American Airlines & Fareportal Sign 5-Year Agreement

Carrier & OTA to continue successful partnership

Another positive note for the air travel industry, as Fareportal, the travel technology company that powers leading online travel agencies CheapOair and One Travel, announced this week the continuation of their long-term relationship with major US carrier American Airlines.  The 5-year agreement underscores the importance of Fareportal’s role in supporting the airline’s new Main Plus offer, which provides a Main Cabin Extra or Preferred seat along with an additional free checked bag and Group 5 boarding.  

“Since 2012, Fareportal has been a strong partner to American Airlines,” said Sam S. Jain, Fareportal CEO & Founder.  “We’re extremely pleased with the confidence in our brands demonstrated by this multi-year agreement.”

The value of Fareportal’s technology focus in expanding the relationship is evident.

“Fareportal and American Airlines both understand the importance of providing the best content in the places where customers prefer to shop. Our NDC integration has created a successful platform to support those goals,” commented Chema Alvarado, Fareportal EVP, Supplier Relations.

“Fareportal has been an important partner to American for years and entering this next phase in our relationship together is an exciting milestone,” said Neil Geurin, Managing Director of Digital and Distribution for American Airlines. “We’re optimistic about the successful NDC integration and look forward to making it even easier for customers to access the content that interests them in the future.”

After a tough 2020, the travel industry is seeing signs of renewed interest in travel from the American consumer.

About Fareportal  
Fareportal is a travel technology company powering a next generation travel concierge service. Utilizing its innovative technology and company-owned and operated global contact centers, Fareportal has built strong industry partnerships providing customers access to over 600 airlines, a million hotels, and hundreds of car rental companies around the globe. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and One Travel, Fareportal enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or live chat. Fareportal provides its airline partners with access to a broad customer base that books high-yielding international and domestic flight, hotel, and other travel and add-on ancillaries. 

Travel eCommerce Advances with Lufthansa Group Airlines/Fareportal NDC Announcement

Flight booking innovation improves customer experience

Continuing a string of flight technology booking innovations, Fareportal, the travel technology company that powers leading online travel agencies CheapOair and One Travel is pleased to announce the launch of New Distribution Capability (NDC) to ensure customers purchasing tickets on any airline of the Lufthansa Group, which include Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and Brussels Airlines, via Fareportal sites have access to their full range of products and services.

“We’ve always emphasized technical innovation at Fareportal and are therefore very pleased to be able to support our valued partner Lufthansa Group airlines in their NDC integration with a hybrid travel agency,” said Sam S. Jain, Fareportal CEO & Founder.

For Fareportal, this is the latest in a series of NDC integrations with major airlines.

“Lufthansa Group airlines are committed to constantly enhancing their customer experience, and so is Fareportal. NDC integration is part of that commitment. We’ll now be offering customers the ability to easily purchase seats, bags, branded fares, ancillary bundles, and “Continuous Pricing” price offers,” remarked Chema Alvarado, Fareportal Executive Vice President, Supplier Relations.

“We are excited to enter into this partnership with Fareportal fostering modern airline retailing to the benefit of our customers,” said Frank Naeve, Vice President of Sales, The Americas, Lufthansa Group. “Jointly we aim at developing a unique customer experience and are committed to shaping the industry with distribution innovation.”

The launch is scheduled for early April 2021, just ahead of the generally anticipated uptick in demand for travel expected by travel experts this spring/summer.

About Fareportal  
Fareportal is a travel technology company powering a next-generation travel concierge service. Utilizing its innovative technology and company owned and operated global contact centers, Fareportal has built strong industry partnerships providing customers access to over 600 airlines, a million hotels, and hundreds of car rental companies around the globe. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and One Travel, Fareportal enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or live chat. Fareportal provides its airline partners with access to a broad customer base that books high-yielding international and domestic flight, hotel and other travel and add-on ancillaries. 

About The Lufthansa Group
The Lufthansa Group is a globally operating airline group. In its home market of Europe it plays a leading role. The Lufthansa Group is made up of the business segments Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services. All business segments are among the leading providers in their respective sectors. The Network Airlines business segment includes the airlines Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. Eurowings focuses on point-to-point traffic, especially on short-haul routes. The Aviation Services include in particular the business segments Logistics, MRO and Catering.

US Travel on the Rise as Summer Approaches

Airline passengers per day at US airports now topping 1,000,000

According to leading online travel agency CheapOair.com, Americans are ready to travel, and actively booking their Summer 2021 getaways. As warm weather months get closer airline ticket sales are increasing, with an average lead time from booking to date of travel of 55 days. This points to a robust summer travel season unfolding in mid to late May of this year. Interest in vacations is also increasing, and trends are emerging on who is traveling, and where they are going.

Among CheapOair’s observations:

  • Honolulu and Las Vegas remain top destinations for couples, with traveling twosomes representing 70% and 82% respectively of bookings to those locales.
  • Solo travelers have increased from 15% in January to a noteworthy 25% in March.
  • Similarly, family travel is on the upswing, rising from 9% of total in January to 15% of bookings in March.

Top Vacation Destinations/Traveler Disposition

Market% Couple% solo% family
Miami553013
Las Vegas82107
Cancun63159
Honolulu701513
San Juan, PR483121
Los Angeles63289
Tampa433422
Punta Cana, DR631324
Ft. Lauderdale562320
Orlando501335

“According to data from the TSA, passengers going through US airports in March is consistently over 1,000,000 per day. That’s a significant increase over just one month ago and demonstrates America’s growing willingness to travel,” said Sam S. Jain, CEO & Founder of Fareportal, the company behind online travel agencies CheapOair and One Travel. He continues, “We can see consumer confidence growing, particularly evident in the increasing number of families booking future travel.”

Please note: With COVID-19 still prevalent, be sure to check local travel regulations and notices for any restrictions, rules, and safety guidelines that may be in place. For additional information please visit the CDC website for up-to-date health and wellness information. 

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About CheapOair
CheapOair is an online travel agency that specializes in providing cheap flights and great last-minute flight deals for travelers worldwide. Consumers can book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or live chat. Part of Fareportal’s family of travel brands, CheapOair bridges the gap between an online travel agency and a traditional agency with travel agents available 7 days a week to help find great prices on flight tickets to global destinations on over 600 airlines, a million hotels, and 100s of car rental companies. Follow CheapOair on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram for travel inspiration and helpful travel tips.