Travelport has signed a multi-year agreement to provide RAK Airways, the national
carrier of Ras Al Khaimah and fourth national airline of the United Arab
Emirates, with its next-generation Passenger Services System (PSS),
aiRES.  aiRES provides airlines with an innovative and flexible
technical foundation to fully support their business with the efficiency
needed to compete in today’s ever-changing airline industry.  RAK
Airways is the 4th airline to select aiRES since Travelport launched the
business less than two years ago, and the first in the growing Middle
East market.  aiRES is brought to market through a business alliance
with IBS Software Services, an SEI CMMI Level 5 assessed company.

RAK Airways was established in February 2006 as a private joint stock
company located in the RAK Investment Authority Free Zone, and plans to
start operations in early 2007. The airline will operate both charter
and scheduled services to meet the demand of the various expanding
markets that the airline serves.

 

aiRES is the next-generation system built from the ground up on open
technology designed to replace less flexible, more expensive legacy
systems now common in the industry. The system, developed by IBS, offers
a solid modular design covering passenger reservations, inventory
control, fares, ticketing, and departure control functions. It can
support a myriad of different airline business models for today’s
ever-changing competitive environment. At the same time, aiRES goes even
further to offer exceptional product support and service, as well as
broader business partner opportunities available through the Travelport
family of travel companies. Designed with a high degree of
configurability, the aiRES customer-centric design and CMMi Level-5
development processes can reduce passenger service costs, improve
customer service, and enable customer self-service, while maintaining
the flexibility to effectively compete in the marketplace.

 

To serve an airline’s need for a system to empower flexible business
strategies, aiRES provides three different solution suites; Essential,
Elite, and Eclipse, allowing an airline to select not only the right
solution to meet their needs, but also a solution that can provide a
clear path for growth and extensions of their business far into the
future.

 

“aiRES is filling the industry need for an integrated, multi-hosting
system built around a customer-focused design that will provide the
right foundation for an airline’s future success,” said Flo Lugli,
senior vice president, airline solutions, for Travelport.  “RAK Airways
is a new carrier with tremendous opportunity for growth, and we are
extremely proud that they have chosen aiRES, which will allow them to
respond quickly to an evolving market, without the need for complex and
costly development. “

 

“As our airline continues to evolve, it is imperative that we deploy the
proper technology infrastructure to support that growth,” said Jack
Romero, CEO of RAK Airways. “aiRES provides us with an inventory and
reservation system that is aligned with the best service standards in
the industry.”

 

Through its open architecture, aiRES will enable RAK Airways to broaden
their customer service offerings by integrating their distribution
channels with other travel services. The new technology also enables
other important customer service functions, including self service
capabilities on the Web and at the airport, resulting in improved
customer relationships and increased airline efficiency.

 

“We were impressed with the functionality, flexibility and the support
that aiRES provides,” said Tim Ricketts, vice president, Information
Technology for RAK Airways. “This partnership provides our airline with
state-of-the-art technology that will enable us to grow and manage our
business.” 

 

The Travelport partnership with IBS Software Services attributes the
primary responsibility for product development and support to IBS and
the primary responsibility for product management, sales, marketing, and
customer relationships to Travelport. IBS is a leading global provider
of new-generation IT solutions to the Travel, Transportation and
Logistics (TTL) industry and operates two software development centers
in India.
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