Travel risk management and associated services are a necessity today because of the increase in severity of natural disasters, terrorist attacks and political instability. They have added a lot of pressure on business travel programmes but Wings Travel Management has a solution.
“we understand risk management and traveller safety like no other TMC”
Wings Travel Management has over 25 years’ experience providing travel for corporates heading to high risk destinations, particularly in the energy, construction and financial services sectors. Travellers in these sectors face alien cultures, dangerous terrain, political instability and destinations lacking basic infrastructure. Moreover, today’s terrorist attacks have taken safety issues to those cities and countries considered safe beforehand so companies must be on guard wherever they operate around the world.
Since Wings was founded in 1992, the company’s commitment to risk management has been at the core of its operations.
“Each of our global offices in North America, South America, UK/Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East are wholly-owned and operated by us,” says Tony Sofianos, CEO, Wings Travel Management. “This is key point of difference to our competitors, most of whom use partner agencies or franchisees in high risk markets.
“each of our global offices in North America, South America, UK, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East are wholly-owned and operated by us”
Tony Sofianos, CEO, Wings Travel Management
“In addition, our investment in a single global technology platform ensures that Wings’ staff worldwide can instantly access a client’s travel records; crucial for tracking and re-routing travellers,” added Sofianos.
Yet another layer of risk mitigation and safety support is goSecure™, a sophisticated risk and alert portal launched last year which allows consultants to locate travellers and send immediate notifications to travellers and bookers.
goSecure was developed in-house to cater specifically to the service side of travel risk management.
A unique aspect of goSecure is that clients can opt to link the risk management portal with Wings’ intuitive mobile app VIMA™ (Virtual Itinerary Management Application). Travellers have the option to download VIMA to view their flight itineraries, status updates, departure gates and weather at their destination. However, if Wings’ clients also subscribe to goSecure, then VIMA becomes a vital security alert tool as consultants can send high-level personal notifications, for example to stay in their hotel due to a terrorist threat.
goSecure features four dashboards: Who’s Where; Who’s Flying; Locate an Individual; and WorldAware World View. Travellers can be viewed on interactive maps to see their current location and it would take one click to determine if they had been in a region before a risk such as Zika become apparent.
“As terrorist attacks become more indiscriminate, traveller safety and risk management have moved to the top of every corporate’s agenda,” says Sofianos. “With over 25 years’ expertise in this area and proprietary infrastructure is hugely beneficial to any company.
“We understand risk management and traveller safety like no other TMC. Our staff’s expertise, combined with worldwide, wholly-owned offices and the latest technology gives us the edge when it comes to delivering seamless and competitive business travel in these uncertain times.”
VIMA and goSecure are unique as they run off Wings’ global technology platform and innovatively combine technology and services to provide clients with key tools for running their travel risk management programmes.
[vc_separator type=’full_width’ position=’center’ color=’#b3b3b3′ thickness=’1′ up=’32’ down=’32’]
goSecure™ & VIMA™ AT A GLANCE
VIMA – your essential travel companion
- Wings’ Virtual Itinerary Mobile App (VIMA) allows the user to view, manage and communicate their travel itineraries
- Risk alerts and other updates are sent to the traveller’s mobile,including:
– Alerts: flight status updates on delays, gate changes etc
– Check in: links to online check in from the app
– Extras: weather, destination info, currency converter
goSecure and goSecure+
goSecure will locate travellers and send personalised notifications to both travellers and bookers. Consultants can manage this on your behalf; tracking, communicating and assisting your travellers as required. Alternatively, for companies with an established risk management strategy, goSecure+ provides a fully-customised portal where the travel manager can locate, manage and communicate with their travellers at all times.
goSecure and goSecure+:
- Quickly identify disrupted travellers
- Monitor travellers to understand the impact across their entire trip
- Send proactive communications to the company contact or individual traveller
- Drill down into the travellers’ itinerary detail for greater visibility
- Provide full audit reporting and data export to external systems
- Can be managed by organisation, department or event
- Enable company-specific alert triggers
goSecure provides GPS tracking via the VIMA app – so the traveller can ‘check-in’ every time their location changes, allowing precise tracking and targeted assistance in an emergency situation.
To find out more about our Travel Risk Management solutions and how they can help your travel programme contact us risk@wings.travel