Travelport and United Airlines Extend Full Content Distribution Agreement

- Agreement Provides Full United Airlines Content in Travelport Global Distribution Systems -

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Aug 04, 2010, 08:00 ET

ATLANTA, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, today announces that United Airlines has signed a two-year extension of their current full content agreement that is designed to provide full content well into 2013, subject to the terms of the agreement. Through the extension of the agreement, all United published fares and seat inventory, including Web fares available on its own site, reservation offices and through third parties, will be available to subscribers of Travelport's Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan GDS systems, including all Travelport-connected offline travel agencies and online agencies booking through Travelport.

As part of the agreement, United is pleased to offer Travelport-connected travel agents the option of selling their passengers upgrades into United Airlines' popular Economy Plus seating. Economy Plus seat upgrades will become available later this year through the Travelport travel agency point of sale tools, Apollo Focalpoint, Galileo Desktop and Worldspan GoRes. This capability provides multiple opportunities for agents to offer upgrades into Economy Plus to their travelers throughout the transaction flow. Travelport will also integrate these merchandising capabilities over time into the Travelport Universal Desktop, making it easier for Travelport-connected travel agents around the world to transact this premium coach seat capability within their standard workflow.

United's Economy Plus seating provides more room to work or rest on a flight with up to five more inches of legroom and are located at the front of the economy cabin.

"This agreement validates the tremendous value of Travelport's global marketplace of approximately 60,000 travel agencies to an important industry leader such as United and underscores our ability to bring together travel buyers and sellers across the globe in an efficient and cost-effective manner," said Travis Christ, president, The Americas, Travelport GDS. "Our Travelport-connected travel agents, corporate travelers and consumer customers will continue to have efficient access to the full content offered by United Airlines and will also have the ability to offer upgrades into Economy Plus to their customers."

"This extension provides United with a cost-effective solution to distribute upgrades to Economy Plus to Travelport subscribers in a flexible, innovative and appropriate manner," said Robert McDowell, managing director, Distribution and E-Commerce, United Airlines. "United is continually looking for distribution solutions that provide benefit for United, distribution partners such as Travelport and, most importantly, our customers."

About Travelport (www.travelport.com)

Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry.

Travelport is comprised of:

the global distribution system (GDS) business that includes the Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan brands;
GTA, a leading global, multi-channel provider of hotel and ground services;
Airline IT Solutions, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines.

Travelport also owns approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), a leading global online travel company.

Travelport operates in 160 countries, reported 2009 revenues of $2.2 billion and has approximately 5,400 employees. Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group, One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Travelport management.

About United

United Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAL Corporation (Nasdaq: UAUA), operates approximately 3,400 flights a day on United and United Express to more than 230 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States. United also is a founding member of Star Alliance, which overall offers 19,700 daily flights to 1,077 airports in 175 countries through its 26 member airlines. United's 46,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. United ranked No. 1 in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights for 2009 among America's five largest global carriers, as measured by the Department of Transportation and published in the Air Travel Consumer Report for 2009. United also ranked No. 1 in on-time arrivals among the five largest U.S. global carriers for the first six months of 2010 based on preliminary information. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at united.com, and follow United on Twitter @UnitedAirlines.