WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak and GetThere(TM), a Sabre company, announced an agreement that will enable business travelers to book Amtrak using GetThere’s online corporate travel reservation system, the two companies announced in a joint press release.
Through this new alliance, GetThere will integrate Amtrak reservations into its system, thus making rail travel available in the corporate travel reservation system used by more than 800 of the country’s top corporations including half of the Fortune 200.
Online air, car rental, and hotel reservations have become a significant and fast-growing percentage of corporations’ travel bookings. With GetThere’s Amtrak integration, users will have the ability to view rail options alongside air travel options and make a selection. Once complete, a user’s reservation will include any rail selections in the context of their complete reservation and itinerary, rather than as a separate booking.
“Our alliance with GetThere gives millions of travelers at America’s largest companies the convenience of booking their Amtrak reservation online,” said Barbara J. Richardson, Amtrak’s executive vice president. “As Americans increasingly choose Amtrak as their travel alternative, the ability for business travelers to book their entire trip online, including rail, means an even greater number of travelers will consider Amtrak when making their business travel plans.”
“Many companies are already cutting travel costs significantly, simply because employees make good decisions when they see their choices online. Corporate employees are now more seriously considering taking the train for certain trips instead of flying, both to save money and even to save time. To make this process work most effectively, travelers may need to see rail options on the same page as flights, and we will make that completely seamless,” noted Mark Orttung, vice president of Product Marketing at GetThere.
“When our employees make their travel reservations online through the GetThere system, we see substantial cost savings, so it is important to drive the maximum employee usage,” said Alex McAdam of Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), a GetThere customer. “In the northeast corridor, rail is an integral part of corporate travel, and the GetThere and Amtrak integration provides yet another incentive for our travelers to book travel online.”
To integrate rail reservations, GetThere is using technology it created to directly connect airline, hotel, and car rental suppliers to the GetThere travel reservation system. The most important facet of the technology is how it provides the traveler with an integrated view of options on their screen. Another key component is called GetThere SuperPNR(TM) (Passenger Name Record), the system that stores a traveler’s trip record, or itinerary. SuperPNR maintains a record of bookings from many different sources, such as an air booking made through a global distribution system, a direct booking from a hotel, and a direct booking with Amtrak. This combined record keeps a corporation’s travel spending and trend information consolidated and helps corporate agents support travelers who are on the road.
The first phase of the Amtrak integration is underway with completion anticipated this year.
About Amtrak
Amtrak guests enjoy satisfaction-guaranteed service in more than 500 communities in 46 states throughout a 22,000-mile route system. Amtrak offers guests America’s only high-speed rail service between Washington and Boston as well as a nationwide unconditional guest Satisfaction Guarantee. Last year, the company set all-time records for passenger ridership and overall revenue. For more information, including schedules, fares and reservations, visit Amtrak’s Web site at www.amtrak.com.
About GetThere
GetThere, a Sabre company, operates the world’s largest Internet marketplace focused on business-to-business travel. GetThere’s systems are used to provide Web-based travel procurement including air, hotel, car, and meeting planning to employees at leading corporations such as American Management Systems, Boeing, Charles Schwab, ChevronTexaco, Cisco, General Electric, Honeywell, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and SBC Communications. GetThere also powers Web-based travel booking for leading airlines including Air New Zealand, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, National Airlines, and United Airlines.
GetThere LP is wholly owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE: TSG – news), the leading provider of technology and marketing services for the travel industry. More information on Sabre can be found at www.sabre.com. Additional information about GetThere can be found on the Web at www.GetThere.com.