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Avianca has joined Skyscanner’s direct booking platform.

The pioneering integration, powered by Amadeus Altéa, makes Avianca one of the first airlines in North or South America to sell directly within the Skyscanner marketplace using IATA’s new distribution capability.

This solution will power Avianca’s retail future by providing a single source of offers for travellers whether direct, via Skyscanner direct booking or from more traditional referral models.

With the initial roll-out completed, Avianca inventory can now be booked directly within Skyscanner by customers in United Kingdom, United States and Spain, with additional markets to be deployed later.

The platform gives Avianca a unique opportunity to showcase their brand and upsell products to increase ancillary sales and mobile conversion.

Already, partners involved are reporting a 40 per cent uplift in booking conversion, 20 per cent uplift in average booking value and 50 per cent uplift in mobile bookings.

Melany Cornejo, Avianca director of distribution, said: “Avianca is proud to be the first airline in Latin America that integrates with Skyscanner to provide an exceptional experience to its customers through the best technology available in the airline industry.

“We are committed to continue working along with industry partners to increase the NDC distribution coverage in these markets and connect our customers with Latin America”.

Skyscanner was the first travel marketplace with the capacity to display and sell directly through the NDC connectors, building this into our direct booking platform.

Skyscanner has since gone on to lead the field when it comes to IATA’s NDC initiative, having been the first aggregator to achieve Level 3 certification status.

Source: breakingtravelnews.com