Amadeus pushes e-ticketing in China
Amadeus is enabling electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) with Hainan Airlines for its major destinations worldwide.
The fourth largest airline in China by fleet size, Hainan Airlines is the latest in a string of Chinese airlines to partner with Amadeus for e-ticketing. Already this year, Amadeus has announced the implementation of e-ticketing for Air China and China Southern Airlines for their destinations worldwide, and China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines in the major markets of Europe and Asia.
This latest announcement by Hainan Airlines will help China maintain its position as a global leader for e-ticketing migration, with the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) deadline for 100 percent paperless travel by May 2008 fast approaching.
“As a technology provider to the travel industry, Amadeus is fully committed to supporting airlines in the drive to fully migrate to e-ticketing in time for IATA’s deadline,” said Damian Hickey, Vice President Airline Business Group, Amadeus Asia Pacific. “We recognise the many benefits of paperless travel, in terms of greater efficiency and reduced ticketing costs for travel providers, convenience for travellers, and also in reducing travel’s impact on the environment. As such, we continue to provide reliable, cutting-edge solutions to allow airlines to achieve the goal of full e-ticketing coverage.”
According to IATA, eliminating papered travel would save the equivalent of 50,000 mature trees a year, and reduce travel industry costs by up to US$3 billion a year.
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Mr Xiong Hongjun, Director of Electronic Commerce, Hainan Airlines, said, “Having implemented e-ticketing, our airline is beginning to enjoy the significant advantages and cost savings that it offers us. With greater ease of ticket processing and monitoring, we are able to provide enhanced service to customers and further support the growth of the Chinese travel industry. We’re confident that Amadeus’ technology is the right choice to bring us closer to completely paper-free travel.”
Amadeus is the world leader in e-ticket distribution, having enabled e-ticketing for 233 carriers in 149 markets. It is a preferred IATA partner to help airlines achieve full e-ticketing coverage by May 2008.
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