(6 June 2007 2:40 pm)

MUMBAI: Travel portal Makemytrip.com is extending its reach to the mobile medium by partnering with PayMate India to offer 'search-book-pay' facility via SMS service for flight ticketing.

By sending a simple SMS, customers will now have the option to get the best deals across all domestic airlines from Makemytrip.com. The option to book the ticket and pay for it is also available so that the entire purchase can happen on the mobile from start to finish.

While buying the ticket PayMate users can authorize payment via SMS with their PayMate PIN and get an instant PNR. Non-PayMate users will be called by a ticketing executive and can choose from a range of payment options to complete the purchase.

Makemytrip.com co-founder and chief marketing officer Sachin Bhatia said, "Our partnership with Paymate is another step towards providing our customers with an easy and hassle free booking experience. We have recently crossed a major milestone by clocking more than one million travelers on MakeMyTrip and we are constantly looking at newer ways of reaching out to more customers."

PayMate MD and founder Ajay Adiseshann, said, "Makemytrip.com has been the leader in the online travel space for many years now and extending their reach to the mobile platform offers a compelling business opportunity. Given the ease of use and convenience factor of the service, we feel the mobile will soon become a major ticketing channel for travel companies and airlines."

PayMate has already launched its 'Fly Buy SMS' and 'Car Buy SMS' services which, the company claims, has had a very positive response from customers. With hotel bookings via SMS in the pipeline, the company aims to strengthen its hold in the travel industry.