Tour operator pre-packaged vacations now offered to many sunny destinations

November 27, 2014 — With the winter holiday travel season upon us, CheapOair.ca has launched tour operator pre-packaged vacations at competitive prices in an effort to give Canadian travellers more options to sunny destinations, such as the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico.

The mostly all-inclusive pre-packaged vacations include flights, accommodations, transfers, drinks and meals, and are offered in addition to CheapOair.ca’s existing flight search and booking service.

“When it comes to planning their vacations, Canadians love having a wide choice, as well as value, wherever possible,” said Chris Cuddy, chief commercial officer at Fareportal, the parent company of CheapOair.ca. “With our cost-effective pre-packaged vacations and a wide variety of unique destinations, CheapOair.ca removes the stress of having to plan and search for the best options.”

CheapOair.ca has partnered with 10 of Canada’s leading tour operators to offer these pre-packaged vacations, including Air Canada Vacations, Canjet Vacations, Nolitours, Porter Escapes, Signature Vacations, Sunquest Vacations, Sunwing Vacations, Tours Mont Royal, Transat Holidays and Westjet Vacations.

About CheapOair
CheapOair is the first hybrid (online/traditional) travel agency that enables consumers to book travel online, on mobile apps, by phone or live chat. CheapOair bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency with certified travel agents available 24/7 to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels, and 100s of car rentals. Partner airlines benefit from access to CheapOair’s broad customer base that books high yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at above the industry average. Follow CheapOair.ca on Facebook and Twitter to learn how to travel the world for less.

CheapOair mobile app and website recognized as Gold winners in MarCom Awards

November 24, 2014 — CheapOair, a leading hybrid (online/traditional) travel agency, announced today that it was recognized with two top industry honors for its mobile app and mobile website.

CheapOair mobile app and mobile website were named as Gold winners in two categories – Mobile App of the Year and Mobile Website of the Year – in MarCom Awards. Only 23% of this year’s entrants were recognized with the Gold award.

Since launch, the CheapOair app has been downloaded a total of over 3 million times and is downloaded an average of 4,500 times a day. With the app, consumers can – a first in the industry – book ancillaries, such as baggage, premium seats, priority boarding, and even choose their exact seats. The app has been rated 4 or 5 stars by more than 80% of users and was named to the Top 10 Travel Apps of the Year list by App Annie (in the U.S. and 78 other countries).

“CheapOair’s app has been rated highly by its users and ranked on the Top 10 Travel Apps of the Year list by App Annie,” said Harsh Sood, chief technology officer at Fareportal, the parent company of CheapOair. “We’re excited that both the mobile app and mobile website are now recognized by MarCom Awards based on their creative design and usability features.”

Organized by the Global Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. More than 6,500 entries were received this year, from U.S., Canada and 15 other countries, with winners ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

About CheapOair
CheapOair is the first hybrid (online/traditional) travel agency that enables consumers to book travel online, on mobile apps, by phone or live chat. CheapOair (http://www.cheapoair.com, 1-646-738-4820) bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency with certified travel agents available to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels, and 100s of car rentals. Partner airlines benefit from access to CheapOair’s broad customer base that books high yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at above the industry average. Follow CheapOair on Facebook and Twitter to learn how to travel the world for less.

Fareportal and its companies once again recognized for annual sales performance

November 04, 2014 — Travelong, a Fareportal company, announced today that it received an outstanding sales performance award from SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka. This marks the second consecutive recognition of Fareportal and its companies by the airline.

“Congratulations to Travelong on receiving the Silver Award for USA, We value our partnership and thank the Travelong team for their remarkable sales achievement for SriLankan Airlines in 2013/2014,” said Dillan Ariyawansa, head of SriLankan Airlines North America.

The award was presented during the 2014 Agent Awards ceremony at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York on October 9, 2014, by Nishantha Wickremasinghe, chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Dillan Ariyawansa, head of SriLankan Airlines North America and Ajith De Alwis, operations manager of SriLankan Airlines USA.

“We are extremely proud to receive the Silver award from SriLankan Airlines for outstanding sales in 2013/2014,” said Sanjay Hathiramani, senior vice president of supplier relations at Fareportal, the parent company of Travelong and CheapOair. “To be continuously recognized by SriLankan Airlines further validates our commitment to providing the best value and unmatched choice for our consumers.”

According to Wickremasinghe, tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka have reached an all-time high since 2012, with double digit growth expected in 2014. Similarly, Travelong bookings to Sri Lanka have continued to increase every year, with frequent promotions encouraging customers to take advantage of Travelong’s flight-focused search engine, cheapest fares and fastest booking path in the industry to find affordable travel deals to one of the world’s most exciting destinations, Sri Lanka.

About SriLankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier for Sri Lanka and the newest member of the oneworld alliance, is an award-winning airline with a firm reputation as a global leader in service, comfort, safety, reliability, and punctuality. Awards include World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff by Skytrax, Best Airline in South Asia from Travel Trade Gazette, World’s Most Reliable Operator of Airbus A330s and A340s by Airbus Industrie, and the Etihad Global Excellence Award for Best Regional Caterer. Launched in 1979, the airline’s hubs are located at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Hambantota providing convenient connections to its global network (including codeshare partners) of 89 destinations in 44 countries around the world. SriLankan has mutual code share services with Etihad Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Air Canada, Alitalia, Oman Air, Siberian Airlines, Finnair, Asiana Airlines and Mihin Lanka.

