Delta is rolling out upgrades to its Delta Professional
portal tool this week.
The improvements, announced as the annual Global Business Travel
Association conference got underway in Boston on Monday, enable travel agents
to provide perks on Delta flights for clients without working through Delta's
corporate support center or a sales account executive. Agents will also be
empowered to purchase tickets after the time limit on a reservation has passed
and make name changes on existing itineraries without getting third-party
approval.
"We are excited about the impact it is going to have on
our agents' and TMCs' ability to drive speed to the market and to be able to
better manage customers," Delta senior vice president of global sales Bob
Somers said.
The cumbersome processes of making changes to a ticket to
correct a misspelled name and purchasing tickets after the expired reservation
time limit have been the most frequent complaints of agents who use Pro Portal,
Somers said.
Under the upgrades, agents will be able to directly trade
waiver-and-favors points they have earned for Delta bookings for name changes
and to make late ticket purchases. The cost in points for bookings on expired
reservations will depend on the monetary price of the ticket, Somers said.
Agents will also use waiver-and-favor points to directly
obtain perks for clients through a new feature in Delta Pro called Delta Edge
Wallet.
The application provides agents with the ability to quickly
search and request available complimentary ticket and upgrade inventory, access
award incentives, and view transaction history and reporting. In addition,
travel agents can send drink and WiFi vouchers directly to their clients'
FlyDelta app.
Delta Edge Wallet goes live Monday.
Delta launched the Delta Professional portal in 2014. The
airline said it reaches more than 65,000 agents, agencies and corporate travel
managers each month.