AmTrav, the Chicago-based travel management specialist, announced today that the company now offers Delta Economy Comfort Seats and United Economy Plus seats directly through its online booking tool. AmTrav is the first third-party travel site to offer Delta and United paid seats and the first corporate booking tool to do so.

"We know that getting the best seats on the plane is especially important to business travelers, so as airlines make these products available we will do whatever it takes to integrate them into our booking tool," said Jeff Klee, CEO of AmTrav. "Our development team worked really hard on this project and I'm proud that we're the first site to offer them."

On Delta, for as little as $9, travelers can get 3 to 4 more inches of legroom than standard economy seats along with priority boarding. Previously, travelers would have to purchase an economy ticket and then go to the Delta website to try to upgrade to Economy Comfort Seats. Many didn't even know the option was available.

Similarly, on United, who offers more seats with extra leg room than any other carrier, travelers can upgrade to Economy Plus to get extra legroom and seats toward the front the plane.

Paid seat purchases on the AmTrav tool are fully integrated into the platform's travel policy and reporting modules. Companies are able to set rules for who can purchase paid seats, under what circumstances, and get reports on spend and compliance. Travelers who are not authorized to purchase premium seats have the option to purchase them with a personal credit card, in which case the price will not flow to the company expense reports.

The paid seat enhancements are part of a suite of upgrades in AmTrav's just released fourth generation corporate booking tool, which also includes enhanced support for airline fare families and upgrade bundles; more robust travel policy enforcement; and mobile itinerary management.

"By building software in-house, AmTrav has been able to be much more nimble and responsive than our competitors, who are generally at the mercy of third party companies and off-the-shelf products," said Klee. "As more airlines choose to make premium seating and other ancillary services available on third-party sites, we will continue to be very aggressive in integrating them into our offering."

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