The Shanghai-based airline has formed a new partnership with Amadeus to work with the international travel trade, adopting the technology company’s Amadeus Ticketless Access solution and distributing its fares to international agents via the GDS.
Effective immediately, Spring’s content is available to Amadeus-connected travel agents in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau and Taiwan, and will be rolled out worldwide by the end of the year.
“We have big ambitions to expand both regionally and internationally, and the travel agency channel is a critical component to supporting that growth,” said Wang Zhenghua, chairman of Spring Airlines.
At a time when airlines around the world are scrambling to make inroads into the Chinese air travel market, Spring is setting its sights on the international market. It expanded its international capacity by 165% in the first 10 months of 2015, and capped off the year with the placement of an order for 60 new Airbus A320 aircraft.
LCCs around the world have started embracing the travel trade in recent years, with airlines like Ryanair and AirAsia making their fares available via the GDS. According to Amadeus, travel agency GDS bookings for LCCs increased 11% in 2015.
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