well. Your flight booking engine should allow you to easily extend your reach to serve customers whether it be in person, on the phone or online. And for those always "on the go" consumers, you'll need a mobile ready application that adjusts the display to fit the screen of the device being used.

The flight reservation system you choose must allow you to easily define business rules that automatically control price adjustments and highlight special value add offers as well as targeted promotions. It's best to have the flexibility to control your business rules, so make sure the application has the flexibility to make price adjustments calculated as a fixed dollar amount ($) -or- a percentage (%) of the fare and apply a specific rule to certain sales channel or affiliate group. Business Rules should be easy to enter with the ability to define filters for a specific airline, flight number or class of service. With airline fares and seat availability changing so frequently, it can be nearly impossible for the most experienced travel agent to keep up with the latest deals.

Finding a flight booking engine that provides the right airline content, powerful business rules, and flexible distribution capabilities is important for any travel business. Choosing the right technology partner can be just as important.

Travel Booking Engines Should Be Full Service

There are so many different options for consumers to purchase travel products, so what makes a consumer choose one retailer versus another? The answer usually comes down to price, service or convenience. Whether you are selling a bottle of fine wine or a hotel room for the night, chances are one or all of these criteria will be considered by your customers when they make their purchase. Choosing which travel booking engine to use is no different for today's tech-savvy online traveler.

First, make sure you offer the best value and price to reach today's price-driven consumers. Your online booking engine must be able to search the best sources for content to make sure the best pricing and availability is used. Accessing the low rates offered by air consolidators is one way to get the best fares for your clients. Different air consolidators do specialize in different regions, so you'll want flight booking software that allows you to simultaneously search multiple air consolidators for the best fares.

You'll also need the ability to adjust the selling price quickly and easily. You should look for a travel booking engine that allows you to include value add offers right in the fare availability display and easily provide the expertise and service that only a professional travel professional can offer. Travel agents can be a great resource to find the best deal possible and help consumers who are trying to make sense of all the options available. You are your customers travel expert, so make sure you give your clients the VIP treatment they deserve. Flight booking software should allow both agents and consumers shopping online to select seats, request meals and add loyalty program information to their airline reservation. You'll want to negotiate the best deals possible with the airlines and promote any special deals or amenities that are available.

Make sure your travel booking engine is convenient for customers to use and remember today's consumer has become accustomed to shopping using a variety of devices. Some exclusively use their handheld device to research and purchase travel. Others may start their initial search using their handheld device but switch to a tablet or laptop to complete the purchase. And you will always have the more traditional consumer who may research options online, but prefer to speak with a travel professional when making travel plans.

To serve all these customers, your online travel booking engine must allow you to distribute your products and serve your customers via several online channels. You will need an application that supports Business to Business (B2B) for those customers using call centers. For this, you will want to consider an application that is easy to use and requires little agent training. For those consumers shopping via your website, you'll need a Business to Consumer (B2B) application that allows you to promote special deals and value add offers. And of course for those "on the go" consumers, you'll need a mobile ready application to fit any device. Ease of use and convenience are important when deciding on the right airline booking solution for your travel business, choosing the right technology partner.

Localize Your Global Flight Booking Software

Advances in technology come at such a fast pace that it is not uncommon for many consumers to be purchasing the "latest" version of a product when there is already "buzz" regarding the next generation of the product coming out in less than a year. Keeping up with the latest technology can also be an important decision to keep your business competitive and running efficiently.

Centralized flight booking software with Live connections to airline content along with flexible business rules to manage the product offered customers is key for any online travel business. But launching a travel booking engine globally involves a lot more than multi-currency and multi-language capabilities. As many of those expanding into new markets quickly realize, there can be a huge difference between a "global" product which is generic enough to work in several markets versus a product that has been localized to meet a markets specific needs. It is not just the Language or currency that may vary by different countries may vary, so do many of the regulations regarding consumers and the disclosure of information during the selling process. For example, many countries require unique information be displayed in the sales process some may need access to specific local content to properly serve a market. These variables require flight booking software with a layout that can be quickly tailored to meet local requirements combined with access to critical local market content.

