Sabre Airline has announced that it will
expand its relationship with JetBlue to help optimize its flight
operations, crew management and resource management capabilities.This
follows JetBlue’s decision to participate in the Sabre Travel Network
global distribution system (GDS).

  JetBlue joins value-focused carriers AirTran Airways, Frontier
Airlines, Southwest Airlines and WestJet as customers of Sabre Airline
Solutions’ resource management solutions that allow the carriers to
differentiate themselves in their respective markets. According to
Nejib Ben-Khedher, head of Sabre Airline Solutions consulting and
delivery organization, value-focused carriers adopt the best of the
no-frills carriers and traditional models. Among the adoptions, he
said, is partnering with industry expertise on such functions as
operations planning and seat distribution.

  “It is vital to our continuing success to partner with industry
leaders like Sabre Airline Solutions and Sabre Travel Network to drive
operational efficiency and productivity at JetBlue,” said Duffy Mees,
the airline’s chief information officer. “They truly understand what
is important to us as an airline, and their tools are a great fit
within our framework and will help us deliver the JetBlue Experience
even more efficiently.”

  Specifically, JetBlue has renewed its commitment to the Sabre
Flight Control Suite and Sabre Dispatch Manager, and added functions
to its Sabre Streamline Resource Management Suite.

  The Flight Control suite includes crew management and flight
operations products in use by many value-focused carriers such as
JetBlue. The Flight Control suite includes the Sabre FliteTrac system,
which enables JetBlue’s system operations crewmembers to actively
manage the status of its flights. By interfacing with JetBlue’s
computer reservation system (CRS), the FliteTrac system can display
real-time flight information in a dynamic, configurable graphical
display format with user-defined colors indicating flight status. The
system interfaces with multiple sources to process flight movement
messages, gathering data such as flight number and date; origin and
destination; departure time; assigned aircraft; fuel data; customer
list (both planned and actual); and the original, revised, estimated
and actual arrival time.

  In addition to the FlightTrac system, the Flight Control suite
products JetBlue renewed with Sabre Airline Solutions include the
CrewQual and CrewTrac systems as well as CrewTrac Voice, CrewTrac Web
and FliteTrac Web.

  Dispatch Manager is the premiere automated flight planning and
dispatch system. Dispatch Manager assists flight planners and
dispatchers in developing and optimizing flight plans that contain
required fuels, weight limitations, clearance information, assigned
cockpit crew names, NOTAMs, weather, and navigation and aircraft
performance data. The system also supports pre-flight planning for
aircraft and route evaluation.

  JetBlue added the Sabre Streamline StaffPlan, Sabre Streamline
RosterMaker, Sabre Streamline StaffAdmin and Sabre Streamline
StaffManager systems to the suite package that already included Sabre
Streamline GatePlan and Sabre Streamline GateManager. The Streamline
suite is an integrated end-to-end resource management solution that
can dramatically improve day-to-day operations by providing optimal
staffing levels, building rosters based on user-defined restraints,
automating employee administration and offering decision support on
the day of operation.

  JetBlue’s renewal also includes an enhanced support package that
provides additional levels of service tailored to the airline’s
evolving needs.

  “As an airline, JetBlue continues to grow and these systems are
growing with it,” said Steve Clampett, president of Airline Products
and Services for Sabre Airline Solutions. “Our continuing goal is to
provide the technology, products and services that address the issues
key to an airline’s challenges in the current market, whether that
airline is a start-up, a regional carrier or a more complex
traditional airline. The enhanced support package is a new concept
that allows customers the opportunity to contract for more
individualized real-time support.”

  To extend its reach to the corporate market, JetBlue also elected
to participate once again in the GDS when it announced its
participation with Sabre Travel Network, the leading GDS in North
America.
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