- New service to automate travel waiver process through collaboration between JTB Business Travel and Cirium
- Alerts business travelers when waivers are available and enables them to book alternative travel at no extra cost following a delayed or cancelled flight
- Potential savings for companies of USD 200 on average (or more) for each flight change
Jersey City, NJ: OCTOBER 15, 2019: Global travel brand JTB Business Travel has teamed up with travel data and analytics expert, Cirium, to offer its clients proactive Airline Waiver Notifications to minimize flight disruption.
Flight disruption caused by weather conditions, airport closures, labor strikes and natural disasters are often unavoidable, so being proactive and able to quickly alert travelers is essential. Cirium’s Waiver notification technology allows JTB Business Travel to further improve and get ahead of trip disruption for business travelers around the globe.
Through the new partnership, JTB Business Travel, which is part of JTB, one of the world’s largest travel companies with annual sales of over USD 13 billion, uses the new airline waiver service to enhance the business traveler experience and reduce cost for their clients.
This customized notification service automatically alerts travelers via email or text message when waivers are available, enabling them to make immediate alternative travel arrangements at no extra cost if their flight is disrupted.
Airlines issue exceptions to their change fee policies in the form of waivers for travelers when severe disruption affects a traveler’s trip. However, these often go unused, as identifying, communicating, and changing travel plans has traditionally been a slow and frustrating process for passengers.
The need for automating the process has never been more urgent. According to Cirium data, more than 3.9 million flights – or 10,700 a day – were cancelled or delayed over 30 minutes or more globally in 2018. This affects more than 470 million people around the world and can severely impact their experience. The repercussions can also add up to a huge financial impact on a travel program.
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with JTB Business Travel. It will be great to see the cost savings, streamlined operations and improved end-to-end traveler experience for the travel management company and its corporate clients as a result of implementing the service.”
Waiver notifications offer more value for businesses and ease traveler stress
Traditionally, matching airline waivers to travelers’ trips is a time-poor and labor-intensive process. In most cases, travelers are also unaware of what’s available to them. During times of disruption, travelers are often frustrated by enduring typically long call wait times when they’re forced to take the initiative to ring in to find a new flight.
When business travelers attempt to rebook, they often do so on their own and at their company’s expense, missing the opportunity to take advantage of available waivers and travel management company support.
By automating the waiver process, JTB Business Travel’s Airline Waiver Notifications make it more likely for business travelers to use available waivers, potentially saving companies USD 200 (or more) for flight changes.
And in one study that Cirium conducted on a travel corporations’ unused tickets, 6-10 percent of their unused tickets were covered by a waiver which could have been refunded or changed without a fee.
Russell Murata, Manager of Travel Technologies Solutions at JTB Business Travel said: “For over three years now, we have used Cirium technology to assist clients through our Trip Disruption Assistance program, which provides travelers with live support as they make alternative travel arrangements due to flight delays or cancelations.
“The Airline Waiver Notifications serve as a natural extension of this program, helping ease the stress of flight disruption for business travelers and save businesses money when their travelers are forced to change their travel plans.”
Cirium’s solution is evolving this entire process. The company’s streamlined APIs provide flexible access to timely trip information while avoiding complex data cleansing and development costs.
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, added: “We challenged the existing waiver process, through developing the industry’s only matching engine that integrates our flight status data with airline travelers’ itinerary information. Enabling customers like JTB Business Travel to better anticipate disruption and minimize the impact on travelers.”
As a result, JTB Business Travel provides fast communication, proactive assistance and a better overall experience for the traveler. In a survey that Cirium was involved in with tClara, Delta and Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC), 77 percent of frequent flyers or “road warriors” said no cancellations or delays were the most important flight factor for their business trip success. This new Airline Waiver Notifications program eases road warrior stress and adds more value to businesses that purchase travel.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About JTB Business Travel:
The JTB Business Travel global brand is part of JTB, a worldwide leader in travel, with a network of more than 508 locations in 143 cities and 39 countries. JTB Business Travel is an industry forerunner, leading the way in global business travel by embracing new technologies, offering innovative services and creating superior travel experiences for companies and their employees.
JTB Business Travel’s common sense approach to business travel stands in sharp contrast to the traditional industry practice of focusing solely on booking. JTB Business Travel provides full content and a comprehensive range of leading technologies across the spectrum of business travel, giving Travelers, Travel Arrangers, Travel Managers and Executives all of the tools they need to manage travel more effectively. Travel can be expensive for businesses and stressful for travelers. Every recommendation and service JTB Business Travel offers is designed to save companies money while creating more relaxing, more productive experiences for business travelers. www.JTBBusinessTravel.com
About Cirium:
Cirium brings together powerful data and analytics to keep the world in motion. Delivering insight, built from decades of experience in the sector, enabling travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, airports, airlines and financial institutions, among others, to make logical and informed decisions which shape the future of travel, growing revenues and enhancing customer experiences. Cirium is part of RELX PLC, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX PLC shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. www.cirium.com
For JTB Business Travel:
Jonni Bailey
Ruff Haus
619-523-8181
For Cirium:
Paul Charles / Michael Johnson / Claire Simpson
The PC Agency
+44 (0)20 7768 0001