While simply translating an application into a new language may be a quick way of entering a new market, there can be some risk involved with this simple approach. Due to local nuances with Languages, your brand message may be unclear or miscommunicated if not translated correctly or localized to account for regional dialects. For example, the Portuguese spoken in Portugal is much different than in Brazil. Spanish spoken Spain can be dramatically different than that used in Latin America. You may know by now that some things are described by using different words depending on the country. For example in most of the Spanish-speaking world, Strawberry translates to Fresa. However, this fruit is called frutilla in Argentina. When used in Mexico, Fresa describes a young person that is (acting) preppy and is used in a negative way. Mexican teenagers use it to describe the typical superficial, conceited, egocentric, and wealthy Mexican.

Flight booking software used in different markets needs to also provide for the ability to target certain customers or markets with specific marketing messages or special offers. The ability to quickly and easily target special offers by departure city or destination can be a critical tool needed to communicate where the best deals are or when a specific offer can be found. Some travel businesses even want to offer a discount to customers who book online and encourage bookings via this cost-effective channel. Or perhaps a lower the price based on the time of day or the day of week booking is made. The possibilities are endless and your ideas should not be limited by the constraints of your flight booking software. Finding the right technology partner to help take your business global is important, finding a technology partner who understands the need to localize before you can globalize in even more important.

Flight Reservation Systems Should Build Packages

Dynamic packaging is a new component that has become a key part of today's flight reservation system. The ability to combine airline reservations with a hotel, cruise or tours has emerged as a major revenue source for anyone selling travel today. This extends the process from simply selling a flight to selling the entire vacation experience. And packaging capability is a crucial requirement for cruise booking platforms for example, especially in specific markets such as Australia, Asia and China where packaging increases the ability to sell a cruise itself.

Creating a dynamic package is also essential for the millennial traveler who wants customized experiences. Today's solution should allow a user to easily compare multiple itineraries including individual components and pre-built packages. A sophisticated rules engine can help to deliver the right marketing message and inform the User of all promotions that a Supplier and/or the agency may be offering. Price adjustments to a product selling price need to be able to be made quickly and easily to maintain your competitiveness in the online market. Rich Media should be integrated in the search process to simplify the shopping experience. Users should be able to choose the components they need and dynamically create a custom package. Helpful features such as a pre-defined list of hotels that match a flight itinerary should be offered.

A database that maps the closest hotels to each airport or city location eliminates the guesswork and can match the hotel and flights based on the search defined. All through the process, the total price of the package being built should be clearly visible to the User creating a day by day itinerary for easy review.

A flight reservation system should also provide agents the ability to save a Package as a quote to be repriced at a later time to further simplify their workflow. It should track detailed financials, providing an agency owner the details of what the customer owes the agency and the agency owes to the Supplier. The financial details captured should also allow the agency to track their margins by product and the package. Today's applications have taken a manual and tedious process that often involved multiple team members and tools to build and custom package and simplified it. Custom packaging can make the online comparable shopping difficult.

And with more of the world's population using the internet to research and book travel, the ease and accessibility of a flight reservation system via mobile devices is critical. No matter if someone starts their travel research using their mobile device and then complete their reservation with their travel agent, or they research, shop and book everything online. Your business needs to be there when they begin their search, so make sure the application you choose is mobile ready.

Finding flight reservation system with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer with the content they are looking for can be just as important.

