It appears that Apple is working on development of an iTravel platform. Expectations are that it will be a transaction site much like iTunes or iBooks. Travelers will be able to book travel through major providers selected by Apple. Just like the iPhone magic that Apple provided for AT&T, iTravel will be a business boost to Apples future travel partners.
Speculation abounds about what this new iTravel platform will include and how it will interface with the current world of travel applications that permeate the Web.
Will Apple simply create an aggregated transaction platform for major players who are in competition with each other? Will Apple put itself in the position of king maker by choosing individual providers? Will the company come out with an all-new geo-tagged and GPS-based software that will allow travelers to make purchases while on the road, long after purchasing plane tickets, rental cars and hotels.
The world of local tourism providers is wide open with no company even in the early stages of aggregation of what could be the world’s biggest overall travel market. Could that be the eventual target of Apple?
The latest iTravel app, just released, seems to be focused on making paper-centric processes such as boarding passes, paperless. Some believe that Apple is moving into the convoluted world of personal identification for travel. I can’t believe that, but I have been wrong in the past.
Apple is obviously working with the Airlines to ensure that the iPhone will be up to standard when new ticketless systems roll out in the coming years. Apple’s iTravel focuses on such matters as airline check-in and baggage identification, advanced electronic ID, car rentals, hotel and airline reservations and so forth.
Anyone familiar with the iPhone will easily see how booking travel might work from the iPhone platform and ultimately from the iPad. Expect both systems to be released simultaneously.
Any readers have suggestions for Apple as they develop this new iTravel system? It is always fun to speculate where in the travel world Apple will choose to strike and what they may do that will change travel as much as iTunes changed buying music.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
