Google Cloud and Sabre have formed a 10-year partnership that will see the creation of a new marketplace for airline, hospitality and agency customers.
The distribution and technology giant says new services and “operational agility” are part of the plan, with Google Cloud becoming its preferred cloud provider as well as a “broader strategic partner.”
Sabre has earmarked a number of initiatives for its teams to work on alongside Google’s, including the migration of its IT infrastructure and using Google Cloud’s data analytic tools and insights to boost its own products.
Innovation is the third part of the partnership, with a strategy to “imagine, develop and deploy future capabilities that will advance the travel ecosystem.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, says: "We believe our partnership will deliver more personalized experiences for travelers, saving time and providing greater convenience that will ultimately raise the standard for the travel industry overall.”
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, adds: "Travelers seek convenience, choice and value. Our capabilities in AI and cloud computing will help Sabre deliver more of what consumers want.”
Sabre is not the only travel company to declare its data service ambitions in the past week, with Lufthansa also announcing a partnership with Google Cloud.
The Germany-based carrier says the plan is to build a platform that will come up with scenarios to help it get back to normal operations after disruptions such as weather events.
Data from various sources such as crew scheduling, aircraft replacement and maintenance will be merged to help create the scenarios.
Detlef Kayser, a member of the executive board of Lufthansa Group, says: "This will enable us to identify possible flight irregularities even earlier and implement countermeasures at an early stage.”
A statement talks about being able to rebook passengers across the group’s four hubs more rapidly in the future through artificial intelligence-driven systems.