Time To Upgrade Your Flight Reservation System

It is no secret that just about every industry has been focusing more resources on e-commerce solutions as more people rely on the internet for just about everything. However many travel companies have had their own, unique challenges developing and enhancing their flight reservation system. Some are still using solutions built with legacy technology and are unable to easily add new content or make simple changes to their User Interface. The architecture used by these legacy systems is not at all as advanced or flexible as that of today's distributed and layered applications. Many legacy systems hardcode business policies using inflexible, predefined process flows. This makes any integration with customer relationship management systems and Internet-based business applications difficult and sometimes simply impossible. And if falling behind from a technical standpoint isn't bad enough, it has become increasingly difficult for companies to find developers who want to maintain applications written in languages that are not widely used in today's technology.

The internet revolution is usually a key driving force behind a company's decision to switch away from a legacy system. E-commerce sales can save a business time and money making it the most cost effective method for many to deliver products to customers. The "state of the art" technology available today can help a software solution provider design and develop a flight reservation system that is flexible & fully scalable. Some can even provide the ability to customize the application to maintain a company's own unique brand identity.

Experience has shown that some of the best software solutions are the result of collaboration. Software Developers, Suppliers and Users can all provide valuable input to help design and develop the ultimate travel booking engine. Each of these entities play an important role in the process and any flight reservation system should meet each of their individual needs. To serve today's growing number of consumers who use their mobile device to purchase travel products as well as those that switch between devices during the research and booking process, many companies are building applications that use responsive technology. Now, regardless of the type of device a customer uses to access a website, online applications built using responsive technology can automatically adjust the screen layout based on the type of device being used. And for those looking to have a dedicated Mobile App, there are several companies designing and developing custom mobile Apps. Some offer mobile applications as an optional "add-on" to an existing Booking Engine while others develop the Apps independently. Either approach can provide the online consumer the ease and mobility of using their smart phone or tablet. Mobile technology is not just for big brand names either.

Travel technology companies can now provide any size travel agency affordable applications built on the latest technology with the powerful tools to they need to compete with any size travel business. Finding a flight reservation system with the right combination of options for your travel business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.

Overwhelmed By Flight Booking Options?

Whether you are looking for a simple home repair or a major purchase for your business, the stress and confusion experienced when researching options for any product or service can be overwhelming. We have all had a similar anxiety ridden experience at some point and with the countless number of flight booking software solutions available in the market today, choosing the right air booking engine for your travel business is no different. First you need to identify what products your clients are looking to book to properly decide what content you'll need to gain access to. One thing you'll want to consider may be preferred relationships you may have with an airline or any alliances the airlines may have each other. The seamless services these airline alliances provide passengers go far beyond interline fares or the linking of frequent flyer programs and can significantly enhance your customer's overall travel experience.

But airlines are not the only sector in the travel industry to benefit from forming alliances. Over the years, many travel agencies have been forced to consolidate with other agencies and/or become a member of one of the large travel agency consortia groups. These groups are able to negotiate the best rates, higher commissions and special offers for their members as well as provide other operational and marketing assistance as part of the overall membership package.

One phenomenon that resulted from agency consolidation was the explosive growth of "home based" agents. As a result, the ability to expand the distribution of an agency's airfares to "affiliates" of their agency quickly and easily is an important tool for many air consolidators in the market today. Most agency owners still want to maintain their own unique company brand with their customers however, so the ability to easily expand the access of your flight booking software to affiliated agencies while maintaining their individual brand identity can be crucial.

With so many airfares and so many agencies forming alliances, the ability for flight booking software to simultaneously search multiple content sources for the best airfare can be a competitive advantage. In today's constantly changing market, travel agencies need the flexibility to control a product's selling price to maintain a competitive edge. Today's travel agency flight reservation systems come with features that allow the selling price to be adjusted based on an extensive range of criteria including by airline, booking date, travel date and class of service. Some even allow you to make adjustments based on the distribution channel used to make the booking.

Some flight booking software has even kept pace with the consumer trend to use mobile devices to research and book airline tickets. "Mobile friendly" airline booking engines are available that automatically adjust the screen size and layout based on the type of device being used.

The time you invest in identifying your product requirements and researching the different options available to you will be time well spent. Finding flight booking software with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision for your business. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer can be just as important.

