Destinia, a pioneer in advising when in-flight service includes halal meal options
When booking online, passengers can also request the airline to provide specific meal options during the flight, including kosher, vegetarian or gluten free.
The online agency also indicates any special rates available for pilgrims traveling to Mecca from the initial search.
True to its principal of adaptation to the market, Destinia launched two new functionalities created to improve the travel experience of the Muslim community. As of today, any client that enters the Destinia website from the Middle East and North African markets or chooses Arabic as the language of preference, independent of the country, will be able to visualize with a specific icon if the flight selected offers halal meal service options on board; food and drink suitable given Muslim customs.
“We realized clients were requesting this option and their needs were not being met. Now, if the icon does not appear, it means such options are not served on board or that halal options are not guaranteed on all legs of the flight”, states Víctor Oliva, responsible for the Transportation Department Destinia, one of the top five online travel agencies in Spain.Additionally, when booking online, passengers can request the airline to provide specific meal options during the flight, including kosher, vegetarian or gluten free.
From the initial search, Destinia clearly indicates in every language, those flights with exclusive rates for pilgrims traveling to Mecca. “These flights have particular requirements, given a special visa is required and planes also arrive to specific terminals at each airport. Should a ticket be purchased by a person not making the pilgrimage, they would have problems even boarding the plane or upon arrival, therefore we are helping to avoid this problem”, adds Oliva.
Arabian market, the key for the international strategy
The Destinia website has been available in Arabic since 2007 and the company is focusing on expansion in the Middle East, with offices in Cairo and Dubai, marking the objective of being the leading online travel agency in the Arab region within the next three years. In 2014, sales in the region grew by 140% and Saudi Arabia was became one of the top five markets for the company worldwide. To adapt to the local preferences, the agency launched a home payment system (pay@home) in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and of the many commercial agreements developed, last February marked the end of a successful promotional campaign in collaboration with the Government of Dubai.
You can download here the press release in pdf version.
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