SabreSonic Will Provide Flexibility and Cost Savings for Re-Launch of Thai
Carrier
SOUTHLAKE, Texas, April 8 /PRNewswire/ — Sabre Airline Solutions today announced that Thai-based carrier Air Andaman Corporation Limited has selected the SabreSonic passenger solution to power its regional growth strategy. SabreSonic — the industry’s first new generation passenger solution leveraging true open systems platforms — will run the airline’s reservations management, inventory, ticketing and departure control functions. The SabreSonic solution’s flexibility, scalability and easy integration into existing systems will help enable Air Andaman’s plans for a rapid growth trajectory.
Air Andaman will re-launch its operations with dedicated flights from Bangkok to India, Singapore and China mainland in April 2004. As a new entrant to the highly competitive Asia Pacific market, Air Andaman selected the SabreSonic solution in recognition of the importance of building a reliable, scalable and flexible IT solution that will enable the carrier to adapt quickly as its business model evolves.
“In the first year of operation Air Andaman is expecting significant passenger volumes due to the interline and codeshare partnerships we have established, and we are forecasting significant year-over-year growth in passengers boarding,” said Dean Mills, president, Air Andaman. “To support this future growth, we selected SabreSonic as it is a best-of-breed solution with the most advanced functionality of any solution on the market. We recognize that the reservations and departure control systems is the core of all our operations and we’re confident SabreSonic will help us reduce operational costs, improve efficiency and enhance our customer service.”
Sabre Airline Solutions is committed to helping Air Andaman go to market rapidly by meeting its implementation deadline of July 30, 2004. As part of the six-year contract, Air Andaman will implement a bundled package that includes SabreSonic Res, SabreSonic Check-In, SabreSonic Web, and SabreSonic Ticket as well as Sabre Air Ops Load Manager Interface to SabreSonic, and the Qik-Schedule schedule change system.
In addition, Air Andaman has adopted a multichannel distribution policy and, to complement its web distribution strategy, the company has chosen to make its inventory available to travel agents exclusively through Abacus International Global Distribution System (GDS), which provides access to the Sabre system in Asia. This method will allow swift expansion into other countries as the company grows.
“The open systems architecture was central to our decision as it offers the flexibility and scalability we need to adopt and integrate new technologies as our services expand and our business model changes,” added Mills. “By making the decision to leverage the open systems approach, we are also able to take advantage of a new generation solution at a price point that’s based on a passenger boarded basis which is particularly critical for us as an emerging player with considerable plans for the future.”
Cameron Curtis, vice president, Asia Pacific, Sabre Airline Solutions added, “We provide our technology at the right price point so airlines of all sizes are able to utilize our state-of-the-art systems. Not only are the upfront costs attractive, our experience has shown that airlines using our passenger management solutions achieve bankable results — up to 40 percent in cost savings. But costs are only one part of the equation — just as important is the flexibility that the SabreSonic solution provides which is key for a carrier like Air Andaman as it restarts its operations.”
Air Andaman’s reservations and departure control will be hosted on the SabreSonic solution which eliminates the carrier’s need to develop, host and maintain its own systems, and allows the carrier to focus on its core business and on delivering the best quality service to its customers.
“Customers will benefit from our superior customer service. For example, with the check-in and reservation functionality of the SabreSonic solution, we can now provide faster check-in times for passengers flying with Air Andaman,” said Mills. “Speed is also important in terms of deployment of this solution, and we were very impressed that Sabre Airline Solutions will be able to deliver our fast implementation deadline.”
According to Curtis, “The agreement with Air Andaman is an important step towards our goal of becoming Asia Pacific’s number one provider of technology solutions that help airlines optimize performance. These smart solutions are combined with strong local knowledge and support across Asia Pacific.”
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 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.
Sabre Holdings Corporation (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 .
About Sabre Airline Solutions – Asia/Pacific (APAC)
Sabre Asia Pacific’s head office is based in Sydney, Australia, with offices/representatives located in Auckland, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Mumbai. In 2003, Sabre Airline Solutions signed 70 system contracts with airlines based in the Asia Pacific region. 2003 Market share gains for Sabre Airline Solutions APAC was achieved across all areas including airline software applications, airline reservations and airline consulting engagements.
Sabre Airline Solutions, the Sabre Airline Solutions logo and SabreSonic, Sabre Air Ops Load Manager, Qik-Schedule schedule change system, are trademarks and/or service marks of an affiliate of Sabre Holdings Corporation. All other trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Sabre Airline Solutions
-0- 04/08/2004
/CONTACT: Kathryn Hayden, +1-682-605-2252, or
kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com , or Hans Belle, +61-2-8923-5234, both of
Sabre Airline Solutions; or Gareth Llewellyn or Linda Motherwell, both of PPR
Sydney, +61-2-9818-4044, for Sabre Airline Solutions/
/Web site: http://www.sabre-holdings.com /
(TSG)
CO: Sabre Airline Solutions; Air Andaman Corporation Limited; Sabre Holdings
Corporation
ST: Texas, Thailand
IN: CPR STW TRA AIR LEI
SU: CON ASI
CJ-AP
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6931 04/08/2004 08:01 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
