Delta Air Lines is teaming with Travel Impressions to provide Delta Vacations packages, a move that ends Delta Vacations' 28-year partnership with Certified Vacations.
The deal comes just more than a year after Michael Egan, founder of Certified Vacations, reclaimed the helm, appointing himself CEO of Certified, the company that founded the Delta Vacations concept in 1980. Delta Vacations was formed when Egan convinced Delta that he could operate its vacation packaging on an outsourcing model more effectively than the airline could do it in-house.
Delta said last week that Travel Impressions would begin providing customized travel packages via Delta Vacations on July 1.
"We're thrilled to partner with such a prestigious international tour operator," Pam Elledge, Delta's SVP of global sales and distribution, said in a statement.
Delta declined to comment further. And Certified declined to comment on the news or on their relationship with Delta Vacations.
Certified's private label brand Future Vacations continues to use Delta Air Lines flights as part of its packages.
A growth in volume
For Travel Impressions, the deal with Delta "really strengthens" the company, said Travel Impressions CEO Steve Gorga. "This allows us to bring more volume." According to Gorga, Delta put out an inquiry, and Travel Impressions was among the operators that responded with proposals to manage the Delta Vacations brand.
Travel Impressions, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express, already manages the brands United Vacations -- Latin America, American Express Vacations, Almond Vacations, Cable Beach Getaways, Caribbean Escapes, The Affluent Traveler and Tropicana Getaways.
Travel Impressions said that most of its destinations overlap with the existing Delta Vacations destinations, but that some, like Santiago, Chile, and the Delta Vacations ski product in the Western U.S. and Canada, are new to Travel Impressions.
Delta Vacations offers more than 150 destinations, including North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and South Africa.
"We will handle all call fulfillment and product development and Web site design," said Gorga.
Travel Impressions said it would be meeting with Delta over the coming months to establish how the vacation product will be positioned in the marketplace and how that message will be marketed to agents and consumers. Gorga said Travel Impressions was immediately reaching out to agents with news of the deal.
Delta Vacations packages include air transportation via Delta, the Delta Connection carriers or other airline partners.
To contact reporter Michelle Baran, send e-mail to [email protected].