SOUTHLAKE, Texas & KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 27, 2004–
Malaysia's flagship carrier deploys open-systems module
of the Sabre AirOps Suite as a central building block of its
best-practice integrated operations initiative
Malaysia Airlines announced it will deploy Movement Manager, part of the Sabre AirOps Suite, for enhanced monitoring and scheduling of its daily flight operations. The AirOps suite, renowned for its flexibility and reliability through its open-systems architecture, will play a critical role in Malaysia Airlines’ integrated operations initiative.
Movement Manager, an automated flight display and movement control system to be deployed across a client-server architecture using a relational database, is designed to help streamline flight management, increase aircraft utilization and minimize operational disruption.
The implementation of Movement Manager is the first building block in the construction of Malaysia Airlines’ iOPS integrated operations center, which will later include other operational support solutions to physically integrate several airline functions as well as business applications and processes. Malaysia Airlines joins a growing number of significant flag carriers across the Asia/Pacific region, including Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, that have deployed products from the AirOps suite for their operations environment.
“Integration of schedule planning, ground operations, maintenance, flight dispatch, flight operations, crew and passenger services, flight tracking, and service recovery is a growing trend in this industry right now, and we are leading the field with our iOPS strategy,” said Encik Tajuden Abu Bakar, senior general manager of technical and ground operations for Malaysia Airlines. “The AirOps suite is one of the technological solutions for this mission-critical area as it is built on a robust ‘open,’ non-proprietary architecture. The reason we stress the open-systems approach is because it has much greater rewards over proprietary technology infrastructures — it is less expensive, easier for our staff to use, implement and maintain, saves costs, and can easily integrate with existing or new technologies.”
Cameron Curtis, vice president, Asia/Pacific for Sabre Airline Solutions, said, “Today’s airlines are demanding better visibility and integration of data between flight operations and ground activities; they want real-time control and monitoring of their aircraft both in the air and on the ground. Malaysia Airlines is leading the way in the uptake of this trend through its iOPS integrated operations center.”
Curtis also noted the importance of the company’s relationship with Malaysia Airlines.
“We have a strong relationship with Malaysia Airlines through its current use of Sabre AirFlite Planning and Scheduling Suite and the Sabre AirMax Revenue Management Suite, which drive efficiencies and cost reductions throughout the airline’s operations. Movement Manager will form the foundation of Malaysia Airlines’ flight operations initiative, and we are looking forward to continuing to work in close partnership with the airline to deliver a world-class system for automating flight operations, dispatch and ground management functions.”
By working on an industry average delay cost of $70 per minute, an airline with 500 movements per day can realize potential savings of several million dollars per annum by avoiding only one minute of delay per flight, on average. Maintenance yields can also be improved by up to one percent by optimal aircraft tail assignments in the operations window.
“Movement Manager provides the potential for Malaysia Airlines to achieve significant savings through automation, visibility and integration,” Curtis said.
Sabre Airline Solutions has responded to the increased activity in Asia/Pacific by opening a new office in Kuala Lumpur and appointing Bobby Lai regional director.
“It is exciting for us to have this critical regional resource based in Malaysia, and we look forward to continuing to build our presence in the region under the strategic direction of Bobby Lai,” Curtis said.
About Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines is Malaysia’s flagship airline and has over 450 flight departures a day flying around 40,000 passengers daily to over 100 destinations spanning across six continents. It has a fleet of 109 aircraft ranging from the 19-seat Twin Otter to the 386-seat Boeing 747-400. The latest wide body aircraft, the A380-800, is scheduled to join its fleet by February 2007.
About Sabre Airline Solutions
Sabre Airline Solutions, a Sabre Holdings company, is the world’s largest provider of software products, reservations and departure control systems and other passenger management systems, and consulting services that help airlines simplify operations and lower costs. Sabre Airline Solutions’ proven leadership is demonstrated by the growing number of airlines that leverage the technology and services: More than 200 airlines worldwide use Sabre Airline Solutions’ broad portfolio of smart solutions for decision-support tools to increase revenues and improve operations. More than 100 airlines worldwide rely on Sabre Airline Solutions for passenger management solutions, with 15 new carriers added and nine carrier renewals for SabreSonic Res advanced reservations and departure control systems in 2003. In addition, more than 100 clients worldwide have turned to Sabre Airline Solutions consulting group for strategic, commercial and operational consulting. More than 500 contracts worldwide were signed in 2003 within Sabre Airline Solutions and nearly 400 have been signed in the first half of 2004.
Sabre Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TSG) is a world leader in travel commerce, retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com/.
Sabre Airline Solutions, the Sabre Airline Solutions logo, Sabre AirOps Suite, Sabre AirFlite suite and the Sabre AirMax suite are trademarks and/or service marks of an affiliate of Sabre Holdings Corp. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. (C) 2004 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved.
CONTACT: Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake
Kathryn Hayden, 682-605-2252
Email: kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com
or
Malaysia Airlines
Anbarasu. S
603-2165-5283
6019-222-4952
Email: arasu@mas.com.my
SOURCE: Sabre Airline Solutions
