KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): Malaysia Airlines has signed a new multi-year content agreement with UK-based travel commerce platform operator Travelport to capitalise on the latter's technology expertise in the industry.

In a joint statement on Monday (March 2), Malaysia Airlines and Travelport said the agreement includes the use of Travelport’s merchandising tool and digital media solutions.

"With the agreement, over 68,000 agencies servicing hundreds of millions of travellers worldwide will have real-time access to search, book and sell the content and inventory of Malaysia Airlines. It will also join over 300 other airlines using Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool, which gives agencies a graphically rich experience when searching for and booking branded fares," they said.

Malaysia Airlines chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May said in the statement that it is most important to capture eyeballs when agents are flooded by thousands of options to offer passengers.

"We fly to over 1,000 destinations around the world and Travelport’s edge in technology innovations, air merchandising and digital marketing will help Malaysia Airlines better fulfil the demands of travellers and seize growth opportunities in today’s highly competitive environment.

"At Malaysia Airlines, customer experience is our center of gravity, and technology is a big part of the service offering. We value the partnership with Travelport and look forward to more fruitful years to come,” Lau said.

Travelport vice president for Asia Pacific Chris Ramm said in the statement that following Malaysia Airlines’ launch of new flexible fare options last year, he believes Travelport will further empower Malaysia Airlines to offer more flexibility to travellers who increasingly demand personalised travel experience.

"Our digital media solutions will also support Malaysia Airlines in global and tactical sales campaigns to promote its product offerings,” Ramm said.