Travelport trials chauffeur booking service

A service which allows travel agents to book chauffeur-driven car transfers via GDS is being trialed in Asia by Travelport.

Agents using the Galileo system can access cars serving 21 airports in China, India, the Philippines and Singapore and make commissionable bookings.

The company, which is working with two car rental firms, expects to make the Travelport Drive Me service available to Galileo-connected agents worldwide one the trial has been completed.

Travelport claims that by automating the process it is enabling agents in Asia to avoid the “tedious and complex” manual process of booking car transfers. Often this has meant relying on third party suppliers and hotels.

Asia Pacific car and hospitality regional director Joe Lim said: “There is a huge demand for chauffeur-driven car transfers in Asia, particularly in cities where there are language and security issues or where public transport is not widely available.”

He claimed that the new service provided “greater peace of mind” to travellers.