Galileo International Launches Corporate Travelpoint™ 2.0 with Visa as Pilot Customer

Galileo International, Inc. (NYSE: GLC), a leading provider of electronic global distribution services for the travel industry, today launched from its portfolio of corporate travel management solutions – Corporate Travelpoint 2.0 – and announced that Visa is a pilot customer.

The announcements were made at the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) 33rd Annual Convention and Trade Show. Corporate Travelpoint 2.0 is an advanced, Internet travel management solution developed for corporations that need to effectively manage numerous preferred travel supplier agreements and extensive corporate travel policies.

The system is designed to work seamlessly with the corporation’s current business processes and its existing travel agency to ensure that all travel needs are met efficiently and cost effectively. The travel agency remains the key to the entire process, with access to manage policy, preference and profile information on behalf of the corporation, while continuing to provide fulfillment and full booking services.

“Visa has played a consistent role as we developed Corporate Travelpoint 2.0,” said Galileo’s John Hach, vice president, Corporate and Consumer Sales and Marketing. “Its contributions have significantly enhanced the product’s user-interface, and the ongoing feedback from Visa’s travel manager and broad base of traveling employees will be invaluable as we continue to enrich our travel management solution.”

“Just as Visa is the leader in developing and implementing emerging products and services for consumer payment systems, Galileo is doing the same for the corporate travel marketplace,” said Visa’s Sue Jacobs, senior vice president, Travel Services and Corporate Events. “Visa is continually looking to contain costs and improve operating efficiencies. With Galileo’s Corporate Travelpoint 2.0, Visa will be able to more effectively and efficiently manage the corporate travel process and travel policy compliance.”

“The corporate travel marketplace has evolved beyond today’s offerings of simple Internet-based booking applications,” said Hach. “With Corporate Travelpoint 2.0, Galileo has surpassed the needs of the marketplace by delivering an intuitive application that breaks the paradigm of how travel information is exchanged, modified and leveraged for the business traveler, corporate travel manager and the sponsoring travel agency.”

Corporate Travelpoint 2.0 provides the corporation and travel agency with the following “next-generation” features and benefits:

- Provides a user-friendly and intuitive trip planning “wizard” that prompts and leads travelers through the booking process.

- Creates itineraries that include flights, cars and hotels in the same step, significantly reducing the time and clicks required to book each separately.

- Provides travelers with the “best” itinerary with alternatives within corporate policy and traveler preferences.

- Applies corporate travel policy and indicates the level of compliance at the point of booking instead of at the completion of the sale, so travelers are more able to stay in compliance with travel policies, which can provide significant cost savings to the corporation, confidence to the travel manager and convenience to the traveler.

- Eliminates the need for synchronization of multiple databases and guarantees that access to real-time booked travel information is available to traveler, travel agency, corporate travel manager and all traveler devices (desktop, laptop, PDA, Web-enabled cell phone, two-way pager) because all reservations and profiles are stored centrally.

- Utilizes a DB2 relational database fully supported by XML.

- Allows modular, brandable design for easy configuration to fit corporate or end-user needs.

- Enables travelers to store commonly traveled itineraries through Trip Recall.

- Offers only available and bookable fares, unlike first generation products that state “fares as low as.”

- Requires little or no employee training.

Today, Galileo International also announced it will acquire Highwire, Inc., a leading developer of corporate Internet travel tools and technology. The acquisition, coupled with the launch of Corporate Travelpoint 2.0, provides customers with flexibility and choice when selecting a corporate travel management solution, serves the diverse needs of a broad market and solidifies Galileo’s leadership position in the corporate travel management sector.