DMCs & PCOs

New Austrian Internet Platform Gives Massive Boost To Online Demand & Bookings
22/5/2006
After the Austrian Airlines Group introduced a series of improvements to its internet presence in 2005, including a new booking-friendly homepage at www.austrian.com, more foreign language versions of the booking engine around the world and a wider range of payment methods, the company's internet bookings have increased by 62 % from January to end-April compared to the previous year. In addition to Austria itself, the markets with the highest sales at present include Great Britain, with a share of total bookings approaching 20%, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. The share of bookings made over the internet in Austria currently stands at around 14%, the global average reaches 6.6% - a trend which is set to continue increasing strongly. In the past month, a total of 55,000 Austrian flight legs were booked online worldwide.
Commenting on the benefits to customers of the Austrian Online booking channel, Chief Commercial Officer Dr. Josef E. Burger said the following: ‘Total flexibility, free combinability, transparent presentation and low prices – these are the key factors in the success of our new internet booking platform. We are now aiming to double the number of flight legs booked over the internet compared to last year to around 900,000 flight legs sold.'