Business & Finance Group - Transportation - Dubai : Emirates airline and Travelport, one of the world's leading global distribution system (GDS) providers, recently signed a major global content agreement that will provide all Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan-connected travel agents with access to the airline's full inventory of flights and fares.

The five-year deal, which takes effect immediately, ensures rate parity for Travelport's extensive worldwide network of travel agency users, providing them with access to the most up-to-date routes and fares from Emirates, including the airline's web fares.

"We are delighted to have signed an agreement that will guarantee full content to all Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan users," Nabeel Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice-president, revenue optimisation and distribution, said.

Significant network

"With a significant worldwide network and long-standing GDS expertise, Travelport is an important distribution partner and this deal will further strengthen our position with its travel agent users."

"We have worked hard with Emirates to reach a cost-effective agreement that will truly benefit our travel agency customers worldwide," Bryan Conway, Travelport GDS' president and managing director, Middle East and Africa (MEA), said.

"This deal continues on our strategy of securing full content programmes across the globe and demonstrates the continued value of our distribution channel."

Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry.

It is comprised of the global distribution system (GDS) business that includes the Worldspan and Galileo brands; GTA, a leading global, multi-channel provider of hotel and ground services; Airline IT Solutions, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines.

Travelport operates in 160 countries and has approximately 5,400 employees. Travelport also owns approximately 48 per cent of Orbitz Worldwide, a leading global online travel company.