Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry operating the Galileo global distribution system (GDS) and worldwide ticketing expert Hahn Air announce the implementation of new e-ticketing functionality that will enable Galileo-connected travel agents in Iraq to issue e-tickets on bookings made with any of Hahn Air’s 230 partner airlines.

Leveraging Travelport’s innovative Electronic Transitional Automated Ticketing (ETAT) solution, agents will be provided with an efficient method to reconcile ticket transactions outside of the standard bank settlement plan (BSP) process.  ETAT allows approved travel agencies to issue e-tickets in countries such as Iraq where BSP is not available.

Operating the industry’s leading universal e-ticketing platform, Hahn Air will make its tickets available using ETAT through Baghdad-based Qasr Al Nahrain Travel & Tourism - the official distributor of the Galileo global distribution system (GDS) in Iraq. Qasr Al Nahrain will assist travel agencies with the purchase of these e-tickets.

Aws Alhashimi, who manages the Galileo distributor in Iraq, said: “We are very pleased that Hahn Air is supporting an important e-ticketing functionality that will enable local Galileo agents to issue e-tickets. We are confident that this will result in improved efficiency for our agents and an increase in bookings for Hahn Air’s network of carriers.”

The ETAT initiative forms part of Travelport’s broader strategy to grow its presence in emerging markets and is a step closer toward Hahn Air’s goal of worldwide ticketing availability. Travelport and Hahn Air have already teamed up for several ETAT implementations, including in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Angola, and plan to work together on other roll-outs in the near future.

Simon Riha, Chief Business Development Officer at Hahn Air, commented: “Partnering with Travelport for their ETAT solution in Iraq is an excellent opportunity for us to connect to the growing Iraqi market and make booking flights easier for the local travel trade.  It also makes perfect sense for us to back this initiative as Travelport has just established their footprint in the country and we have a great working relationship with them.”

With a presence in more than 180 countries, Hahn Air has interline e-ticketing agreements with a wide variety of international airlines and makes their published fares available for ticketing through the Galileo GDS under the leading ticketing platform HR-169.