Japan Airlines (JAL) and Travelport Worldwide will establish a joint venture to take ownership of Travelport Japan KK and JAL’s fully owned subsidiary, Axess International Network, and establish a GDS tailored to the needs of the Japanese travel industry.
The proposed joint venture, which will operate under the unified Travelport Axess brand name, is expected to be formed on June 1, 2019 following the signing of a definitive agreement between both companies.
Under the planned agreement, Travelport will hold a majority stake in Travelport Axess, with JAL controlling the remaining stake and playing an active role in the joint venture.
Travelport Axess will continue to offer travel agents services through Axess’ GDS platform, Axess, and enable access to Travelport’s GDS platforms, Apollo and Galileo.
The proposed joint venture will provide online, mobile and corporate travel propositions including global booking and expense management tools as well as access to New Distribution Capability (NDC) content for Japanese travel agencies and their customers.
Gordon Wilson, president and CEO of Travelport, commented: “This announcement and our ongoing partnership with JAL is a significant advance in the provision of state-of-the-art technology for the Japanese travel industry. We are very excited about the growth opportunities it presents for our mutual travel agency customers.”
Yoriyuki Kashiwagi, JAL’s executive officer of international passenger sales, said that Travelport Axess will enable “Japanese travel agents to respond to growing global demands by offering services based on state-of-the-art technology”.
Travelport Japan and Axess will continue to operate independently, with a gradual integration programme to combine the two organisations commencing later this year.
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Travelport Worldwide will establish a joint venture to take ownership of Travelport Japan KK and JAL’s fully owned subsidiary, Axess International Network, and establish a GDS tailored to the needs of the Japanese travel industry.
The proposed joint venture, which will operate under the unified Travelport Axess brand name, is expected to be formed on June 1, 2019 following the signing of a definitive agreement between both companies.
Under the planned agreement, Travelport will hold a majority stake in Travelport Axess, with JAL controlling the remaining stake and playing an active role in the joint venture.
Travelport Axess will continue to offer travel agents services through Axess’ GDS platform, Axess, and enable access to Travelport’s GDS platforms, Apollo and Galileo.
The proposed joint venture will provide online, mobile and corporate travel propositions including global booking and expense management tools as well as access to New Distribution Capability (NDC) content for Japanese travel agencies and their customers.
Gordon Wilson, president and CEO of Travelport, commented: “This announcement and our ongoing partnership with JAL is a significant advance in the provision of state-of-the-art technology for the Japanese travel industry. We are very excited about the growth opportunities it presents for our mutual travel agency customers.”
Yoriyuki Kashiwagi, JAL’s executive officer of international passenger sales, said that Travelport Axess will enable “Japanese travel agents to respond to growing global demands by offering services based on state-of-the-art technology”.
Travelport Japan and Axess will continue to operate independently, with a gradual integration programme to combine the two organisations commencing later this year.