Emirates selects Sabre Airline Solutions for flight scheduling upgrade

The airline, one of the world's fastest growing, will enhance its flight scheduling activity by implementing the latest Sabre AirFlite flight schedules planning and management solutions. Emirates has replaced its existing Sabre Airline Solutions product, PC AirFlite, with the premier offering.

Sabre AirFlite supports an airline's entire flight scheduling activity, from strategic planning through to the construction of a seasonal schedule and short-term tactical schedule adjustments. The system is part of a suite of products that automates the development of an airline's flight schedule. The latest issue, version 2006, contains major advances in schedule publication, passenger connection analysis, code-share handling and many other features.

In order to generate revenue and reduce operating costs, airlines must continually decide which markets to serve, when to fly, which type of aircraft to assign to a specific route and track slots at airports. Sabre AirFlite supports an airline's entire flight scheduling activity, from strategic planning and forecasting through to fleet assignment and the construction of a seasonal schedule and short-term tactical schedule adjustments.

The system is part of a suite of products that automates the development of an airline's flight schedule. The latest version contains major advances in schedule publication, passenger connection analysis, code-share handling and many other features.

Azhar Kapadwanjwala, vice-president of schedule planning and network optimisation at Emirates, said: "We liked PC AirFlite but the demands of being one of the world's fastest growing airlines, and the resulting need for greater functionality, led us to upgrade to Sabre Airline Solutions' premier flight scheduling tool. It has the performance and ease-of-use of PC AirFlite, but the enhanced features will help make our business more efficient and profitable.

"Over 70 airlines around the world rely on AirFlite to prepare and distribute their flight schedules," said Steve Clampett, president of airline products and solutions at Sabre Airline Solutions. "We expect Emirates will derive significant value from this new version, including enhanced scheduling flexibility and analysis."

In a separate development the UK's leading travel website, lastminute.com, has signed a deal to become the sole worldwide supplier of hotel products to the Emirates Website for the first time.

lastminute.com has been servicing Emirates' customers' global hotel needs since 15 November last year, across the 43 international markets in which the airline currently operates.

The new service gives customers access to over 100, 000 city and resort-based hotels worldwide, with access to lastminute.com's full range of 3- to 5-star luxury, holiday and hip hotels.

The new service is available initially in English, with customers able to pay for their accommodation in Pounds Sterling, U.S. dollars and the euro. A wider range of languages and currency will be introduced in the future.

The deals with both Sabre Airline Solutions and lastminute.com demonstrate the value, beyond the traditional GDS function, that the combined Sabre business is able to bring to travel providers. By working with both Sabre Holdings companies, Emirates will be able to reduce operating costs, offer an enhanced service to its customers and generate greater revenues.

Vic Darvey, group trade director for lastminute.com B2B said: "We're delighted to be working with one of the world's fastest growing airlines and we look forward to supporting them as they continue their expansion. Our wide range of hotel content will be pivotal to this relationship and we see this as a strong endorsement of our capabilities as an integrated supplier of ancillary revenues."