Delta Air Lines and Sabre announced on Monday a transformative global distribution agreement that will evolve their long-standing partnership and drive change in the travel industry through commercial and technological innovation. The new, value-based, multi-year distribution agreement represents an industry-first model that creates value for the entire travel ecosystem, including travel agencies and travelers.

“Our vision is to shift the mindset of the entire ecosystem toward modern retailing, selling customers what they want, where they want it and how they want it across all channels,” said Delta’s Jeff Lobl, Managing Director – Global Distribution. “We are grateful to Sabre for their innovative and pioneering spirit in taking this journey with Delta and establishing a new and exciting path forward for third-party distribution.”

Aligning the interests of the global travel marketplace, the companies expect the innovative distribution agreement to transform the way travel partners do business – ensuring Sabre-connected travel buyers continue to have access to Delta’s content globally and enabling Delta to continue to extend its reach with Sabre’s valuable network of global travel buyers.

Delta’s omni-channel, customer-centric approach invests across all channels to build experiences and capabilities to provide consumers with an elevated shopping experience in their preferred channel. This new approach to retail transformation will create value for all stakeholders in the ecosystem by enhancing traveler experiences and offering customer choice.

“Sabre is on a journey to create a new marketplace for personalized travel. Technology innovation combined with collaborative partnerships are key to realizing our vision,” said Wade Jones, Chief Product Officer for Sabre Travel Solutions. “This new agreement is one example of that partnership philosophy, and our innovation to transform our storefront experience reinforces this by ensuring Delta and Sabre’s mutual customers can shop with confidence and see the value of the offerings available to them.”

The New Airline Storefront, developed by Sabre in collaboration with Delta, CWT and other thought-leading partners, is now fully available in Sabre Red 360 and provides digital “shelves” that better organize an airline’s offerings in a side-by-side display to enhance the traveler’s shopping experience – driving value for both sellers and buyers across the travel ecosystem.

“Sabre’s new airline storefront and rich content makes it easier to understand new airline product offerings and simplifies the purchasing decision. CWT is a strong supporter of a collaborative approach to address an improved user experience for our counselors; equating to a better trip planning experience for the traveler,” said Erik Magnuson, V.P. – Product Management, Mobility & Payments for CWT. “We see the storefront as another big step in providing the best value and personalization our customers demand.”

Rita Visser, Director – Global Travel Sourcing & GPO for Oracle, add, “We are excited about this agreement and expect the underlying innovation to simplify the booking process and significantly improve the experience for our travelers.”

This continued focus on innovation demonstrates advancements in Delta’s strategy across all channels, building experiences and capabilities that provide consumers with an elevated shopping experience in their preferred channel of choice.

“Both our new GDS approach with Sabre and their transformative new storefront are two important steps forward in evolving the retail shopping experience for travelers while creating value for all stakeholders across the ecosystem,” said Lobl. “By focusing on value, travelers will benefit from greater choice and visibility to all product offerings while corporations will benefit from their travelers being more comfortable in their preferred booking channel and within their travel policies.”

Top Copyright Photo: Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-832 WL N392DA (msn 30561) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 952125.

Delta Air Lines aircraft slide show (Boeing):