Travelport: Optimistic About 2015
by Michele McDonald /Travelport is looking at 2015 with a strong sense of optimism, said chief executive officer Gordon Wilson.
The company’s Rich Content and Branding, a component of the Travelport Merchandising Platform, now has live content from 51 airlines, Wilson said.
Another 38 airlines are in the pipeline, and the company is signing new airlines “literally every week,” he added.
For travel agencies, that means enhanced upsell and cross-sell opportunities, including the fast-growing list of airline ancillary products and services, according to Wilson.
Expanding into ancillaries
Wilson said that while airlines were once focused on checked-bag fees and premium seating, they are expanding their activities in the ancillary arena.
“They are selling pre-ordered Wi-Fi, FastTrack security, lounge passes and unaccompanied minor service” through the Merchandising Platform, and in at least two cases, they collected the service fees for checking firearms.
During Travelport’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 earnings call, Wilson said the company’s Beyond Air initiatives also continue to grow at a steady clip, accounting for 21% of revenue in the Travel Commerce Platform side of the business, which includes the GDS platforms.
Beyond Air, which includes the Rooms and More hospitality and car rental portal, and eNett International’s payment solutions, grew its revenue by 14% for the full year and 22% for the quarter.
The European market
Softness in the European market led to a 1% decline in air revenue for the quarter, but Travelport wrapped up the year with a 1% increase in air revenue. By 2018, Beyond Air is expected to account for a third of Travelport's revenue.
In the U.S., booked segments grew 2% for the full year, to 158 million. In Europe, booked segments grew 1%, to 86 million. The fastest pace of growth, at 5%, was in Latin America and Canada, reaching 15 million.
Travelport also continued to boost its footprint in the corporate market in 2014, winning the business of American Express Global Business Travel in India, Corporate Travel Planners in the U.S. and VR Travel in Denmark, Wilson said.
It is working with its TMC partners such as Hogg Robinson in Canada to approach corporations directly.
“We’re showing them what we can do for them with Hogg Robinson,” said Wilson.
Travelport reported a net loss of $2 million for the fourth quarter, a 93% improvement over fourth quarter 2013. Revenues were up 3%, to $496 million.
For the full year, it reported a net loss of $11 million, a 78% improvement over 2013. Revenues were up 3%, to $ 2.15 billion.
Travelport decreased its net debt for the full year by 32%, to $2.3 billion.