HRG Consulting will announce an "ROI offering." Separately, HRG added taxi and limo bookings and hotel billing options to its booking tool. To help companies better manage "increasingly complex" hotel costs that include add-on charges for such items as breakfast and parking, the latest version of HRG Online allows travelers to have "certain elements of their stay in U.K. hotels billed directly back to HRG UK." It already is available to Galileo global distribution system users in the United Kingdom.

Sabre's GetThere added Japanese and Chinese language options, and improved overall system speed and development as part of a series of updates also including custom hotel notes to guide travelers; hotel preferred rate notification; online exchanges for partially flown tickets, international tickets and "tickets for the same trip that are made on separate carriers"; pre-trip approval on mobile phones; expanded European airline content from Travelfusion; more car rental locations; and a green hotel indicator.

Amadeus signed Austrian Airlines to a "full content" agreement good through 2014.

TRX's upgraded Resx booking tool offers "more seamless booking and reporting capabilities" for direct Air Canada and Southwest channels, according to the company. New functionality provides "corresponding car and hotel availability, passive global distribution segments, customizable passenger name record documentation and trip reporting." Available to all users, the new version also includes "improvements to the Transportation Security Administration data reporting protocols" and "contract rate pricing logic," TRX said.

According to FlightStats, American Airlines in January had the highest cancellation rate among major U.S. carriers at 2.49 percent of scheduled flights. Frontier Airlines had the lowest at 0.12 percent. Among regional operators, US Airways subsidiary Piedmont Airlines had the highest cancellation rate (4.46 percent), followed by AA subsidiary American Eagle (3.87 percent).

Alaska Airlines in January was the most punctual major U.S. carrier, with an on-time performance of 85 percent, according to FlightStats. Achieving a top ranking for a second consecutive month, Alaska was followed by Frontier Airlines (84 percent) and Delta Air Lines (83 percent). It was followed by United Airlines (76 percent). JetBlue Airways (73 percent) for a second consecutive month ranked worst among the 10 largest carriers.

Sabre Travel Network announced a "global pilot of a new travel agent workflow solution" and graphical interface to simplify agency operations, including a "customer profile system that intelligently leverages client policies and preferences in the shopping and booking process." The system "operates across global distribution systems, enabling larger travel management companies that serve clients on more than one GDS to simplify their operations with a standardized workflow across their customer base" and is a "key component of Sabre's merchandising platform," the company announced. Multiple agencies in the Americas had agreed to participate in the pilot, according to Sabre. Amadeus, Farelogix and Travelport all previously announced new agent desktop products for delivery in 2010.

Amadeus and Concur launched a multi-year alliance and plans this year to integrate Amadeus' eTravel Management with Concur Expense. The companies also would integrate Amadeus' "core distribution technology" into Concur Cliqbook Travel--"the first time Amadeus has provided this type of technology to a third party," according to the companies. Those functions include a ticket reissue service and the Master Pricer fare search engine.

Delta Air Lines completed the integration of the Northwest Airlines reservations system. Described by Delta as "one of the final merger milestones" following its acquisition of Northwest in 2008, the switch involved officially retiring the Northwest flight codes and consumer booking Web site, and moving all Northwest passenger records into its system. "Customers who booked Northwest for travel are now booked on identical Delta flights," according to a Delta statement. "Delta has increased customer service agent staffing in airports and reservation call centers this week to ensure a smooth experience for customers."

Air France and KLM extended their Amadeus full-content distribution deal to December 2013, according to Amadeus. Originally scheduled to expire at the end of this year, the agreement "guarantees Amadeus travel agents worldwide access to" all of the carriers' fares and inventory.