With nearly three decades of experience across airlines, technology, and travel services, Jeet Sawhney, Managing Director of ATPI India, has built a career defined by scale, resilience, and leadership in complex travel ecosystems. From senior roles at KLM Air France, VFS, Sabre, and Tripjack, to steering ATPI India today, his journey reflects both operational expertise and a commitment to sustainability, education, and thoughtful application of technology.
In an in-depth conversation with Delphine Estibeiro of Marex Media, Mr Sawhney shared his vision for ATPI India—covering priorities from streamlining travel in India’s complex market to embedding sustainability, strengthening risk management, and building a legacy of trust and care. His insights reveal how ATPI India is aligning global objectives with local realities, leveraging integrated technology strategies, and delivering measurable gains for clients and partners.
Streamlining Travel in India’s Complex Market…
My first priority is building on the foundations of ATPI India in a way that allows us to evolve, not just scale. India is a complex, high-pressure travel environment, and for too long the industry has relied on people compensating for fragmented systems and inconsistent processes. That isn’t sustainable for clients, travellers, or teams.
So, the focus has been on getting the fundamentals right: modernising how travel programmes are operated, aligning technology and service so they actually work together locally, and making sure our teams are set up to support clients confidently when conditions change. This isn’t about deploying more tools; it’s about creating a more resilient, predictable operating model that clients can trust.
Equally important is investing in people and leadership. Technology can remove friction, but it’s our people who create confidence, especially in moments that matter. My goal is for ATPI India to be known as a partner that combines modern technology infrastructure with deep local expertise and genuine care by helping clients move from managing travel reactively to using it as a strategic enabler for their business.
Dual Approach…
For us, it is about modernising the foundations of corporate travel so programmes work intelligently at a global level, while remaining practical and reliable on the ground in India. That means preserving what has always differentiated ATPI and Direct Travel: experienced local teams, responsive service, and a deep understanding of how travel actually operates day to day.
India is not a one-size-fits-all market. Fare dynamics, low-cost carrier ecosystems, visa dependencies, tax structures, and frequent last-minute changes require systems and teams that can adapt quickly. We address this through a dual online booking tool (OBT) strategy that blends global governance with local optimisation.
Global OBTs provide multinational clients with consistency, visibility, and auditability for international travel. At the same time, our India-specific OBT is designed around local content, GST compliance, LCC ancillaries, and operational workflows unique to the Indian market. Both are fully integrated with GDS platforms and aligned to corporate travel policies, ensuring data integrity across programmes.
This approach drives higher adoption, greater operational flexibility, and stronger cost outcomes for clients. It also allows us to deliver globally aligned programmes without compromising on the responsiveness and local expertise that Indian corporates expect.
Integrated Technology Strategy for Smarter Travel…
Our technology strategy is centred on integration and execution, not standalone tools. At the core is ATPI Travel Hub, a single, integrated command centre that brings bookings, policy, approvals, duty of care, and analytics into one secure environment, giving clients greater visibility and control across their travel programmes.
AI-driven analytics provide real-time insight into spend, emissions, and policy compliance, while integrated traveller tracking and alerting strengthen duty of care through live location visibility and risk notifications. ATPI eProfile securely manages traveller data in one place, reducing errors and improving the end-to-end travel experience.
Overall, our focus is on using AI and integrated platforms to improve traveller safety, operational efficiency, and programme performance, rather than adding complexity.
Embedding Sustainability…
Sustainability is a strategic requirement, not an optional initiative. At ATPI India, we embed sustainability through data-driven platforms like ATPI Analytics and ATPI Halo, which give organisations clear visibility into the carbon footprint of their travel by route, traveller, and travel type. This insight enables informed decision-making without compromising operational needs. This data-led approach supports ESG reporting, responsible supplier selection, and long-term sustainability goals.
Measurable Gains…
A strong recent example is our work with PayPal India. The client was managing high volumes of offline bookings, which led to compliance gaps, fragmented reporting, and limited confidence in management information.
We implemented a customised, India-specific online booking solution, supported by targeted implementation and training programmes and streamlined approval workflows. The focus was on relevance, accuracy, and ease of use to drive genuine adoption. As a result, online adoption increased from 60% to 90%, enabling automated policy enforcement, improved real-time management information, faster approvals, and higher traveller productivity. Compliance improved significantly, restoring confidence across finance, travel, and leadership stakeholders.
Strengthening Risk Management…
Supporting large, complex events and global travel programmes requires a proactive approach to risk and operations. We have strengthened real-time traveller tracking combined with International SOS API integration, giving our teams continuous risk intelligence and immediate access to emergency support. This enables earlier intervention, clearer decision-making, and stronger duty of care across multi-market programmes.
Operationally, all 24×7 support is delivered in-house through our World Support Centre in Mumbai, where highly trained specialists act quickly to rebook flights, arrange alternatives, and secure inventory during disruptions. For senior leadership and mission-critical travel, we provide VVIP white-glove handling with end-to-end journey monitoring, ensuring continuity, safety, and confidence even in high-pressure situations.
Building a Legacy of Trust and Care…
The legacy I hope to leave at ATPI India is a business that is trusted for doing the fundamentals exceptionally well while being ready for what comes next. I want ATPI India to be known as a partner that modernised the foundations of corporate travel without losing the human judgment, care, and accountability that clients and travellers depend on.
For our clients, the message is simple: travel should feel easier, more predictable, and more supportive over time. Our role is to reduce complexity, bring clarity through data and technology, and stand behind our programmes when conditions change. We measure success not by how much technology we deploy, but by how confidently our clients can operate and how well their travellers are supported.
For our partners, my message is one of long-term collaboration. We believe the future of corporate travel will be built through open ecosystems, shared standards, and a commitment to service excellence. When technology, people, and partnerships are aligned, everyone wins and that’s the kind of legacy worth building.
Marex Media