Travel Plans Often Start With Booking a Flight

When people start out to make travel plans, they frequently start with an airline reservation. This makes access to flight booking software critically important to the success of any travel agency business. The right airline reservation system can help make researching the flight options available for a particular destination and checking prices a lot easier. But there are so many options out there, you'll want to research the different options available in the market and be prepared to do your homework. First, make sure you understand your customer's needs and shopping preferences. Then do some quick research of the different booking engine solutions available and what content you might want to include. For example, you may want consider flight booking software that is flexible enough to be used with a packaging module that can offer a hotel room with the flight. This may be an excellent way for you to expand your overall sales volumes while helping you serve your customers better and build up customer loyalty in the process.

The airline reservation system you choose needs to be able to provide your travel business the access the airline content your customers need at the price they are looking for. It should also include administrative tools that allow you to pre-define business rules so you can easily adjust a product's selling price or offer targeted promotions to customers. Most of all, it should be easy to use and reduce the amount of time to complete a travel booking. And consider using mobile ready flight booking software to meet the demands of today's mobile consumer.

Many of the air booking engines available today enable customers to define their initial search by a variety of criteria including a specific airline and class of service or nearby airports and flexible travel dates. A significant number of online booking engines actually access airlines via a connection with large GDS companies for live airline availability and fares to ensure the most up to date information is provided. Some are even capable of simultaneously searching multiple content sources at a time, allowing even a small agency access to not only their own fares, but those of an agency they may partner with. These online booking engines have been tested and certified within the GDS environment, so security and stability is sure to be provided. This new breed of flight booking software can also provide travel agents with easy to use administrative tools to manage their business. Revenue management tools can quickly mark up or discount a product's selling price by website, airline, itinerary and even class of service to adjust a selling fare quickly. Many even support multiple languages and currencies, making expansion into new markets easy.

Finding an airline reservation system with the right combination of options for your online business can be a critical in determining your success. Finding a technology partner that will help you reach today's mobile consumer where and how they shop for air travel can be just as important.

It Started with Flight Booking Software

Today, no travel technology solution is complete without some type of flight booking software included. The airline industry was an early pioneer of automating the sale of travel and introduced the first computer reservation systems decades ago. I started my career as an airline reservation agent and remember attending weeks of training to learn how to use the first in-house computerized reservation systems. Gone were the days when we would scramble around the reservation center to find the actual "Book" that kept track of the customers booked on a certain flight. The "Book" was replaced by clunky green screen monitors connected to a massive Computer Reservation Systems also known as the CRS. We were required to memorize cryptic formats to check schedule availability, pricing and to complete a reservation. While many complained about the time and effort it took to learn how to use the new flight booking systems, it wasn't long before everyone saw just how much more efficient it was compared to using the old reservation books.

These airline reservation systems continued to evolve, adding updated flight information and other services to assist customers and travel agents. Airlines quickly discovered the benefit of expanding the access to these systems to their best travel agent customers, providing them instant access to availability and pricing as well as the ability to book flights for their customers.

These early centralized computer reservation systems began to add more features and additional travel components such as hotels and car rentals and eventually evolved into early versions of the first generation of Global Distribution Systems or GDSs. These computer reservation systems were deployed in travel agency offices worldwide and became critical for both airlines looking to increase the distribution of their product as well as the travel agents looking to serve their customers more efficiently.

It wasn't long before the internet revolution exploded and suddenly consumers were shopping and purchasing just about everything online. As these online travel technology solutions became more widely used, many travel agents identified the need for online travel technology solutions that automate processes and are easily customized to support their own unique brand identity. Today's travel agent needs both a Business to Business (B2B) application as well as a Business to Consumer (B2C) application that automate processes and increase revenues while reducing the time and effort it takes a travel agent or consumer to complete a transaction.

