EVENTS TAAIng with TAAI A Partnership for Success SUBCONTINENT flagged off and 5 enthusiastic volun- teers were called on to play this game and pick their date. The volunteers were grilled by rib tickling questions, which madeus India, once again stole interviewed delegates asking them what was thoroughly enjoyed and taken in the show at the recently held they thought was date at 8. Some very very healthy spirit. Two dates were cho- ATAAI 2003 convention held at whacky and humorous answers were sen (one male and one female) and were Genting Highlands, Malaysia. sought and the delegates enjoyed every given a most enjoyable joyride in a plush Amadeus was the sponsor of cock- bit of the coverage, which was later limousine around the locales of tails and live entertainment during the relayed live on stage. Genting Highlands. last night i.e 22nd September 2003. The The event kicked off with the famous Drinks flowed, exquisite snacks were evening saw the coming together of a celebrity emcee Roshan Abbas holding savoured and the evening continued 1000 travel professionals across the centre stage. Malaysian Diva dancers per- with Amadeus holding centre stage en- length and breadth of the country, for formed to some great numbers and made thralling one and all. The evening came some fun and frolic. The theme of the the audience dance to their tunes. to an end with only one thought in • Destination Sri Lanka : Gateway to South Asia 2003 evening was Date at 8, a game show, Mr. Ankur Bhatia welcomed the everyone’s mind and that was “what an which has never been performed in front guests with a series of AV’s shown to evening...a night that will go down in • Amadeus Lanka Sponsors TAASL Meet of such a large audience. the audience letting them know all about the history books of TAAI with Amadeus in its true inimitable style, Amadeus India. Later Date at 8 was Amadeus at its very best.” • Bangladesh All the Way... 14 15 Interface - Mantra Bk.p65 16-17 1/2/04, 4:08 PM SUBCONTINENT DESTINATION SRI LANKA : GATEWAY TO SOUTH ASIA 2003 Strikingly beautiful landscapes, unspoilt golden beaches combined with historical monuments and a unique culture and warm smiles welcome visitors from all corners of the globe. Sri Lanka has soon become the key meeting point in the South Asian Region. The country being in the key shipping and airline routes continues to attract visitors from all parts of the world. In keeping with promoting Sri Lanka as “Destination PROVIDERS Sri Lanka - gateway to South Asia” a buyer and seller meet was organised where Amadeus Lanka took part as one of the exhibitors showcasing our product range. Amadeus Lanka also received an award from the Chairman, Sri Lankan Tourist Board as a token of appreciation for our contribution of this mart. AMADEUS LANKA SPONSORS TAASL MEET BANGLADESH ALL THE WAY ... For the recently concluded Product News Amadeus and the • Scandinavian Airlines to provide travel agents with online TAASL organisation in competition the two proud winners from solutions and competitive fares Sri Lanka have become Dhaka were synonymous with each Mr. Zia from • Finnair Adopts E-Travel solutions and services for its leisure website other. After a recently American concluded Annual Express • Gulf Air Debuts self check-in Kiosks in the Middle East General Meeting in TRS and Colombo, Mr. Nihal Mr. Biplob • Alitalia northern and western Europe selects e-travel for its Perera, President of from The leisure and corporate websites TAASL said, “Amadeus Travel has always been in the Channel. • LOT Polish airlines eases alliance integration moves, sales forefront with the Heartist con- and reservations to Amadeus market, providing new gratulations technology support. We to the winners • New low fare carrier sells through Amadeus agents and kudos to are glad to work closely Amadeus signs agreement with Continental Airlines for the Amadeus • with them. For the last e-Ticket interlining technology five years Amadeus has Bangladesh been working closely Team for • Aer Lingus adopts Amadeus e-ticketing infrastructure with us and we will making this always be supportive to promotion a • Joint promotions them.” grand success!!! 16 17 Interface - Mantra Bk.p65 18-19 1/2/04, 4:09 PM PROVIDERS PROVIDERS SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES TO FINNAIR ADOPTS PROVIDE TRAVEL AGENTS E-TRAVEL WITH ONLINE SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES AND COMPETITIVE FARES FOR ITS LEISURE WEBSITE Travel agents will benefit from lower website implementation costs plus access to e-Travel, the global leader in online travel solutions and the e-commerce unit of Amadeus, Scandinavian Airlines’ web-only fares recently announced that Finnair has selected e-Travel to outsource its leisure website operations candinavian Airlines and e-Travel, 11% to 25% of total sales in 2005. e-Travel, the global leader in online grated and open technology. The flex- the e-commerce business unit of As a result of the partnership, the travel solutions and the