by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:13 PM ET, Tue March 6, 2018
Global airline alliance SkyTeam announced Tuesday the launch of a new innovative technology solution that will help reduce the inconvenience caused to customers by flight delays, cancellations, and diversions.
After more than five years in development, the SkyTeam Rebooking system will initially be available at 43 airports before the company rolls out the technology across the alliance's network over the coming months.
With the introduction of the rebooking system, SkyTeam becomes the first airline alliance in the industry to introduce a technical solution enabling access to passenger itineraries across multiple reservations systems when issues arise.
"Delays and cancellations are a fact of life in travel, but with SkyTeam Rebooking we are tackling the issue head-on to deliver more seamless service to customers, especially when their journey doesn't go as planned," SkyTeam CEO Perry Cantarutti said in a statement. "Irregular operations are a moment of truth for airlines and a critical opportunity to demonstrate customer centricity. Since the rollout of SkyTeam Rebooking began, thousands of passengers have been helped by our members thanks to this new technology."
Once the system is fully implemented, SkyTeam agents will be able to access reservations and rebook customers onto flights from one of the 20 airlines under the company's umbrella. Travelers dealing with disruptions can visit a SkyTeam member airline's ticket desk up to 48 hours before departure and they will be rerouted onto the next available SkyTeam flight.
The rollout of the SkyTeam Rebooking technology will have two phases. The first will add the service to 21 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, while the second phase will cover the United States and Canada and is scheduled to be completed by late 2018.
SkyTeam also offers the SkyPriority service that consolidates benefits for its top customers at more than 1,000 airports worldwide.
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