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Independent online rail retailer, thetrainline.com has secured a major partnership deal with Microsoft to provide train travel search and ticket booking facilities on its MSN travel channel.
The co-branded site resembles an MSN travel page while delivering content from thetrainline.com. Features of the co-branded site include rail journey planning, fare search and ticket booking as well as money saving tools such as best fare finder and ticket alert via thetrainline.com engine.
As a leading internet portal and receiving over 5million visitors a month to its Travel Channel the partnership represents the biggest deal of its kind for thetrainline.com, further strengthening its position as the UK’s leading online retailer of train tickets.
Iain Hildreth, director of marketing at thetrainline.com said “The partnership with MSN will provide us with additional visibility and traffic to thetrainline.com, representing a significant move for growing our co-branded distribution and further strengthening our position.
“Travel Channel users are looking for inspiration on places to go and solutions on getting there in the most economic way and so with thetrainline.com customers saving an average of 43% the partnership seemed like an obvious fit and a fantastic opportunity for both of us.”
The addition of train travel booking facilities is also a new move for MSN as it has not previously offered rail services within its internet portal.
Phil Coxon, Head of Partnerships at Microsoft Advertising UK, said, “At MSN, we’re driven by a desire to immerse our readers in travel and to inspire them to exercise their itchy feet. And as a well known brand, with a good user experience, the trainline.com is the natural partner for MSN Travel to work with to promote train travel. Now, not only can our millions of users enjoy inspiration and information from our interactive features and editorial, but they can fast track to cheap fares and booking facilities, so a roam around destinations on the web can become a reality in seconds.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.