One year ago, Cape Air launched our new airline platform, a 100% completely new, scalable and modern airline passenger service and reservations system. After 130,000 flights and three New England superstorms, we can say the system has been fully tested and is proven, reliable and efficient.Read More

One year ago, Cape Air launched our new airline platform, a 100% completely new, scalable and modern airline passenger service and reservations system. After 130,000 flights and three New England superstorms, we can say the system has been fully tested and is proven, reliable and efficient.

Hosted on two parallel systems, disaster recovery is integrated into the very architecture of the system. When unplanned events strike, or major infrastructure upgrades are required, we have the capability to move between parallel systems without downtime or interrupted service -- and in a matter of minutes. There is no need for experts to fly data tapes to another safe location or spend hours transferring large data files, as with some legacy systems.

Having a redundant architecture allowed us to move Cape Air from their primary reservations environment to their secondary environment and back again, a number of times over the past year. Even during Nemo, Superstorm Sandy and the recent Nor’easter, Cape Air employees were able to offer uninterrupted service to their customers, getting them where they needed to go -- as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Since launching, Cape Air has seen additional benefits and efficiencies, including:

• The new system made it easy for Cape Air to roll out a steady stream of new features and releases that lighten the load for customers and employees. In the past 12 months, Cape Air integrated 464 improvements with an average integration time of only 30-45 days. 
• The integration between the reservations and departure control components allows Cape Air employees to easily shift between the call center and the airport -- using a system that looks and feels the same across these very unique functions. 
• Agents love how easy it is to check in passengers and baggage, and to add other additional information, to better serve their customers. 
• Cape Air customers often cite the ease of use, convenience of booking with a profile, how quickly and easily they can change and cancel reservations, and the general intuitiveness of the system. 

Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air, said “The past year has been full of success moments, in large part thanks to the team and technology provided by ITA. The launch was just about the smoothest I’ve ever seen, and we’ve been able to roll out new features without missing a beat. More importantly, our passengers are finding the way they search, book and travel to be faster, easier and more personal. ITA’s airline platform did not disappoint!”

We’re thrilled with the success Cape Air has had over the past year, and look forward to the exciting updates they’re planning for 2013. To learn more about how Cape Air is making history and delighting its travelers, you can read the full case study.

Posted by Ed Orciuch, Manager, Software Engineering, Travel

MileWise uses our QPX™ pricing and shopping technology on milewise.com to give users a faster and more comprehensive flight shopping experience. Now, Android and Nexus 7 users have access to the same great speed and broad range of search options. In addition to these benefits, QPX also enables other innovative features for MileWise Users: Combo Fares let users combine two one-way tickets with different carriers and payment types, for big potential savings Price Alerts let users instantly know if the lower-tier mileage seat or a great cash fare has become available Search Filters give users a full set of filters, making it easier to find exactly what they're looking for Users also have access to several innovative MileWise features that allow them to:

Read More

MileWise uses our QPX™ pricing and shopping technology on milewise.com to give users a faster and more comprehensive flight shopping experience. Now, Android and Nexus 7 users have access to the same great speed and broad range of search options. In addition to these benefits, QPX also enables other innovative features for MileWise Users: Combo Fares let users combine two one-way tickets with different carriers and payment types, for big potential savings Price Alerts let users instantly know if the lower-tier mileage seat or a great cash fare has become available Search Filters give users a full set of filters, making it easier to find exactly what they're looking for Users also have access to several innovative MileWise features that allow them to:

• Track 500+ programs (including airlines, hotels, credit cards and many others) 
• Explore places to go, using individual rewards or cash 
• Get expiration alerts to make sure they never lose hard-earned miles and points again 
• Receive activity notifications when status level or balance changes 

MileWise lets users see real-time flight prices in cash, airline miles, and hotel and credit-card points -- on one screen. They track reward program balances, status and expirations, combining that data with travel and redemption preferences, to recommend the best way to pay.

Congrats to MileWise on their successful launch. MileWise for Android is available for download in the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.milewise.app.

To learn more about ITA by Google, visit www.itasoftware.com.

Posted by Asif Khan, Sales and Business Development Manager

When visiting a city for the first time, you may want to stay close to the sites you want to see -- or, you may wish to stay in an area of town that you find intriguing. We've made it easier for you to do both, via a new Google Hotel Finder feature that makes it easy to explore neighborhoods in some of the most popular destinations.Read More

When visiting a city for the first time, you may want to stay close to the sites you want to see -- or, you may wish to stay in an area of town that you find intriguing. We've made it easier for you to do both, via a new Google Hotel Finder feature that makes it easy to explore neighborhoods in some of the most popular destinations.

Just go to www.google.com/hotels and choose the city you’re planning to visit. After you pick your travel dates, you’ll see a small panel on the top left corner of the results map. You can hover over that panel to see descriptions of different neighborhoods within the city you’ll be visiting. When you’ve done your reading and chosen the neighborhood that best suits your travel needs, you can select that neighborhood to narrow the list of available hotels.

In addition to making it easier to choose the location of your hotel, we’ve also simplified the process for filtering hotel results. To take advantage of this improved experience, simply type your preferences in the search box along with the location (e.g. “3 star hotel in London under $200 with wifi”). The correct filters will be automatically set.

Finally, you will now be able to find your favorite hotel chains with greater ease via a new filter that restricts results by hotel brand.

We look forward to helping you find the best hotel for your next trip.

Posted by: Maciek Nowakowski, Product Manager, Travel