Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, today announced that Saudi Arabian Airlines has successfully migrated to the Reservation and Inventory modules of its next-generation Altéa Customer Management System (CMS) and core components of the Amadeus e-Commerce suite. Following last month’s migration, the airline has already registered a significant increase in bookings with online sales now representing over 20 per cent of total bookings which shows a healthy growth on previous figures.
The introduction of next-generation technology systems is part of a modernisation programme aimed at both improving the passenger experience and enhancing operational efficiency. In addition to placing technology at the heart of its operations and change strategies, the airline is upgrading its fleet of aircraft and has launched a scheme aimed at advancing customer services and products by using the latest customer handling techniques. The Altéa CMS replaces the Saudi Arabian Airlines’ legacy IT platform that has served the airline for the last twenty years.
Muhammad Albakri, Vice President IT, Saudi Arabian Airlines commented: “The joint Saudi Arabian Airlines and Amadeus team worked tirelessly to ensure the migration was completed successfully. The new systems provide a completely new, fully integrated IT architecture to run our operations. We have already begun to reap the rewards of our investment with booking levels rising far more quickly than usual at this time of year. By adopting the state-of-the-art e-Commerce booking and servicing engine we are able to radically improve our web presence and drive increased international growth. Following these migrations we can now deliver on our commitment to transform
the traveller experience. The unique features being introduced are to better serve our customers and ease the effort of preparing their travel”
The migration marks a major milestone for Saudi Arabian Airlines. During cutover 3.2 million tickets, 1.3 million Passenger Name Records (PNRs) and 1.3million frequent flyer profiles were moved to the new system. The Amadeus Reservation Desktop application was installed on over 3,000 PCs at over 500 office locations worldwide and over 3800 employees were trained on the new applications and processes. In addition, a large scale integration programme was undertaken to link Saudi Arabian Airline’s new systems to its other applications as well as to over 70 airline partners for e-Ticketing.
Julia Sattel, Vice President Airline IT, Amadeus said: “The implementation of the new systems for Saudi Arabian Airlines was an impressive achievement and is the result of a solid partnership. The switch from legacy systems to a scalable and robust IT environment has laid the foundation for Saudi Arabian Airlines’ to modernise and support its growth both within the Middle East and internationally. In one of the most dynamic regions in the world, it is vital that airlines have a technology backbone that is flexible and agile enough to meet the demands of changing commercial strategies.”
The Altéa central repository of data enables airline staff to access a common and validated client profile, with a single view of flight history and individual client preferences. This ability to understand customers from the time a reservation is made throughout their journey empowers airline’s employees – across all customer touchpoints – to deliver a consistent and responsive service to its customers.
Saudi Arabian Airlines will also benefit from Altéa’s unique community approach which allows airlines to access continuous technology development as well as moving from a fixed to a variable cost model. Today over 140 airlines rely on at least one component of the Altea CMS and over 100 airlines use Amadeus’ e-Commerce technology to power and optimise their online sales.
This seamless migration follows Amadeus sustained leadership across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in 2009. As one of the fastest growing distribution systems provider in the Middle East and North of Africa, Amadeus grew its market share to an estimated
43 percent in 2009 , consolidating its leadership in the region. The company achieved this growth despite the 2009 slump in regional travel due to the depressed global economy. Amadeus increased its market share by more than 10 percentage points as compared to the previous year.
Amadeus’ volume of bookings went up well above the industry average in the region, which fell by 0.34 percent in the same period, while Amadeus increased its bookings by more than 30 percent. In MENA, more than 8,850 travel agency locations benefit from Amadeus technology through some 22,560 travel agency terminals.
Furthermore, Amadeus expanded its reach, market share and headcount by opening three new fully-owned Amadeus offices in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, making it the only global distribution services provider to have its direct operation across all markets in the Middle East. In 2009 Amadeus opened its MENA Regional Hub based in Dubai to strengthen the local support and increase operations in the Arab countries.
Antoine Medawar, Vice President, Middle East & North of Africa, Amadeus, said, “Despite a tough year, Amadeus’ achievements have been outstanding in the Middle East. This has been made possible by the consistent support and commitment from our travel partners and employees in these fast evolving markets. Moving forward, in 2010 we continue to support and provide next-generation technology innovation, global reach and local expertise that will form the foundation of sustained growth for both our travel industry partners and Amadeus in this strategic region.”
