Concorde SmartFares made even smarter for agents

Concorde SmartFares, one of the most popular and comprehensive air fares databases for the Australian travel industry, has introduced a series of enhancements to increase travel agent productivity.

Using a computer language from Microsoft called .NET, Concorde has added a range of “back office” refinements to improve SmartFares performance and speed up responses.

“Time is of the essence for travel agents,” said Concorde Group Marketing Manager Sue Notley.

“SmartFares is a critical piece of infrastructure for the Australian travel industry, and we are constantly refining it to ensure that we deliver the fastest, friendliest and most accurate air fares database,” she said. “Through these technical refinements – and more to come - we aim to leave agents with more time for selling.”

In the Fare Search screen, the change of date format now includes calendars to make planning easier for travel agents, and the search screen can now be viewed on one page. Mandatory fields are highlighted with an asterisk, and any incorrect fare search entries by agents now trigger explanatory “error” messages.

The Fare Matrix feature offers a “gross fare option”, which uses the mark-up and departure point information from the agent’s own default settings.

For agents wanting to book accommodation, a tours link has been added to the top of the fare results page, providing a direct connection to the Concorde SmartHotels search engine.

And to improve SmartFares security, a log out button has been included in the header field, technical support forms now feature key agent information to assist Concorde with agent queries, and a new, more user-friendly look has been introduced for agents who use Netscape.

All of these changes have now been incorporated into Concorde SmartFares, and are available for immediate use.