Sabre Wins Gold at Business Travel Show Innovation Awards

February 8 2008

Sabre has picked up the coveted Gold Innovation Award for its world-first "Sabre Virtually There" mobile solution at this year's Business Travel Innovation Awards, held in London last night.

"Sabre Virtually There" web and mobile services enable Sabre Connected travel agents to provide personalised travel information to their customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a website or a web-enabled mobile phone. In addition to providing real-time travel itineraries, travellers also receive flight schedule and notification alerts, gate assignments, destination information on over 200 countries including 19 in Europe, local city and restaurant guides, maps, weather and a currency converter - everything a traveller needs at their fingertips.

Originally launched in 2003, "Sabre Virtually There" mobile services was significantly enhanced in September last year to meet rising demand from travellers for more comprehensive travel information while on the go. A huge success, "Sabre Virtually There" is now being used by more than 30,000 agencies around the world.

"We are thrilled to be recognised for the innovation we have worked so hard to deliver our agencies and travellers. With more than 3 billion mobile phones in use around the world and the majority now web-enabled, there's clearly a market for delivering timely and relevant travel services direct to the mobile phone," said Greg Webb, chief marketing officer for Sabre.

"Travellers benefit by having access to a whole new suite of information on the go, and our agency customers benefit by having the tools to better serve their travellers around the clock."

The Business Travel Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate business travel suppliers who create highly innovative products, services and processes for buyers, travellers or other suppliers. It is widely acknowledged as the world's most prestigious Innovation Awards ceremony, with votes cast by travel professionals from all over the world.

Business Travel Show event director David Chapple said: "Combining the needs of the business traveller whilst on the move with the latest in mobile technology is obviously a highly popular innovation and a well deserved winner of the Business Travel Show Gold award. Congratulations to Sabre for producing a product that truly represents the innovative nature of this industry."

In recent surveys, 42 percent of business travellers indicated their biggest pet peeve with business travel is the delays encountered while travelling. The latest enhancements to "Sabre Virtually There" mobile services help ease this frustration.

"We can't control the weather, but we can provide travellers information to make it easier to get from point A to point B," said Webb.

"While we are extremely proud of this recognition, we are even more excited that our technology and solutions continue to push the envelope in finding ways to address real-time issues that impact travellers � especially the corporate road warriors. These awards recognise our commitment to investing in innovative solutions that help our agency customers reinforce their value by providing services that really matter to their customers," he said.

"Sabre Virtually There" mobile services are easily accessible by travellers and travel agents alike via www.virtuallythere.com from any web-enabled mobile device.

ENDS

About Sabre Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network, a Sabre Holdings company, provides the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions for corporate and leisure travel. The Sabre GDS is the foundation for these solutions, providing a ready-built efficient marketplace that connects travel suppliers, including hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels, with more than 50,000 travel agency locations. Currently, Sabre collectively handles over 70 percent of the BTN 100 bookings. Key brands of Sabre Travel Network include GetThere, for corporate travel reservation technology; Nexion, a host agency; SynXis, for hotel reservation management, distribution and technology services; E-site marketing, specializing in online business solutions exclusively for the hospitality industry TRAMS, mid- and back-office solutions and marketing services for travel agencies; and TRAMS Marketing Alliance (TMA), a marketing promotions services for leisure travel agencies. Sabre Travel Network also markets TripTailor Vacations, a travel wholesaler providing dynamic packaging for the travel agency marketplace.

Sabre Holdings connects people with the world's greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.

CONTACT
Pam Wong, Sabre Holdings
+44 (0) 208 538 8653 Office
+44 (0)7 968 902 626 Cell
pam.wong@sabre.com