Nearly a year after its acquisition, ATPCO has fully
integrated Routehappy's content with its pricing data and has given top
Routehappy executives titles within ATPCO.
ATPCO CEO Rolf Purzer said the integration "closes the
data gap" for the airfare publishing firm. "We wanted in the very
beginning an opportunity to help ATPCO become a more agile company,"
Purzer said. "Based on the new structure and together with Routehappy's
capabilities, we're on a very good track to remaining an important player in
facilitating airline retailing, including rich content, and staying relevant in
the long term, despite doubts that have been voiced in the past."
Under the new structure, Routehappy founder and CEO Robert
Albert is now ATPCO executive vice president of retailing. Routehappy sales
head Jonathan Savitch is now the firm's chief commercial officer, and
Routehappy product head Jaivin Anzalota is now chief product officer.
With the integration complete, ATPCO also has launched a
Retailing Solutions product line that combines its optional services and
branded fares with Routehappy's amenities hub; Routehappy's Universal Ticket
Attributes, which include data on ticket restrictions and benefits; and
Routehappy's Universal Product Attributes, which include videos, photos and
other marketing content for airline products.
That line eventually will include ATPCO's Next-Generation
Storefront, as well. TripActions recently incorporated the Next-Generation
Storefront, which provides standards for air shopping, in its new flight
booking platform.
Purzer said the Next-Generation Storefront was a good
example of future innovations the industry can expect now that the integration
is complete. It's something that ATPCO likely would not have conceived on its
own and that Routehappy on its own would not have had the scale to execute
quickly, he said.
"Routehappy came up with the concept last summer, and
ATPCO is airline owned; the six biggest revenue airlines of the world are on
our board, including the biggest three U.S. carriers. We did some pilots
together, and here we are now in February, moving into production," Purzer
said.
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Source: Business Travel News