United Airlines and Travelport Announce Long-Term Strategic Relationship to Accelerate Modern Airline Retailing

Rhea-AI Summary

United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) and Travelport announced a multi-year strategic relationship to accelerate modern airline retailing by giving Travelport early access to United's NDC technology roadmap, co-development rights, and phased deployments of new features.

Key elements include dedicated technical collaboration for Travelport+, integration of United Online Booking Tool (OBT) extras into Deem OBT and Travelport+, and initial capability launches in early 2026 with additional rollouts throughout the year. United will supply specialized support teams to assist agencies during the transition.

Positive

• Early access to United's NDC technology roadmap for Travelport
• Dedicated development resources for Travelport+ integration
• Integration of United OBT extras into Deem OBT and Travelport+
• Phased launch timeline with initial capabilities in early 2026
• Deployment of specialized support teams to assist travel agencies

Negative

• None.

Insights

Distribution Strategy Expert

United and Travelport's long-term deal accelerates NDC rollout and deepens technical collaboration, benefiting agency retailing.

United and Travelport create a closer airline-distributor model by sharing United's NDC roadmap and co-developing features for Travelport+ and Deem OBT.

The business mechanism links early access, priority development, and dedicated engineering to speed deployment and broaden advanced merchandising for agencies and corporate buyers. This reduces integration lag and centralizes feature delivery through Travelport's platform.

Risks include phased implementation, dependency on the partners' delivery pace, and adoption hurdles during migration. Specialized support and phased launches through early 2026 limit rollout risk but require monitoring.

Watch technical milestones, actual feature rollouts across Travelport+ and Deem OBT, and agency adoption metrics over the next 12 months. Expect observable product launches and support activity throughout 2026.

New model of collaboration delivers Travelport access to United's best retailing capabilities, co-development of innovative features, and accelerated deployment of next-level New Distribution Capability (NDC) functionality for travel agencies and corporate buyers

CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines and Travelport have entered into a strategic relationship that represents a new model of collaboration between an airline and a multi-source content provider.

This marks a significant evolution from the traditional airline-distributor relationship, with teams from both companies working closely together to enable new capabilities and functionality for agency and corporate buying communities.

Through this deal, Travelport will gain early access to United's NDC technology roadmap and co-development opportunities, helping to ensure travel counselors benefit from the most sophisticated merchandising tools in the marketplace.

"Our new model for cooperation with Travelport helps ensure that United's travel agencies and corporate buyers benefit from the most innovative retail travel solutions available," said Andrew Nocella, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of United Airlines. "Together, we're setting a new standard for transparency, flexibility, and value in air travel distribution."

"This long-term relationship with United Airlines marks a major milestone in accelerating airline retailing for agencies and corporations," said Greg Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Travelport. "By combining United's advanced NDC capabilities with Travelport's next-generation platform, we're delivering richer content, better service solutions, and more choice for all our customers worldwide."

Early Access, Co-Development and Online Booking Tool Extras

Travelport will receive early access to United's innovative NDC-enabled extras with teams working together to co-develop new features and bring them to market rapidly.

Technical Cooperation: United and Travelport will work together on a deeper level of technical collaboration than traditional airline-distributor relationships, with dedicated development resources focused on creating new capabilities specifically for Travelport+, a modern retailing platform built for travel agencies that provides an all-in-one solution with faster search, better content, and built-in automation.

Accelerated Innovation: Through Travelport+, the relationship has an ability to accelerate the deployment of new features and functionality to travel agencies and corporate buyers.

Priority Development: United prioritizes development efforts with third parties who can move the fastest and bring innovations to market successfully, with Travelport serving as a key strategic partner.

Online Booking Tool Extras: United will bring its portfolio of Online Booking Tool (OBT) extras to Travelport's Deem OBT platform. Over time, this inclusion will introduce several new customer-friendly capabilities, including the ability to pool unused United travel credits, directly enroll in the United MileagePlus® loyalty program, use United Jetstream amenity funds as a form-of-payment for ancillary purchases, and more. OBT extras will also be available in Travelport+ to bring the functionality to travel counselors. 

The collaboration will be implemented in phases, with initial capabilities launching in early 2026 and additional features rolling out throughout the year. United will deploy specialized support teams to assist travel agencies during the transition, including enhanced NDC capabilities to ensure smoother adoption of new technologies and maximize the value agencies may receive from the relationship.

This multi-year deal reflects both organizations' commitment to modernizing airline retailing while supporting the vital role that travel agencies and travel management companies play in the industry.

About United Airlines
At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers, and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

About Travelport
Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers. Buyers and sellers are connected by the company's next-generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, enhances how travel is sold, and supports modern digital retailing. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Travelport is supported by a global team of 2,300 people, spanning 75+ countries and serving 165 markets. The company serves over 26,000 travel agency locations and processes over 270 million transactions annually.

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SOURCE United Airlines

FAQ

What did United Airlines (UAL) announce with Travelport on December 2, 2025?

United announced a multi-year strategic relationship giving Travelport early access to United's NDC roadmap, co-development rights, and phased feature rollouts beginning early 2026.

How will the United and Travelport deal affect Travelport+ and agencies?

The deal brings dedicated technical collaboration and new NDC-enabled features into Travelport+, aiming for faster search, richer content, and automation for travel counselors.

What Online Booking Tool (OBT) features will United add to Travelport platforms?

United will bring OBT extras including pooling unused travel credits, direct MileagePlus enrollment, and using Jetstream amenity funds for ancillary payments into Deem OBT and Travelport+.

When will agencies see the first United–Travelport features live?

Initial capabilities from the collaboration are scheduled to launch in early 2026, with additional features rolling out throughout the year.

Will United provide support for agencies adopting the new Travelport features?

Yes; United will deploy specialized support teams to assist travel agencies during the transition and to enable smoother adoption of enhanced NDC capabilities.