Delta Air Lines claims to have become the sole US airline partner to a new Expedia tool designed to bring more transparency into flight component booking.
Expedia’s new display lists fees for checking bags or cancelling a booking, as well as the benefits of a particular fare.
Delta provided all of the product, fare and cost information for the Upgrade Options display on Expedia in the US.
The carrier said the aim was to give customers the information required “to make educated choices about the kind of onboard experience they want, whether buying through delta.com, traditional or online travel agencies”.
Managing director of distribution, Chris Phillips, said: “By partnering with online travel agencies, Delta is giving our customers more control in the type of travel experience they’d like to have on Delta versus simply choosing the lowest available fare.”
Historically, both traditional and online travel agencies relied on commoditised shopping displays that differentiate airline carriers only by logo and price.
In addition to its partnership with Expedia, Delta previously worked with Orbitz in the US to enable a display providing a more retail shopping experience.
The Orbitz partnership was the first step in providing customers the same level of choice, control and transparency that customers have on delta.com.
“When we started clearly showing our customers on delta.com their options for booking First Class, Delta Comfort+, Main Cabin and Basic Economy, the overall reaction was very positive,” said Phillips.
“We found that, given a clear choice, customers often choose to buy the full experience versus just the lowest available fare.
“The natural next step was to take this best-in-class online shopping experience to all of our distribution channels, including the online travel agencies.”
Expedia global tour and transport senior vice president, Greg Schulze, said: “The global travel industry continues to expand and innovate, but there are very few companies investing in air shopping and booking,”
“Expedia is committed to creating an amazing experience for the millions of people who shop for airline tickets on Expedia sites.
“We’ve been making significant progress towards improving air travel for our customers and suppliers, all of which help customers better navigate the increasing market complexity.
“Ultimately, our goal is to help travellers make more confident travel decisions.
“By leveraging Expedia’s deep industry relationships and vast access to travel related data, we think we are in the best position to predict what shoppers care about most when it comes to flights.
“We will continue to invest heavily in new partnerships and iterative product development to solve the biggest air challenges and requests from air travellers around the world.”