Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, has announced today (5th March 2018) that it has fully adopted the widely used Universal Airline Travel Plan (UATP) and now accepts corporate bookings for flights and ancillary purchases made through its website www.flybe.com , on the Flybe mobile app and through Flybe’s Contact Centre. UATP accounts are also available for use with OBTs (online booking tools) distributing flybe.com fares.

The airline’s corporate customers have used UATP for some time however this widely preferred method of booking has only been available before now for bookings made via travel agents through GDS (Global Distribution System) channels.

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 corporate travel arrangements. UATP is issued and accepted globally by the world’s airlines.

Roy Kinnear, Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer comments: “Flybe is focused on fully 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.”

UATP CEO, Ralph Kaiser 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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