Blog Archives

Name: HitchHiker GmbH
Address: Berner Str. 81, Frankfurt am Main, 60437, Germany
Telephone: +49 69 507030

AgentPlus NDC booking platform with Air France-KLM fares

Air France-KLM certifies HitchHiker for NDC booking of its private fares

05 Jun 2020 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

In June 2018, Air France-KLM certified the NDC connection of the Frankfurt software company HitchHiker for the first time. Now the functional scope of the interface has been expanded to include other important fare types.

Recently certified fare types are the airline’s private fares. They include both tour operator, consolidator and “visit friends and relatives” fares.

HitchHiker now also supports bookings with account or corporate code. This enhancement should be of particular interest to business travel agents who want to save the airline’s additional Distribution Cost Charge applied on GDS bookings.

“We are pleased to be one of the first IT providers worldwide to be able to provide the private fares of Air France and KLM via NDC and offer tour operators, wholesalers and business travel agencies real added value through our direct connection,” comments Managing Director Thomas Boffo on the cooperation.

“In these difficult times for our industry, it is important that we focus on our priorities and continue to invest in strategic development areas such as NDC. In this context it is great to see that HitchHiker is one of the first providers of software solutions for the international travel industry to offer the opportunity to distribute our private fares. This is an important step to further support our joint customers”, explains Stefan Gumuseli, General Manager Germany at Air France-KLM.

The airline’s private, corporate and published fares can be booked via the HitchHiker Flight API and the AgentPlus booking platform. For the subsequent management and processing of all bookings, HitchHiker provides a Booking Manager, through which NDC bookings can be processed just as easily as GDS bookings made using the HitchHiker system.

HitchHiker becomes NDC technology partner of Singapore Airlines

04 Nov 2019 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

Singapore Airlines is driving its NDC program, called KrisConnect, forward in order to offer its customers a better user experience on the portals of its connected distribution partners. Now, HitchHiker users can also benefit from this program.

In the future, agencies connected via NDC will have access to the airline’s expanded fare content. Further highlights include the ability to offer their customers tailor-made products, such as branded fares, as well as negotiated fares and an accelerated time-to-market for these offers.

Together with HitchHiker, Singapore Airlines is also expanding its network of technology partners and NDC aggregators to enable agencies to easily connect to the airline’s NDC program.

From now on, agencies can use the HitchHiker Flight API to book Singapore Airlines flights, seats, baggage and ancillaries via the NDC format. HitchHiker’s interface also supports calendar shopping, credit card payments, rebooking and cancellations.

In the next step, both companies plan to facilitate automatic notification of the agents e.g. in the event of a schedule change.

Aegean and Olympic Air available through the HitchHiker Flight API

17 Oct 2019 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

Based on the current NDC standard, HitchHiker Flight API users can now also connect to Greece’s largest airline, AEGEAN and its subsidiary, OLYMPIC AIR. Additionally, OLYMPIC AIR is exclusively available through direct channels and API connections.

With hubs in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larnaca, Heraklion, Rhodes and Kalamata, both airlines serve combined a route network of currently 113 scheduled destinations. This includes 29 Greek domestic destinations on the mainland and many popular islands.

Additionally, 84 international scheduled destinations are offered mainly in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, but also with 21 codeshare agreements North America, Australia and Asia.

With this, the airlines are following their mission and “travel passengers through an extensive network of destinations, which connects every corner of Greece and Greece with the world.”

AEGEAN and OLYMPIC AIR flights booked through HitchHiker’s Flight API are settled via BSP or a Credit Card (Visa & Mastercard) on Airline’s Stock. Functions for seat reservation, booking ancillary services, as well as modifying & cancelling bookings are also supported.

The Star Alliance members also offer the opportunity to earn miles through the Miles+Bonus program when flying AEGEAN.

Further information on the cooperation can be obtained by telephone under +49 69 507030 or by e-mail to sales@hitchhiker.net.

