IATA, Royal Jordanian & JCAA simplify travel in Amman

Both are key elements of IATA's Simplifying the Business programme.

Simplifying the Business is a five-project initiative designed to make travel more convenient and reduce industry costs by US$6.5 billion annually. Other projects include 100% electronic ticketing by the end of 2007, the use of radio frequency identification for baggage management and IATA e-freight.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) lays the foundation for the introduction of CUSS in QAIA by the end of 2006 and BCBP during the first quarter of 2007. Under the agreement, Royal Jordanian will act as a project developer and operator, IATA will provide advisory support while the JCAA will serve as a facilitator and regulator.

Common use self service check-in allows customers to check-in on a number of different airlines using the same kiosk. As such, it helps airports make more efficient use of limited space and increase overall passenger capacity. It also speeds up check-in for passengers by more than 30%. Bar coded boarding passes also help passengers to avert queues by facilitating check-in and the printing of boarding passes at home over the Internet.

'The Middle East is the fastest growing air travel market in the world recording double-digit passenger growth in 31 of the past 33 months. Although airlines in the region are investing heavily in new aircraft to match market growth, many airports are not expanding at the same pace,'

said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA. 'This is a great example of how industry and government can work together to manage growth, boost service levels and improve efficiency at the same time.'

'Royal Jordanian that will become a member of oneworld alliance at the beginning of next year has introduced various electronic systems that aim towards the automation of many fields, such as operations, information technology, revenue management and accounting, pricing, frequent flyer programme and many other systems. RJ is working hard to implement the electronic ticketing system by the end of this year', said Samer Majali, RJ President & CEO. He also expressed his confidence in the introduction of the two automation systems at Queen Alia Int'l Airport that will be a qualitative and a real leap forward towards simplifying and facilitating the travel and check in procedures. He said that it is to upgrade the level of passenger services to match RJ's new vision to be the airline of choice, connecting Jordan and the Levant with the world, and developing Amman into a hub for air travel in the region.

'The implementation of the two systems by the airlines will be considered a great achievement in the field of the Jordanian civil aviation', said Capt. Sulieman Obeidat; Director General, Jordan Civil Aviation Authority. He also added: 'Jordan Civil Aviation's role in bringing success to this project is to facilitate and regulate the implementation of the two systems at Queen Alia Int'l Airport, in line with and up to the standards of IATA. It also aims at keeping up with the int'l and modern technological developments, increasing the quality of services offered at QAIA, and decreasing the operational cost of the airlines participating in the two systems'.