Company extends partnership with SilverRail Technologies to continue delivering online rail search and booking capabilities to business travelers
CHICAGO, May 29, 2013 -Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), and SilverRail Technologies, developers of the first global rail distribution platform, have extended their partnership to continue delivering online rail search and booking capabilities to business travelers. The multiyear agreement builds upon a technology partnership launched in 2011 that enables customers to seamlessly plan and book rail travel through the intuitive Orbitz for Business interface.
A recent report published by The Brookings Institution indicates that ridership on Amtrak, the nation's largest rail carrier, has grown 55 percent since 1997 with 31.2 million riders in 2012. Eighty-three percent of Amtrak riders travel on routes less than 400 miles, especially in the Northeast corridor of the U.S. with over 25 percent of Amtrak riders traveling on the Northeast Regional route that services Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.1
According to an analysis of customer booking data, Orbitz for Business travelers reflect that trend by relying heavily on rail within the Northeast corridor. For example, rail bookings represented 94 percent of all travel between New York and Philadelphia in 2012 - and across all destinations in the Northeast corridor, rail offered an average savings of 37 percent over air travel in 2012.
Travelers from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut find that using Orbitz for Business to book rail can be preferable to other modes of transportation. "Orbitz for Business recognized a clear need in the marketplace for an online rail booking tool, so they developed a solution that has been great for us," says Robert Zartarian, director of travel services for Yale University. "In fact, we do more business with Amtrak than we do with many airlines."
"Booking rail online is faster and provides a better customer experience than picking up the phone, with policy and reporting fully integrated into the process," said Anne Marie Razza, Orbitz for Business vice president of product strategy and development. "Just as importantly, rail travel is a creative way to achieve tangible cost savings relative to overall business travel spend, so continuing our partnership with SilverRail was critical to offering the most complete business travel solution in the market today."
"We are thrilled to renew our agreement with Orbitz for Business, which further highlights the importance of rail in a company's travel policy," said Ami Taylor, senior director of account development at SilverRail Technologies. "Rail travel helps drive cost savings and improve traveler productivity, ultimately providing a more comfortable and convenient business travel experience."
1Source: The Brookings Institution, "A New Alignment: Strengthening America's Commitment to Passenger Rail" by Robert Puentes, Adie Tomer, and Joseph Kane
About Orbitz for Business
Orbitz for Business is the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW). Launched in 2002, Orbitz for Business offers a complete portfolio of global business travel products and services that help corporate customers plan, search and book travel. Orbitz for Business leverages Orbitz Worldwide technology, customized for corporate travelers. In addition to its leading technology, Orbitz for Business delivers full service, cost effective travel management solutions including 24/7 customer support; expense reporting and policy management tools; and comprehensive choice in travel inventory.
About SilverRail Technologies
SilverRail has built the first global distribution platform specializing in passenger rail, allowing rail operators and travel sellers to easily connect with each other. The SilverCore platform aggregates global rail content into a single, unified system through direct supplier connections, standardizing the search, booking, and fulfillment processes. By removing the complexities of selling rail, SilverRail enables global rail search irrespective of operators, geographies and currencies. Connect with SilverRail via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and our Blog.
About Orbitz Worldwide
Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to search for, plan and book a broad range of travel products and services including airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com) and HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com). Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Partner Network (www.orbitz.com/OPN) delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners including many of the world's largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed corporate travel solutions for corporations.
Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at investors.orbitz.com. The public can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.
SOURCE: Orbitz for Business
Media contacts:
Orbitz Worldwide
Tim Enstice
+1 312-894-4721
tim.enstice@orbitz.com
SilverRail
Vojtech Horna
Grayling Atomic
silverrail@atomicpr.com
+44 (0)207 025 7551
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Source: Orbitz Worldwide Inc. – PR via Thomson Reuters ONE
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