HitchHiker receives IATA NDC Level 3 certification

08 Oct 2018 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

Frankfurt based software manufacturer HitchHiker has recently achieved Level 3 certification by the International Air Transport Association, which is currently the highest level for IT service providers and officially demonstrates its long-term commitment to IATA’s “New Distribution Capability” program.

IATA’s “NDC Capable” Level 3 certification confirms that HitchHiker can send and receive offer and order management related messages in NDC format. This includes API commands for fare and availability queries, bookings with immediate ticketing, on-hold bookings with subsequent ticketing, credit card & BSP/ARC payments, re-bookings, cancellations and ticket refunds as well as seat map retrieval including availability and prices.

“Our customers are mainly online travel agencies, tour operators and business travel companies with an affinity for technology, who already rely on our years of experience with direct connections to airline systems of low-cost carriers and who are now also increasingly opting to book full-service carriers through their own NDC interfaces. The focus of this decision is mainly on the competitive advantage through attractively priced offers, low distribution system costs and additional revenues from the sale of ancillaries.

Today, we already cooperate with a number of well-known NDC airlines. Our objective is to provide a standardized interface that aggregates existing NDC interfaces, which equalizes differences between the format versions used by the respective airlines and which facilitates our customers transition to NDC through a simplified implementation process,” explains Thomas Boffo, Managing Director of HitchHiker GmbH.

The certification by the IATA also represents an important first step in positioning HitchHiker also as a service provider for airlines, which will include the implementation and hosting of NDC interfaces for airlines very shortly.

IATA NDC Capable Level 3

British Airways and HitchHiker announce NDC partnership

10 Jul 2017 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

HitchHiker and British Airways have partnered to enable authorized agents and corporate customers using the HitchHiker Flight API to access British Airways content directly through IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard.

As a leading software house and independent content aggregator for the travel industry, HitchHiker is excited to announce the cooperation with British Airways, the largest international carrier in the United Kingdom.

“It is our company mission to efficiently interconnect travel agents, travel management companies and tour operators worldwide with service providers of the tourism industry. Therefore, it is a great honor for us to support British Airways in distributing its services based on the NDC standard”, says Thomas Boffo, Managing Director of HitchHiker GmbH.

Authorized agents and corporate customers will now be able to use the HitchHiker Flight API to shop and book British Airways’ published and corporate airfares via NDC, while avoiding the distribution technology charge of 8 GBP per fare component which will be applicable to all bookings not made through NDC or other lower-cost distribution channels as of 1st November 2017.

British Airways flights may be paid by credit and debit card or cash via IATAs Billing and Settlement Plan. Furthermore, HitchHiker’s System already supports Prime Sale Seating as well as cancellations and refunds of British Airways flights. To add even more value for the passenger, leisure fares and a greater variety of ancillaries (post-sale seating, paid baggage, paid meals and catering choice) as well as itinerary changes are going to be released by HitchHiker by the end of this year.

In order to comply with most agents’ wishes of transparency, the HitchHiker Flight API allows a mixed display of content from various fare sources, such as British Airways Direct Connect, Farelogix, HitchHikers LCC Engine or traditional GDS’s such as Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre.

About HitchHiker GmbH

HitchHiker GmbH is a leading and independent provider of software solutions for the global travel industry, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. With 25 years of experience in the tourism industry and numerous international projects, HitchHiker has developed solutions for the entire airfare management and ticketing process as well as powerful online booking solutions for all types of flights and ancillaries. HitchHiker’s customers in 27 countries comprise some of the leading online and traditional travel agencies, tour operators, consolidators, travel management companies and airlines worldwide. For the development of its solutions HitchHiker trusts in industry standards such as Microsoft technology. HitchHiker has once again attained Microsoft Gold Application Development competency and is compliant to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

About British Airways

British Airways is the UK’s largest international airline and one of the world’s leading global premium carriers. Its principal place of business is London, the world’s largest premium travel market, with significant presence at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City Airports. It is expanding its schedule from Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol Airports.

