Kenya Airways has partnered with Sabre and Branchspace to overhaul its reservations, ticketing and digital commerce systems as the airline moves toward more personalised travel offers and offer-and-order-based retailing.
The carrier has selected Sabre to replace its core passenger service system, which has supported Kenya Airways’ reservations, inventory and airport check-in operations for more than two decades.
Kenya Airways has also appointed Branchspace to provide the digital commerce layer that customers will use to book and manage their journeys, working alongside Sabre’s new platform.
The new Sabre system, built on Sabre Mosaic, will serve as the airline’s operational and commercial backbone. It includes Mosaic Offer Optimisation, which uses continuous learning and dynamic pricing to tailor offers to traveller demand.
Branchspace’s Triplake platform will provide the airline’s primary digital customer touchpoint from launch, giving its commercial teams greater control over personalised fares, ancillary products and offers across booking channels.
The upgrade is expected to give customers more flexible fare and ancillary options, easier bundling of travel components and a smoother mobile and digital booking experience. Kenya Airways also expects faster airport check-in, improved self-service tools and more responsive real-time rebooking when disruptions affect travel plans.
Members of the airline’s Asante Rewards programme are also expected to receive an upgraded digital rewards experience.
“This is an important transformation of Kenya Airways’ technology and digital retailing capabilities,” said Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial and Customer Officer at Kenya Airways. “The combination of digital commerce and a new PSS foundation will help us create a more flexible and personalised experience for our customers and staff, and enable a seamless transition towards the future of airline retailing.”
The move also supports Kenya Airways’ alignment with the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability standards as the airline modernises its distribution and retailing capabilities.
Sabre’s modular approach will allow Kenya Airways to introduce the new technology in stages rather than through a single large-scale systems replacement, allowing the carrier to bring individual capabilities online progressively.
“I’m incredibly proud that Kenya Airways has chosen Sabre as its strategic technology partner as it upgrades its core systems and advances toward the next generation of travel retailing,” said Niklas Andréen, Chief Commercial Officer, Airline Technology at Sabre.
David Turton, CTO of Branchspace, said the partnership would give Kenya Airways greater control over its commercial operations while supporting continued technology development.
The transformation forms part of Kenya Airways’ broader strategy as it expands its network and seeks to increase direct digital sales, grow ancillary revenue and build technology infrastructure capable of supporting future growth.
The airline has set a broader ambition of strengthening its position as a leading African carrier while shifting from traditional fare distribution toward a more flexible, data-driven retailing model.
