Northwest To Make Web Fares Available To Travel Agents With New “WorldAgent Direct” Internet Site

Northwest Airlines today announced that it will launch an Internet site that will provide travel agents with features and services unmatched in the airline industry, including free and unrestricted access to the airline’s Web fares, simplified reporting, complete online booking capabilities and more.

“Northwest’s WorldAgent Direct site will make doing business with the airline free and easy for travel professionals,” said Fay Beauchine, vice president of sales and customer relations. “WorldAgent Direct, designed with the help of travel agents, will be second to none in the array of products and services it offers, from fully integrated reporting to end-to-end support of the customer experience.”

The site, www.worldagentdirect.com, will launch later this month after a two-year effort that included interviews and research with travel agents. WorldAgent Direct will offer travel agents a variety of improvements over the current site including:

Free access to Web fares -  Registered Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) – accredited travel agents will have free and unrestricted access to Northwest’s airfare specials offered only through the Internet, including the carrier’s weekly CyberSaver fares.

Easy reporting - WorldAgent Direct will be the first and only airline travel agent Web site to offer reporting of sales through ARC, making it easier for Internet sales activity to be tracked and managed. The innovative link between WorldAgent Direct and ARC, an industry first, will also make accounting of sales and billing easier than with competing sites on the market today.

Easy navigation and full-service functionality -  Through WorldAgent Direct, all U.S.-based, ARC-accredited travel agencies will have the ability to perform easy bookings of most domestic itineraries on published and Web fares involving flights operated by Northwest Airlines, and most of Northwest’s code-share partners. In addition, travel agents will be able to use Northwest’s electronic certificate “E-Cert” promotional offers, view seat maps and request seats, monitor flight information, check customers in for their flights and review the most recent offers from Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flier program. In the future, WorldAgent Direct will make it possible for travel agents to refund and reissue tickets online.

Easy one-stop registration and access to all Northwest products -  Following a quick one time registration, WorldAgent Direct provides travel agents with one-stop access to the Internet sites selling the full line of Northwest products including Northwest Airlines, KLM, Northwest Airlines WorldVacations and Worry-Free Vacations. As an additional service, travel agency owner/managers will have the ability to manage their employees’ access to one or all of the sites. 

Easy access to information and 24/7 support -  WorldAgent Direct will provide travel agents with information on Northwest and KLM’s policies and procedures, traditionally found in a Global Distribution System (GDS). Users of WorldAgent Direct will receive weekly e-mails with news of travel agent incentive programs and special offers. WorldAgent Direct will also have online and e-mail support, as well as toll-free telephone support, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
“WorldAgent Direct will allow us to reach travel agencies electronically with targeted offers and programs of value to them and their customers,” Beauchine continued. “This new site is another example of how Northwest is offering innovative solutions to address the changing needs of our customers, business partners and the marketplace."

Eventually, Northwest will tie WorldAgent Direct to its CorpNet share-based contracting program, an initiative unveiled in June that allows the airline and its corporate customers to transition to agreements that are based on the share of business they do with Northwest. In addition, Northwest plans to expand access to its WorldAgent Direct site to agents based in Canada and Mexico in the near future.

Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam and more than 1,700 daily departures. With its travel partners, Northwest serves nearly 750 cities in almost 120 countries on six continents.