Travel Agents need to be able to quickly adjust a product's selling price or include special offers right in the availability display. Flight booking software needs to have the flexibility to define a business rule to a specific market, travel or booking dates, suppliers and more. Applications should be designed to meet the unique requirements of Global Marketplaces and easily handle multiple currencies as well as multiple languages.

Early adoption of automation combined with the fact that a flight reservation is often the starting point when making travel plans, make flight booking software a key component for most travel technology solutions. Finding a travel technology solution with the right combination of options for your business can be critical to the success of your travel business. Finding a technology partner with solutions to help you easily and cost effectively reach today's mobile consumer where and how they shop for travel can be just as important.

Is All Flight Booking Software The Same?

While much of the flight booking software available in the market today appears the same on the surface, there can be huge differences hidden in the flexibility and tools some provide that can give you an edge over the competition. When evaluating any travel booking software, you need to consider if it provides your business the tools it needs to succeed in today's highly competitive marketplace. Your business needs to be prepared for battle and have the right weapons and battle plan in place to win.

Your online booking engine can be your own "Trojan Horse" in this regard and help you increase your revenues, gain new customers and expand your business into new markets before your competition realizes what you're up to. A little research will help you find an application that provides the administrative tools you need to manage your business the way you want. The flight booking software you choose should be a flexible & fully scalable application that easily grows with your business while maintaining your unique brand identity.

It's no secret that today's traveler shops and purchases travel using a variety of methods and tools. Some may still call or visit their travel agent while others may choose to shop online using their laptop or even their mobile device. You'll need an application built using responsive technology that automatically adjusts the user screens to fit the type of device being used to capture today's mobile consumer.

Your travel booking engine needs to provide both "business to business" (B2B) as well as "business to consumer" (B2C) interfaces. You may even want to consider an application that allows you to extend your reach to affiliate agency websites via a "business to business to consumer" (B2B2C) interface. Make sure the booking engine you choose provides you the ability to extend your reach the way you require.

You'll want an application with easy to use administrative tools that allow you to quickly manage your business. For example, look for an application with an administration section that gives you the control to quickly define preset business rules to adjust a product's selling price or include value add offers right in the availability screen. This helps ensure you always offer your customers the best value. Business rules should even provide the flexibility to have your agents, affiliated agencies and websites following a unique set of business rules that you predefine specifically for each.

If you partner with another agency or use air consolidators, you'll want flight booking software that allows you to automatically simultaneously search multiple sources to make sure you are always offering your clients the best airfare available.

An online booking engine should result in operational efficiency and reduced costs for your business while helping you gain new customers and expand your business into new markets. The application you choose should be a flexible & fully scalable application that will help your business easily grow while protecting your own brand identity. Finding a travel booking engine with the right combination of flexibility and features can be critical to the success of any travel business. Finding the right technology partner to work with is an important first step.

Open Up New Horizons

The advancements in air travel over the past 50 years have changed the world. The popularity of Airline travel has exploded as more and more people travel and are exposed to different cultures. It seems like the more someone travels, the more likely they are to understand and appreciate what different cultures can offer. Air travel opens up new horizons for individuals and creates a better understanding of what different cultures have to offer. A good travel experience is the best way for people from different cultures to embrace one another, making the world a better place for everyone in the process.

Early versions of the airline reservation system were the first tools used by travel agents to make flight arrangements during a period when the travel industry was experiencing explosive growth. Today's flight booking software can not only help book a flight but it can also assign a passenger's seat, select their meal preference and even track a passenger's frequent flyer mileage. Just as air travel can open up new horizons for any human, many of the advanced online booking engines available in the market today can open up new horizons for your travel business.

The introduction and rapid adoption of the internet as a marketplace selling just about anything has certainly opened up new horizons for those selling travel. Retailers now have the ability to promote and sell their products and services online anytime during the day, regardless of what day of the week it is. With one of every three adults being what is referred to as "Millennials" by the year 2020, your airline reservation system must be designed to provide the flexibility to serve these consumers how and when they choose. This is generation grew up connected online and they are the largest users of social media and mobile technology by far today. As a result, today's travel software must be mobile ready and designed to provide the flexibility to serve consumers how and when they choose.

