by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:22 PM ET, Thu October 15, 2020
American Airlines has launched a new digital platform designed to make it easier for travel advisors to book and manage group travel.
The American group booking experience will provide more visibility into every aspect of booking, as well as the ability to manage group travel and access to modify bookings 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Features of the platform include enhanced search for availability and pricing, itinerary quotes and holds for up to 14 days after reservation, the ability to review terms and conditions and accept quotes when ready, an improved process to modify existing quotes and bookings, and automatic free seat assignments.
American began providing travel advisors who manage points of sale in Europe direct access to the platform this summer, with all contracted advisors with European points of sale being eligible to receive access by the end of 2020.
"We've listened carefully to our customers' feedback about the groups booking process over the last couple years and have implemented several changes to make groups management more seamless," American Global Head of Leisure Kyle Mabry said.
"Travel advisors will enjoy a convenient one-stop shopping experience that empowers them to manage nearly every aspect of their customers' travel," Mabry continued. "American prides itself on being the airline that is easiest to do business with, and our new platform is just another way we can deliver on that promise for our customers."
As for agents in the U.S. and Canada, they will have access to the platform in the first half of 2021 and progress through an account setup period over the next several months. Meeting planners will continue to manage travel for their customers through support from American's Reservations team.
The new platform is projected to become globally available over the next several years.
Last month, the airline introduced an enhanced AirPass account management platform enabling advisors to make real-time decisions for customers through improved fare transparency, full itinerary visibility and control of ticket from the time of booking to destination arrival through the new online platform.
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