Thomas Cook is set to begin testing a group-wide technology platform this October that will individually price customer requests as they are made.
By 2009 it aims to have a single, multi-channel reservations system integrating the group’s tour operator brands and travel agencies – which number more than 30 – across Europe.
The new system, plans for which were announced last August, will replace the company’s existing 11 different reservations systems.
The programme, launched last year under the name Project Globe, will bring together a browser-based reservations platform developed by technology company BlueSky Travel Systems and the integration know-how of IT giant IBM.
Thomas Cook spent £11 million on the project last year and has budgeted £65 million to complete it.
Group chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “The system will replace our tour operator platforms group-wide.”
The platform – which will allow products to be sold as part of packages or as components – should be flexible enough to cope with future shifts in booking habits.
The three-year timetable stems from the need to ensure Project Globe is compatible with the various front and back-office systems across the group.
“The challenge is to make all the products across the group available to all markets,” said Fontenla-Novoa.
“It will give us standard processes and uniformity in our systems and allow the customer to differentiate between offers.”
The pilot will begin with the Thomas Cook Signature programme in the UK.