SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 15, 2004–Sabre Airline Solutions, the industry leader in airline operations technology, reported today that the dollar value of airline tickets booked through SabreSonic Web, a powerful airline direct booking tool, now tops $250 million per month. This represents nearly 80 percent growth of total SabreSonic Web bookings from March 2003 through March 2004. By the end of 2004, Sabre Airline Solutions expects the dollar value of tickets booked through SabreSonic Web to exceed $3 billion, and the number of tickets booked to exceed 9.5 million tickets.
“We have made the investments to provide the most distribution options available in the industry,” said Gianni Marostica, president of Airline Passenger Solutions at Sabre Airline Solutions. “SabreSonic Web addresses airlines’ desire to offer travelers increasingly higher levels of service while at the same time attaining maximum operational efficiencies at the lowest possible costs. By allowing passengers the convenience and flexibility of shopping and booking online, carriers can achieve both.”
Major airlines and regional and low-cost carriers worldwide currently are using Sabre Airline Solutions’ web tools, including United Airlines and newly signed Frontier and Aeroflot. SabreSonic Web is part of the full SabreSonic suite, the first and only passenger management solution built on new generation technology. The SabreSonic suite uses industry standard programming instead of proprietary systems for critical airline operations such as pricing and shopping for airline travel, ticketing and day-of-travel operations. This makes it significantly easier, faster and cheaper to implement new customer-oriented functionality.
SabreSonic Web encourages traveler self service by offering a variety of full-service features. Travelers can complete basic bookings and cancellations online. Hotel and car booking modules promote the airline website as a single stop for travel and encourage travelers to book with the carrier’s hotel and car partners.
The offering also includes robust shopping and pricing tools. The SabreSonic Web air search page offers travelers the ability to book by itinerary or price, request non-stop flights, and select from one-way, round trip or multiple destination searches. SabreSonic Web can also be configured to provide separate storefronts for specific airline needs such as corporations and travel agents. This helps carriers better serve the specific needs of various customer segments.
“SabreSonic Web successfully delivers on an airline’s requirements to drive online self service, provide robust shopping capabilities, leverage and enhance airline product offerings and offer the flexibility to tailor the online channel to meet the airline’s distribution objectives,” Marostica continued. “And in doing so, airlines will find that they open new sources of revenue and better secure all-important customer loyalty. It’s small wonder we’ve seen the dramatic uptick in online ticket sales associated with the launch of SabreSonic Web.”
SabreSonic Web can be purchased by airlines as part of the full line-up of SabreSonic open systems offerings, or carriers can choose to implement the offering as a stand-alone component. Sabre Airline Solutions is the only technology provider that is selling passenger solution components as well as a full service solution. This component approach enables carriers to take advantage of the new Internet booking engine that is easily configurable to be compatible with airlines’ legacy systems, even if they use an airline’s in-house or third party reservations system.
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.
Sabre Airline Solutions, the Sabre Airline Solutions logo, SabreSonic and SabreSonic Web 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.
CONTACT: Sabre Airline Solutions
Kathryn Hayden, 682-605-2252
kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com
SOURCE: Sabre Airline Solutions
