History

A global leader in our field

Travelport was created as a broad-based business services provider to the global travel industry in 2006; however, our roots in travel trace back to 1971 with the introduction of one of the world’s first computerized airline reservation systems (CRS). These systems evolved into global distribution systems (GDS) and today serve airlines and many other types of travel service providers, as well as travel buyers worldwide.

It was United Airlines that introduced the Apollo™ CRS in 1971. Fifteen years later, Apollo Travel Services became an independent affiliate of United and was rebranded as Covia™. In 1987, Covia sold a 50 percent stake in its business to a group of European airlines and with this transaction the global Galileo partnership was formed. Galileo listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1997 and was acquired by Cendant Corporation in 2001.

With these successful businesses combined under the Travelport™ brand in 2006, the newly formed independent group went on to make strategic acquisitions to reinforce Travelport’s value proposition to the global travel industry, and enhance its industry leading platforms and technologies. Pivotal acquisitions included the Worldspan GDS in 2007 and metasearch engine Sprice™ in 2010. In 2009, Travelport became a joint venture partner in eNett™, a leading provider of integrated payment solutions for the travel industry.