United Airlines and Travelport have entered into a strategic relationship “that represents a new model of collaboration between an airline and a multi-source content provider,” the companies said. They added that this marks “a significant evolution” from the traditional airline-distributor relationship, with teams from both companies working closely together to enable new capabilities and functionality for agency and corporate-buying communities.
Through this deal, Travelport will gain early access to United’s NDC technology roadmap and co-development opportunities, helping to ensure agencies benefit from the most sophisticated merchandising tools in the marketplace.
United and Travelport, as well, will work together on a deeper level of technical collaboration than traditional airline-distributor relationships, with dedicated development resources focused on creating new capabilities specifically for Travelport+, which provides an all-in-one solution with faster search, better content and built-in automation.
Through Travelport+, the relationship has an ability to accelerate the deployment of new features and functionality to travel agencies and corporate buyers.
In addition, United will prioritize development efforts with third parties who can move the fastest and bring innovations to market successfully, with Travelport serving as a key strategic partner.
United will also bring its portfolio of Online Booking Tool (OBT) extras to Travelport’s Deem OBT platform. Over time, this inclusion will introduce several new customer-friendly capabilities, including the ability to pool unused United travel credits, directly enroll in the United MileagePlus loyalty program, use United Jetstream amenity funds as a form-of-payment for ancillary purchases, and more. OBT extras will also be available in Travelport+ to bring the functionality to travel counselors.
The collaboration will be implemented in phases, with initial capabilities launching in early 2026 and additional features rolling out throughout the year. United will deploy specialized support teams to assist travel agencies during the transition, including enhanced NDC capabilities to ensure smoother adoption of new technologies and maximize the value agencies may receive from the relationship.