British Airways’ main home at Heathrow is Terminal 5, regularly voted by passengers as the world’s best airport terminal in international surveys.

Operating one of the most extensive international scheduled airline route networks, together with its joint business agreement, codeshare and franchise partners, flies to more than 70 different countries. British Airways carries more than 40 million customers a year and has a fleet of nearly 300 aircraft. This summer, it will be operating nearly 1,000 flights a day across four London airports.

Press contact:

Uta Will
Marketing Manager
HitchHiker GmbH
Berner Str. 81
60437 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
T: + 49 (69) 50 70 30
E: marketing@hitchhiker.net
H: www.hitchhiker.net

Tigerair API now available

06 Oct 2016 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

We are now able to offer you a new direct connection to one of the biggest Asian Low Cost Carriers: Tigerair.

The new plug-in was developed based on the “Navitaire New Skies API” by courtesy of the airline and will ensure an even more reliable and stable connection to query and book Tigerair flights over the HitchHiker Flight API, Agent and Consumer.

Tigerair

Established in 2004 the subsidiary of Singapore Airlines operates flights to 40 destinations across Asia such as:

Singapore
Bangladesh
China
Hong Kong
India

Indonesia
Macau
Malaysia
Maldives
Myanmar

Philippines
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam

The usage of the new interface requires an agency log-in, which is provided by the airline. We would be very happy to provide you with a contact person at the airline should you be interested in obtaining an agency account.

Finally, we would like to take the opportunity to draw your attention to our API connections to Tigerair’s partner airlines Scoot and Tigerair Australia, which were also released this year. The Tigerair Australia API can be used either with a dedicated agency account or simply accessed over HitchHiker’s group-account; the Scoot API can only be accessed using a dedicated agency account.

For further information and to request access please contact our sales team either by e-mail: sales@hitchhiker.net, or by phone: +49 69 507030.

“Blue Air” now available via HitchHiker Direct Connect

11 Jul 2014 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: Pervin Bayram | In: News

HitchHiker broadens its spectrum of Direct Connect Content even further with the Romanian airline “Blue Air” via API connection.

The privately-owned airline Blue Air has been successfully operating from Romania for 10 years now. At inexpensive prices the airline connects Romania with 10 European countries including popular holiday destinations in Turkey, Greece, Spain and Italy. Blue Air has now opened a new sales channel by providing its API to HitchHiker GmbH enabling HitchHiker customers to book Blue Air flights at the same prices as via the Blue Air website.

From its hub, the Henri Coanda International Airport, located 16 km from Bucharest, Blue Air offers return flights to London, Dublin, Brussels, Larnaca, Rome, Bologna, Naples, Catania, Milan, Paris, Nice, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia. From Bacau Blue Air serves routes to London, Dublin, Brussels, Paris, Rome, Bologna, Milan and Turin. From Sibiu, Blue Air flies to Stuttgart.

During the summer of 2014 Blue Air is offering seasonal flights from Bucharest to Corfu, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Antalya, Bodrum and Tel Aviv as well as from Bacau to Heraklion and Antalya, from Iasi to Zakynthos and from Cluj to Antalya.
Over the years the Blue Air fleet has increased to 10 Boeing 737 aircraft with modern interiors and comfortable seats. As a special service the airline allows check-in baggage of 32 kg per piece and up to 4 bags per person, free carry-on luggage of 10 kg per piece and coach transfers from Bucharest Airport to/from Constanta or Brasov. Services such as online check-in, luggage and seat reservation can be utilised through HitchHiker Direct Connect. Possible payment methods are: MasterCard, Visa, Maestro and Agency Payment.

HitchHiker customers can book flights via the Blue Air group account or use a dedicated Blue Air Agency Account. Through their cooperation with HitchHiker, Blue Air flights are bookable via the HitchHiker Flight API and HitchHiker’s B2B and B2C booking application while HitchHiker expands its direct connect content to 110 suppliers (see:http://news.hitchhiker.com/hh-direct-connect.htm).