Meili and SAS Announce Four Year Strategic Partnership
Meili, the pioneering travel technology platform which aims at reinventing partnerships within the global car rental industry, has today announced a 4-year strategic partnership with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).
The partnership enables SAS’ existing car rental partners to optimise their direct partnership by offering an enhanced car rental experience through Meili’s cloud-based technology.
Meili, headquartered at NovaUCD in Dublin, was co-founded by Mike McGearty and Bobby Healy, the former CEO and CTO respectively of CarTrawler.
Meili’s new car rental distribution model is built on a single founding principle, to create seamless travel experiences, enabling travellers to enjoy all the benefits, loyalty and innovations that leading car rental operators have to offer, including:
- Access to a full suite of car rental products and services, including direct insurance coverage, and real-time vehicle availability.
- Premium loyalty benefits typically reserved for direct car rental customers.
- An enhanced customer experience facilitated by best-in-class merchandising technology.
- Direct, premium customer servicing, ensuring optimal brand exposure.
Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder, Meili, said, "SAS is Scandinavia’s leading airline, with destinations in Europe, USA and Asia and a valued addition to our growing partnership portfolio. We are delighted to partner with them, as our model creates alignment and transparency for all stakeholders. Our collective dedication to enhancing the customer experience made this partnership an intuitive choice.
We knew how important it was for SAS to maintain their direct car rental partnership relationships along with the synergies brought by their mutual loyalty programs. SAS understand the value it provides to their customers, and we are pleased they recognise the added benefit our platform brings.”
Caroline Bergström, Head of Ancillary Products, Connectivity and Retail, SAS, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Meili. This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to offer exceptional services to our customers. Together with Meili, we are enhancing travel experiences and simplifying the booking process for our customers who book their rental car via SAS.
It's important for us that our customers see the value and benefits of booking a car with SAS, but also the convenience of adding extras such as car insurance in addition to the car at the time of booking.”
This partnership reflects Meili's dedication to delivering innovative travel solutions and SAS' commitment to providing high-quality services to its customers.
ENDS
23 January 2024
For further information contact, Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, NovaUCD, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or Laura Ryan, Director of Marketing & Strategy, Meili, e: laura.ryan@meili.travel
Editors Notes
Meili, pronounced May-Lee, co-founded by former CarTrawler CEO & CTO Mike McGearty and Bobby Healy, pioneers cutting-edge technology. We empower car rental and mobility companies to seamlessly integrate and partner directly with airlines, travel, and tech partners, all from the cloud. Our unified integration codebase spans all devices, enhancing distribution control for brands.
SAS, Scandinavia’s leading airline, with main hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, flies to destinations in Europe, USA and Asia. Spurred by a Scandinavian heritage and sustainability values, SAS aims to be the driving force in sustainable aviation and in the transition toward net zero emissions.