e-commerce unit ibility of the Planitgo solution will Amadeus and the global leader in self-booking websites of participating of Amadeus, recently announced that enable the integration of Finnair’s Internet S and sustain its competitive edge by online travel technology, have announced travel agencies will be able to offer lower Finnair, one of the world’s longest banking and fulfilment processes. offering an online solution with the their intention to jointly offer travel fares for Scandinavian Airlines flights, established airlines, has selected e-Travel With Planitgo, Finnair expects to latest technology,” Wheeler added. agencies tools for Internet sales. benefit from lower site implementation to outsource its leisure Web site opera- generate more than one million online The offering is aimed both at travel costs and access a modern booking endorsement of a leading player in the tion and related Web design develop- tickets over the next three years. agencies in Scandinavia that do not have system, with a clearer overview of prices region like Scandinavian Airlines. It is ment services. “Standardised e-Travel technology, their own solution for online sales and those and travel products. also an excellent opportunity to build Leveraging the flexible Java architec- deeply integrated with the Amadeus that have websites powered by e-Travel. Commenting on the partnership, Ian and strengthen their online services in ture of Planitgo, e-Travel offers cost- GDS, provides Finnair with increased Through the agreement, travel agen- Wheeler, Managing Director, e-Travel, the most cost-effective way,” he added. effective development services to lead- efficiency and scalability in our online Finnair cies will have access to Scandinavian says, “Our cooperation brings together The e-Travel offering for Scandina- ing companies based on a proven ISO- sales channel,” said Tom Kallstrom, Vice Finnair, the national carrier of Airlines’ web fares through e-Travel’s e-Travels’ advanced technology with vian travel agencies includes online book- 9001 certified methodology. Based on President, Corporate e-Business & New Finland and one of the world’s longest corporate and leisure online booking Scandinavian Airlines’ fares and market ing tools for both corporate (e-Travel® JSP (Java Server Pages) and Custom Ventures, Finnair. “By outsourcing our established airlines, has a route tools, thereby strengthening their offer experience, to benefit both leisure and Aergo) and leisure travel (e-Travel® HTML technology, these new design e-commerce leisure business and book- network that covers over 50 international destinations and 21 to the market. corporate customers who want to book Planitgo). These solutions represent the services enable airlines such as Finnair ing engine web design to an industry destinations within Finland. The “Our cooperation with Amadeus online and save costs.” best return on investment in the indus- to implement a truly unique online expert such as e-Travel, we expect to airline also owns 95 per cent of the means that we can now make an active “For travel agencies, it is a perfect try, all backed by the power of Amadeus presence, yet reduce IT costs and im- further cut costs while increasing the Amadeus national marketing effort to support our travel agencies in response as they will benefit from the e-commerce technology. prove timely delivery through an inte- satisfaction level of our online travellers company (NMC), which is the local distributor of the GDS’ products and the development of online tools,” says through our improved services to the travel agency Christian Hylander, Scandinavian Air- offering.” community in the Finnish market. lines’ VP, Distribution Strategy and “This new agree- Finnair is a pioneer in its field in Channel Development. “This contract ment follows 10 years of exploiting e-commerce and has developed a number of Internet and is part of our goal to stimulate Internet successful association mobile telephone based services. By sales. We are adapting to our custom- with Amadeus and now 2006 Finnair estimates that most of ers’ changing habits and the rising de- with e-Travel, its e-com- the company’s sales will be mand for efficient electronic sales chan- merce business unit,” generated via the Internet and that more than half of the passengers nels. We want to be present wherever said Ian Wheeler, Man- will be using Internet services, from the customers want to purchase.” aging Director, e-Travel. making their ticket to clearing check- Strategic cooperation with Amadeus “Finnair will benefit in. In 2002, Finnair has been is a natural step in the development of from our current invest- awarded the WITSA (World IT and Services Alliance) Excellence Award Scandinavian Airlines’ new distribution ments in technological for its eGate product and Airline strategy, which aims to increase ticket developments, aimed at Business magazine’s Airline Strategy sales via the Internet from the current providing airlines more Award for Technology.