Travelport, one of the world's leading providers of global distribution systems (GDS), has been selected by Thomas Cook Group plc, the world's best known name in travel, as its GDS provider in the United Kingdom.

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - 1st Feburary, 2010 - The new, multi-year agreement, which follows a thorough tender process, will see Thomas Cook migrate all of its UK entities, including Gold Medal Travel, from their current GDS provider to the Galileo platform. The two organizations are also discussing further opportunities to extend their relationship outside of the UK.

“The Travelport team invested considerable time understanding our business objectives and has been very responsive in meeting our needs. We feel confident that the GDS functionality, technology and support they can offer through this partnership will assist us in achieving our UK growth strategy,” said Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Cook Group plc.

Over the coming months, the two organisations will work closely together to ensure a seamless migration of the travel giant’s UK GDS business to Galileo. This includes all scheduled flight reservations made by Thomas Cook’s UK businesses such as Gold Medal Travel and its online brand - Netflights.com. As part of the agreement, Thomas Cook will also implement a number of innovative new Travelport products such as its ePricing low-fare shopping solution.

“This is a huge win for Travelport and we are thrilled that Thomas Cook has selected to migrate all of its UK business to the Galileo platform. Thomas Cook told us that the decision was a reflection of the strength of our GDS offering, our commitment to product innovation and development as well as our ability to provide superior support,” said Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport GDS.

About Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the world's leading travel groups with sales of £9.3 billion and 22.1 million customers.  The Group operates under five geographical segments in 21 countries, in which it is number one or two in all its core markets.  Its business is supported by 31,000 employees, a fleet of 95 aircraft and a network of over 3,400 owned and franchised travel stores.

About Travelport
Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry. Travelport is comprised of the global distribution system (GDS) business that includes the Worldspan and Galileo brands; GTA, a leading global, multi-channel provider of hotel and ground services; Airline IT Solutions, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines.  With 2008 revenues of $2.5 billion, Travelport operates in 160 countries and has approximately 5,300 employees.

Travelport also owns approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), a leading global online travel company. Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group, One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures and Travelport management.

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