The SkyLink Team
The Toronto kick off for SkyLink’s series of 4 spring roadshows was a big hit with their travel agent partners. The Woodbine Banquet & Convention Centre proved to be an easily accessible location with its spacious banquet hall and the ideal layout for the mini trade show.
Joined by 10 of their destination and airline partners (AeroSvit; Avianca/Taca ; Cathay Pacific; Copa Airlines; Jet Airways; Turkish Airlines; Qatar Airways; Tourism Malaysia, Mexico and Panama), North America’s largest consolidator treated the agents to a lavish buffet dinner and an overview of their Global Booking Engine.
SkyLink has always invested to stay ahead of the technology curve in airline search and price display... no easy task. But the investment has paid off in many ways as their revenue has increased 100% since 2007 keeping ahead of reduced margins and creating many efficiencies. A private equity cash injection last year has helped with the synchronized operations of the Canadian based company’s U.S. and Indian organizations a dynamic booking engine is now being developed.
Yuvraj Datta, SkyLink’s Chief Operating Officer, says they are concentrating on North American travel agents more and more – listening to what they need and like – and by the sounds of the spontaneous applause – they like the quick, concise one page display results SkyLink’s global booking engine delivers. More than 95 airlines’ pricing, schedules and availability are searched and displayed very quickly.
Genevieve Elliott, Vice President of Toronto’s Storm Travel was very enthusiastic in her praise for her favourite consolidator. “They’re quick, they’re polite and they’re very good. Highly competitive, they’ll look after your booking any way you request or in whatever way you need it handled. And, they are always friendly,” she said.
Many of the agents SkyLink works with are big enough to have their own deals in their specialized markets, but SkyLink capably fills in the gaps for commission on air products those agreements don’t cover. SkyLink has also been contracted to handle fulfillment for several OTA’s that do not operate in Canada – they handle everything from reservations, ticketing and BSP reporting.
