Thomson (a division of TUI UK Ltd) is part of the World of TUI, the global leader in tourism and related services. Thomson is the market leader in the UK inclusive holiday market, a position it has held since 1974.

Thomson's website portfolio reflects its position as an industry leader: www.thomson.co.uk currently attracts a 4.34% share of all UK travel web visits and ranks 4th in the Hitwise Top 10 (Travel Agencies category). The company's flight booking website, Thomsonfly.com, has enjoyed similar success, with an increase in market share of 121% from April 2004 to April 2005 (Hitwise UK Quarterly Travel Research Note May 2005).

Determined to continue to find new ways to provide value added services to customers and enhance the customer experience, Thomson identified flight status provision as a means of extending their service portfolio.

Due to the number of diverse online sub-brands operating under the Thomson corporate umbrella (such as Thomsonfly and Thomson Holidays), AirText's brief was to create a simple, easy and consistent way to incorporate its functionality into existing Thomson portals.

After extensive consultation with Thomson, a dual-branded microsite was designed that would allow AirText functionality to be offered across all Thomson branded sites.

AirText is positioned as part of the Thomson 'Extras' offering, alongside established car hire and hotel brands, making users aware that the service is delivered by AirText in partnership with Thomson. With a clear and highly usable interface, the microsite was designed to make subscription as quick and easy as possible, a goal that pre-testing suggests has been achieved. By fully managing and hosting the microsite, the development work undertaken by Thomson was minimal - merely placing a link within the extras pages to launch the AirText microsite in a new window.