SOUTHLAKE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 2004--
SabreSonic Becoming the Preferred Choice for the
Low Cost Carrier Market
Sabre Airline Solutions, the industry leader in airline operations
technology, today announced its expanded presence in the low cost
carrier market with Valuair, Singapore’s first premium budget airline,
selecting the SabreSonic passenger management solution to drive its
reservations, pricing, ticketing, reporting and customer service while
providing a strong, cost-effective platform for future growth and
business expansion.
Valuair, which commenced operations in May, 2004, is the first
privately owned, budget airline in Singapore to operate scheduled
services throughout Asia. Lim Chin Beng, chairman of Valuair, has over
thirty years experience in the aviation industry most notably playing
a key role in setting up the renowned Singapore Airlines in the 1970s.
Valuair today operates services from Singapore to Bangkok, Hong Kong
and Jakarta.
As the low cost carrier market continues to proliferate in Asia
Pacific with the emergence of new carriers, Valuair looks to
differentiate itself in this highly competitive market by offering the
lowest possible air fares combined with a corporate objective to “put
the fun back into travel.” Closely managing its cost base while
leveraging mission critical IT systems will play a key role in
Valuair’s service delivery and operational strategy.
“After conducting an extensive market evaluation, SabreSonic
clearly stood out as the best product available on the market to meet
our needs,” Beng said. “SabreSonic is the only solution available
today that offers an open system architecture that will enable us to
quickly adapt to changing market demands and business requirements.
The modular architecture and performance-focused pricing of SabreSonic
are exactly what we need as a low fare carrier, allowing us to use a
variety of distribution channels to offer the most advanced travel
experience at value-based pricing.”
Beng added, “We found limitations quickly arose with the
reservation system we implemented initially and decided to turn to the
market to identify the best solution to meet all our needs both
current and future. SabreSonic will allow us to expand our reach via a
number of different distribution channels, facilitate partnerships
with our industry members, maintain a low cost of business and provide
a fast, reliable, modern solution that meets Valuair’s needs including
capabilities for e-ticketing, Internet booking and codeshare.”
Cameron Curtis, vice president, Asia Pacific, Sabre Airline
Solutions, said, “SabreSonic has had incredible acceptance in the
market since its launch in January as the first new generation
reservations system, with nine carriers already selecting it as their
choice for reservations systems and others leveraging individual
components and options that is made possible through Sabre Airline
Solutions’ modular approach – the only vendor in the market that
provides this approach. This flexibility is particularly appealing to
low cost carriers since it can easily accommodate future growth or
changes in customer preferences.”
SabreSonic is the first passenger management solution built on
open systems architecture for critical airline operations such as
pricing and shopping for airline travel, ticketing and day-of- travel
operations. This open systems underpinning provides airlines with a
“plug and play” type of unlimited flexibility to implement individual
or integrated solutions across the entire scope of passenger
solutions, as well as flexibility within the individual modules for
more robust functionality.
Valuair will implement the fully integrated SabreSonic solution,
which includes the four core modules:
-- SabreSonic Res, which forms the core selling function and
provides advanced reservations management capabilities that
manage every channel of distribution. SabreSonic Res includes
the industry's leading online booking engine along with
shopping, ticketing and codeshare capabilities all managed
from a single, easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).
Some of the benefits of this technology for travelers are the
ability to easily shop and book online, print boarding passes
from home, and book their entire itinerary with the airline's
codeshare partners.
-- SabreSonic Check-In, which will provide Valuair a
customer-centric focus that starts with the ability for
travelers to use electronic tickets instead of having to get
paper tickets issued to them. They then can print their
boarding passes from home before they leave for the airport,
or choose to check-in at the kiosk, at curbside, through a
roving agent, or at the gate. And, if there is any kind of
delay or cancellation, an automated system will help get
passengers rebooked to their destination. The easy-to-use
check-in system is identical for the reservation agent and the
airport agent--which means travelers get the same information
at the airport that they get when checking on the flight from
home. Another advantage is that the check-in agent at the
airport will spend more time talking to the customer and less
time with their head down typing in long commands to get
simple information.
-- SabreSonic Inventory, which leverages open systems technology
to ensure revenue integrity through real-time application of
inventory controls, while addressing the dramatic growth of
flight availability requests. While this provides airlines a
huge advantage in their inventory management, it also provides
travelers with more itinerary options and the industry's best
real-time availability information.
-- SabreSonic Command, which will provide Valuair the only
Web-based tool available in the industry that offers flexible
options to easily and quickly configure and manage its
passenger solution system from one central location based on
the carrier's profile. This easy configurability of the
system, a first in the industry, means that Valuair can easily
adapt to changes in the way people travel.
About Sabre Airline Solutions
Sabre Airline Solutions, a Sabre Holdings company, is the world’s
largest provider of software products; reservations, 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 the first half of 2004, six new
carriers signed up the new generation passenger solution, and another
three carriers renewed contracts. 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 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, SabreSonic Res, SabreSonic Check-In, SabreSonic Inventory
and SabreSonic Command 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.
(C)2004 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved.
CONTACT: Sabre Airline Solutions
Kathryn Hayden, 682-605-2252
kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com
SOURCE: Sabre Airline Solutions