Buying Business Travel
5 March, 2018
By: Molly Dyson

Regional airline Flybe announced today that it has fully adopted the Universal Airline Travel Plan (UATP) and now accepts corporate bookings for flights and ancillary purchases made through its website, mobile app, contact centre and online booking tools.

UATP is an airline-owned payment network that facilitates transactions through a corporate payment card that is accepted by thousands of merchants for air, rail and travel agency payments. Cards are not owned by individuals, but shared by those working for the same company to make travel arrangements. UATP is issued and accepted globally by airlines.

The airline says its corporate customers have used UATP for some time but the booking method has previously only been available for those made via travel agents through the GDS channels.

Roy Kinnear, chief commercial officer of Flybe, said: “Flybe is focused fully on meeting the needs of our clients, so I am really pleased that we can now accept UATP bookings made through our website. There is an undisputed demand for online UATP acceptance given the superior data management capabilities and, as such, the cards are widely used across the airline industry for corporate bookings. They are particularly prevalent in the German market (issued by Airplus International) and many companies will only book with carriers who accept them. As a result, Flybe should see an increase in business travel bookings from introducing this facility through our primary booking channel.”

Ralph Kaiser, UATP CEO, added: “UATP is continuously working with its network members to improve acceptance channels and meet customer demand. Flybe should see increased sales and we look forward to seeing the results.”

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