Travelport and Cognizant deepen strategic partnership to build intelligent travel retail for the AI era

• Builds on the successful first phase of Travelport's modernization program, which has established the technology foundation for AI-enabled delivery
• Positions Travelport to apply AI at scale across its platforms that power bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers in more than 165 countries

TEANECK, N.J. and LONDON, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Travelport today announced the next phase of their strategic partnership, committing both companies to a single objective: making Travelport the first truly AI-native platform in global travel retailing.

Building on 20 years of collaboration, the companies are accelerating efforts to embed AI across the platforms, products and operations that power the travel industry. Together, Cognizant and Travelport will modernize platforms, engineering practices and operational workflows to create an AI-native ecosystem that enables faster innovation, greater efficiency and enhanced traveler experiences. The work has two connected dimensions: transforming how Travelport builds and operates its own technology, and embedding AI directly into the products that airlines, agencies, and travelers use every day.

Travel booking systems were built for a different era and as AI is increasingly used by travelers, the underlying infrastructure will need to evolve. Agencies spend more time piecing together complex itineraries manually, while travelers increasingly plan trips with AI tools that today's platforms cannot fully interpret or fulfil. The result is a gap between what a traveler asks for and a confirmed booking. Embedding AI in the core of the platforms themselves, rather than layering it on top, is how the two companies intend to close that gap.

"What excites me is how much AI can change what our platform does for customers," said John Mangelaars, Chief Executive Officer, Travelport. "Understanding a traveler's intent, resolving disruption before it reaches them, turning a complex itinerary into a confirmed booking in a fraction of the time it takes today, these are step changes for airlines, agencies and travelers, not incremental gains. That potential is what this work is for, we have always worked to reduce complexity for our customers and this is the next step on that journey."

"We have invested substantially in AI, in our platforms, our engineering tooling and our people, and the real measure of that investment is what it makes possible for clients," said Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant. "With Travelport, we are putting those capabilities to work on infrastructure the global travel industry depends on. Combining our AI investments with their platform and domain strength is how AI capability becomes commercial advantage."

Since announcing their AI transformation in May 2026 alongside Anthropic, Cognizant and Travelport have completed the first phase of the initiative, establishing the foundational platforms, architecture and modern engineering practices required for AI-enabled delivery. AI tooling is now being introduced across the software development lifecycle, including code generation, test creation and pull-request review, with further opportunities for workflow automation identified. The initial engineering focus is Travelport Trip Services, which handles bookings, exchanges, refunds and servicing worldwide. The resulting gains in engineering speed and quality are intended to accelerate the delivery of new AI capabilities to Travelport's customers.

For Travelport customers, the value of this continued innovation is clear. "We need partners who can support scale, reliability, and future product development, and the biggest value is in having one that helps us move faster," said Hussain Patel, Founder of TripJack, a Travelport customer.

The strategic partnership spans three areas: technology transformation through AI-assisted engineering, business process transformation through workflow automation; and product innovation through embedding AI-native capabilities. Cognizant teams will engage with Travelport across 18 countries, delivered through Cognizant's AI Builder approach. The collaboration builds on one of Cognizant's longest-running client relationships and expands its role in helping modernize the platforms that power global travel.  

Looking ahead, the companies plan to continue expanding platform modernization efforts and bring new AI-powered capabilities to Travelport's customers worldwide.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

About Travelport
Travelport is the intelligent infrastructure travel provider that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Ranked First from 160 Travel Software Suppliers (G2 Survey December 2025). Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Travelport operates in more than 165 countries. For more information, visit www.travelport.com.

For more information, contact:
Piya Roy 
Piya.Roy@Cognizant.com 

Travelport media contact:
Phil Pitt
Philip.Pitt@travelport.com 

SOURCE Cognizant Technology Solutions