With competition selling airline tickets as tough as it is, it is important that the flight booking software you choose to use has the administrative features you'll need to properly manage your business. You'll want to be able to quickly and easily adjust a product's selling price and include value add offers to make sure you are always providing the best value for your customers. Quick and easy access to reporting tools will help you easily track your business can help identify areas for improvement or potential new opportunities. The ability to quickly and easily extend the reach of your booking engine so it can be used by affiliated agents and websites may also be something for you to consider.

It is best to start with a review of your current business processes and look for areas for improvement and opportunity. Your flight booking software should be easy to use, help you increase your revenues while reducing the time and effort required to complete a transaction. Finding an airline reservation system with the right combination of options for your business can be a critical decision. Finding a technology partner that will help you open up new horizons for your business can be just as important.

Flight Booking Software Should Help Your Business Compete

It is tough for any size agency to compete with the large online travel agencies buying power with the airlines today, but there are tools available today that can help level the playing field. Choosing the right flight booking software is one way of getting your business online and helping you start to compete effectively. The ultimate goal being to provide your clients with a unique online booking solution that results in operational efficiencies and reduces the overall cost of making a booking for all parties involved.

With ever changing airline schedules and airfare wars, an airline reservation system needs to provide Live access to airline content to be truly sure the most up to date availability and pricing is used. Some air booking engines even offer the ability to allow users to simultaneously search multiple content sources, saving valuable time when searching for the best airfare for a specific itinerary.

With so many suppliers offering so many different deals, keeping track of price adjustments and promoting special offers can be a full-time job for many travel website owners. It is almost impossible to keep pace with changing airfares and the multitude of special promotions that are available simultaneously. Today's travel booking solution must provide the capability to quickly adjust a selling price and advertise value add offerings included right in the availability display.

The right airline reservation system can help simplify the process with a powerful business Rule features that allow business owners to easily adjust a product's selling price, include value add offers in the availability display and more while supporting both B2B and B2C channels. In addition to the basic business rule functions such as marking up or discounting an airfare, some solutions incorporate custom rule types that even define additional filters to determine which type of booking or selling channel a specific business rule should apply to. Some include filters to define a Rule by affiliate, supplier, departure, destination and more.

You'll want your airline reservation system to include revenue management Tools with the ability to mark up or mark down a product's selling price by airline, itinerary, class of service, dates and more. Some of the more advanced flight booking software includes features like the ability to set up automatic emails to Customers' and /or Agents advising them that a payment is due.

Reporting capabilities should not only include basic booking statistics but also search statistics to determine what customers may be looking for when searching on your website, but not finding with the airline reservation system you are providing. This type of information can be potentially valuable when negotiating private airfares and commissions with suppliers or defining price adjustments to be included in the air booking engine display.

Flight booking software should provide with the tools needed to manage a business and provide operational efficiencies that increase sales and reduced costs. It should be easy to use for both agents and customers and provide live access to airline content. Finding the right online booking solution can be an important decision for your travel business and finding the right technology partner can be even more important.

How Booking A Flight Has Changed

Gone are the days when making a flight reservation was a time consuming and complex process.

Today just about anyone can book a flight quickly and easily using an online airline reservation system. The major airlines launched the first generation of flight booking software many years ago in an effort to automate bookings as their flight networks and number of bookings grew at an amazing pace.

Flight booking software has been around for decades and initially these internal airline systems were used by airline reservation staff to confirm bookings across their flight network. It was not long before the airlines began offering Travel Agents their own version of these systems for them to use as oppose to wasting time and resources calling the airline reservation center.

Today's online air booking engines are a result of years of technological evolution and have helped lead the online revolution in selling travel. Whether consumers use an airline website or one of the many online booking tools provided by travel agents, today's airline passenger is just a few clicks away from having their air travel arrangements confirmed.