SriLankan Airlines joined the oneworld airline alliance on May 1, 2014 this year as the first carrier from the Indian Sub-continent. SriLankan now flies alongside some of the biggest and premier brands in the airline business – airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 airlines. Together with its oneworld membership, the flagship carrier of Sri Lanka offers its customers convenient connections to a thousand destinations in over 150 countries, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles any oneworld carrier and access to over 500 lounges for top tier frequent flyers.
http://www.srilankan.com

About Fareportal
Fareportal is a travel technology company that powers hybrid (online/traditional) travel agencies. Utilizing its innovative technology and company owned and operated contact centers, Fareportal has forged strong industry partnerships with over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels and 100s of car rental companies to serve millions of customers every year. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal’s airline partners benefit from access to a broad customer base that books high-yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at a rate higher than the industry average. To learn more, visit http://www.fareportal.com.

Superior customer service recognized in ‘Contact Center of the Year’ and ‘Customer Focused Innovations of the Year’ categories

October 15, 2014 — CheapOair announced today that its customer service contact centers were named as finalists in two categories – in the ‘Contact Center of the Year’ category, as well as ‘Customer Focused Innovations of the Year’ category – in International Service Excellence Awards. Organized by the Customer Service Institute of America and International Council of Customer Service Organizations and now in its 7th year, International Service Excellence Awards are the preeminent awards for the customer service profession, designed to recognize, promote and reward excellence, professionalism and outstanding achievement in the industry.

CheapOair has seven contact centers globally, in Midtown Manhattan New York and Las Vegas in the U.S., three in Canada, one in the United Kingdom, and one in India. Up against more than 80 applicants in the Contact Center category, CheapOair was named one of 12 finalists; with only approximately 15% of applicants selected as finalists in this highly competitive category. CheapOair was also named as one of only five finalists in the Customer Focused Innovations category. Out of 50 applicants, only approximately 10% of applicants became finalists in what proved to be an even more highly competitive category.

“Judged by customer service experts and with previous winners including such industry leaders as Delta, FedEx and Wells Fargo, these awards offer CheapOair an opportunity to showcase the tremendous importance of our unique focus on – and the excellent standards of – our customer service,” said Werner Kunz, COO at Fareportal, the parent company of CheapOair. “This global recognition is an award we are all incredibly proud of, as it validates our focus on offering our customers superior customer service and making their travel booking experience effortless, affordable and enjoyable.”

The final stage of the judging process in the 7th annual International Service Excellence Awards will include site visits to the finalist contact centers in November. Winners will be announced later this year.

About CheapOair
CheapOair is the first hybrid (online/traditional) travel agency that enables consumers to book travel online, on mobile apps, by phone or live chat. CheapOair (http://www.cheapoair.com, 1-646-738-4820) bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency with certified travel agents available to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels, and 100s of car rentals. Partner airlines benefit from access to CheapOair’s broad customer base that books high yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at above the industry average. Follow CheapOair on Facebook and Twitter to learn how to travel the world for less.

Leading hybrid travel company once again recognized for innovation in online travel services marketing

October 1, 2014 — Fareportal, the parent company to leading hybrid (online/traditional) travel agencies CheapOair and OneTravel, announced today that Travel Weekly selected CheapOair as a Gold winner in the 2014 Magellan Awards in the Online Travel Services Marketing – TV Commercial category for its “Possibilities” spot. CheapOair also won the Silver award in Online Travel Services Marketing – Advertising/Marketing Campaign category for its APP-solute Getaway.

“Consistently winning the Magellan Awards for five years in a row is an exciting validation of CheapOair’s advertising and marketing efforts,” said Patriek Karayil, chief marketing officer at Fareportal.

From design to marketing to services, The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honor the best in travel and salute the outstanding travel professionals behind it all. Since 2008, the awards have become some of the top accolades in the travel industry.

“Consistently winning the Magellan Awards for five years in a row is an exciting validation of CheapOair’s advertising and marketing efforts,” said Patriek Karayil, chief marketing officer at Fareportal. “At CheapOair, we aim to make travel effortless, affordable, and enjoyable by providing customers with the perfect trip, through relentless innovation in technology and unsurpassed customer service. Our advertising and marketing efforts support this mission and are designed to encourage millions of travelers to book their trips, effortlessly and affordably, with CheapOair every year.”

Previously, Fareportal won the following Magellan Awards:

•     2013:
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Print Advertising for CheapOair NYC Campaign
•     2012: three awards:
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – App for “CheapOair Flight Search”
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Mobile Site for CheapOair Mobile Site
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Websites for OneTravel
•     2011: three awards:
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – TV Commercial for “Get There for Less”;
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Promotional Video for “Crazy in Love”;
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Overall – Blog for “CheapOair Travel Blog”
•     2010:
•     Online Travel Services Marketing – Promotional Video for “Lesson Learned”

About Fareportal
Fareportal is a travel technology company that powers hybrid (online/traditional) travel agencies. Utilizing its innovative technology and company owned and operated contact centers, Fareportal has forged strong industry partnerships with over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels and 100s of car rental companies to serve millions of customers every year. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal’s airline partners benefit from access to a broad customer base that books high-yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at a rate higher than the industry average. To learn more, visit http://www.Fareportal.com.