SITA SC, the only global communication services integrator dedicated to the travel and transportation industry (TTI), today announced it has signed a three year agreement with Air Madagascar to seamlessly integrate remote sites in the region – consisting of 10 town offices and 10 airports – into the airline’s existing corporate network, resulting in more efficient operations, increased sales and improved customer service.
“Air Madagascar is a prime example of a customer leveraging SITA’s unique communications expertise and understanding of the industry to reap rewards in terms of operational efficiency and customer satisfaction,” said Hani El-Assaad, Vice President, Business Management, Middle East & Africa, SITA SC.
SITA completed a thorough assessment of Air Madagascar’s existing systems and requirements before tailoring a solution that combines Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT*) satellite-based technology with Wireless Local Loop (WLL**) services into a complete, managed, end-to-end solution. The solution leverages technologies vital for operations in locations where communications are often difficult, and fully integrates them into the airline’s existing SITA-managed Internet Protocol (IP)-based Virtual Private Network (VPN).
“We determined that an end-to-end solution, managed by SITA and integrating remote provinces where communications are often difficult, would lead to the most efficient operations and support,” said Berend Bruns, Director General, Air Madagascar. “SITA ensures that all our sites can leverage applications such as reservations, departure control, accounting and e-ticketing, resulting in improved productivity, sales and customer satisfaction.”
The three year agreement, valued at about US$1 million, will initially target 20 sites in the provinces, consisting of 10 town offices and 10 airports.
* VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) – is a type of ground station used to contact a communication satellite. In addition to tuning in satellite TV, they can
be used to receive data such as IP multicasting and to create a wide area computer networks (WAN) infrastructure.
** Wireless Local Loop (WLL) services provide high capacity, reliable connectivity to local SITA nodes in regions where the local infrastructure is either unreliable or unsuitable for a particular requirement. They completely bypass the local terrestrial infrastructure.
About AIR MADAGASCAR
Air Madagascar is the national airline of the Republic of Madagascar with more than 40 years of experience. Therefore, the major role for Air Madagascar is to realize the development and the opening up of the country as assigned by the public authority. Air Madagascar operates national and international destinations flying to and from Europe and Asia, the domestic network being one of the densest in the world.
To support its business objectives, Air Madagascar has launched a program of IP migration to move towards open systems technology. The first step of the project was the connection of the offices in Antananarivo and all the co-working GSAs all around the world. The second step was the connection of the foreign offices in Paris and La Réunion. The connection of the offices in the other provinces of Madagascar will complete the IP migration for Air Madagascar. SITA SC has greatly contributed to the realization of this project.
About SITA SC
SITA SC is the only global Communication Services Integrator dedicated to the travel and transportation industry (TTI), providing consultancy in the design, deployment and management of complex communications solutions and reliably implementing, integrating and managing communication services. SITA SC is a commercially-managed not-for-profit organization, set up and wholly-owned by the air transport community.
Local, globally, SITA delivers solutions and services to the TTI and to international organizations and governments over the world’s most extensive communication network. As a community of 600 airline and GDS members and 2,000 customers, SITA SC supports the TTI in driving down costs, removing complexity and improving operational performance. As a cooperative, any profit it generates is returned to its member customers. It is registered in Brussels.