Today's online booking engines can provide the tools for any size agency's website to compete with even the major online travel players. There are a countless number of online travel solutions available in the market today and choosing the right airline reservation system for your travel business can be critical decision. You need to identify what type of travel and how your clients prefer to book and decide what content you'll need access to.

Online booking engines for travel agents are designed to help travel agencies reduce their overall administrative costs while expanding their customer base and increasing revenues. Today's traveler research and book flights using a variety of devices, including their mobile phone or tablet. The increasing popularity of the air mobile app has been driven by a population that is always on the move and prefers not to carry their laptop with them. All they need to do today is to download an air booking mobile app on their cell phone and log-in. The features of an air mobile app can easily enable any travel business to cater to their clientele on the move.

An easy to use online booking engine allows agents to be trained quickly and has them selling faster. Some of the travel booking software available today can provide robust revenue management and reporting tools that give an agency owner the powerful controls they need to manage their business.

The introduction of the airline reservation systems has dramatically influenced how all travel products are researched and booked today. Flexible and customizable, the today's online travel booking engines are easily customized to support an agency's unique brand identity and selling style.

Today's technology options allow any size travel agency to compete with the largest OTAs while still providing the personalized service that booking with an individual professional travel agent can provide. With so much technology available, finding the right online booking engine can be a critical decision for your online business. Finding the right technology company to partner with can be even more important.

Content, Business Rules and Distribution Are the Building Blocks for Online Success

Access to the right content with powerful business rules and flexible distribution capabilities are key to any travel business. Flight Booking Software that allows a business to aggregate travel content from multiple sources and distribute a Flight Reservation System to a network of affiliated agencies or home based agents can be a valuable tool in today’s competitive online marketplace.

There are multiple content source options for a Flight Reservation System to choose from today when booking a flight. The ability to search multiple sources for content with your own online booking engine can be important for those businesses that are taking advantage of the special rates and content that many consolidators or aggregators bring to the table. Some air consolidators focus on a specific geographic or ethnic markets for example and work with a network of affiliated agencies to book airline seats for their customers using the consolidator or host agency’s credentials. These consolidators are able to aggregate sales with suppliers such as airlines and leverage their overall volumes for better prices and access to special deals. Some focus on specific destinations or regions of the world and are experts about every aspect of travel there. Others serve certain ethnic or specialty groups and have developed a vast network of sub agents entrenched in these markets. By using your own fares and those of air consolidators or aggregators that you work closely with, you are able to remain competitive and provide your clients with the best value possible whether they shop online via your website or contact you directly.

The ability to expand your agency footprint while taking advantage of what the specialists have to offer can be a valuable tool for you to have as well. Your Flight Reservation System should allow you to easily extend the reach of your agency to serve customers whether in person, via a call center or online. You may also want to consider an application that allows you to easily extend your online air booking engine to other agencies and home based agents as well. And of course for those always “on the go” mobile consumers you’ll need a mobile ready application that adjusts the screen display to fit the device they are using.

Flight Booking Software must allow you to easily control business rules such as price adjustments, value add offers and targeted promotions. You’ll need the flexibility to control your business rules a variety of ways, so here is where you want to make sure the application has the flexibility you’ll need. Price adjustments should have the flexibility to be calculated as a fixed dollar amount ($) -or- a percentage (%) of the fare and apply to certain sales channels or affiliate groups. Business Rules should be easy to enter with the ability to define filters for a specific airline, flight number or class of service. With the way that airline fares and seat availability so frequently it can be nearly impossible for the most experienced travel agent to keep up with where to find the latest deals. A flexible and easy to use Business Rules feature can help you manage.

Finding Flight Booking Software that provides the right content, powerful business rules and flexible distribution capabilities is an important decision for any travel business, so choosing the right technology partner can be just as important.