A year into its acquisition of Routehappy, the first in its 54-year history, ATPCO announced that integration is complete, marked by a bolstered leadership team and a new retailing solutions product line.
By integrating and aligning ATPCO’s flagship pricing data with Routehappy’s rich content, ATPCO says it is “vastly expanding its value to the industry”. This combination enables ATPCO to better provide modern retailing solutions including dynamic pricing, branded fares, rich content, IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) and other distribution capabilities along with the new Next Generation Storefront solution.
“ATPCO continues to evolve with marketplace needs, with a current emphasis on transforming from a company known for airline fare filing to one that provides innovative solutions that help the entire industry modernise,” said Rolf Purzer, CEO of ATPCO.
According to Purzer, the company’s top priority is leading airlines, systems, and channels into the next generation of retailing. “We will provide solutions that help airlines modernise offer management and product display in all channels.”
With the expanded focus on retailing, ATPCO has announced key leadership changes to its executive team.
Transitioning from their roles at Routehappy are Robert Albert, Routehappy founder and CEO, who has assumed a new role as executive vice president, retailing; Jonathan Savitch, Routehappy sales head, has been named chief commercial officer; and Jaivin Anzalota, Routehappy product head, now appointed chief product officer
In addition, Tom Gregorson has been named chief strategy officer; John Murphy, chief information officer; and Priscilla O’Donnell, chief human relations officer.
The newly constituted team reports directly to Purzer. More than 155 people have joined the company since October 2016, fuelling new collaborative energy working together on the company’s products that power flight shopping globally.
All former Routehappy staff have accepted roles within ATPCO, focusing on retailing.
The new Retailing Solutions product line brings together ATPCO’s Optional Services and Branded Fares with Routehappy’s Amenities Hub, UTA Hub, and UPA Hub.
ATPCO Retailing Solutions helps airlines create, manage and distribute differentiated products through all channels, enabling them to integrate and display differentiated airline products to consumers.
ATPCO’s innovative Next Generation Storefront solution, which provides channels a better way to display flights, will be incorporated into Retailing Solutions after incubation.
Retailing Solutions has had important recent customer wins, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates and Japanese GDS Infini. The new Retailing Solutions team is working on launching codeshare UPAs (Universal Product Attributes) for more partner airlines and expanding UTA (Universal Ticket Attribute) content coverage. All ATPCO Retailing Solutions rich content subscriptions will continue to be sold under the Routehappy brand name.
Industry players such as IATA have reacted positively to the integration. Aleks Popovich, the association’s senior vice president, financial and distribution services, said: “IATA has been encouraged to see ATPCO drive initiatives like Next Generation Storefront (NGS) that are moving the industry forward, where retailing is a priority and can work for all – airlines, channels and consumers alike.”
