SriLankan accelerates its preparation to integrate the oneworld global alliance in 2014. The adoption of Amadeus Altéa Suite, a next generation IT system, is part of this preparation.
BANGKOK- SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, and the Amadeus IT Group, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry, announce a landmark agreement that will see the airline migrate to Amadeus’ full Altéa suite by 2014. Amadeus’ Altéa suite is used by over 120 airlines globally.
The deal, which is the first of its kind for Amadeus in the Indian subcontinent, will enable both SriLankan Airlines and its sister airline, Mihin Lanka, to adopt Amadeus’ next generation IT suite in order to manage its mission-critical reservations, ticketing, inventory and departure control processes.
At the same time, the agreement between SriLankan and Amadeus will help facilitate the airline’s entry into the oneworld global alliance. Currently Amadeus is the standard IT platform for the alliance with more than half of the members of oneworld adopting the Amadeus Altéa suite to date.
In an exclusive conversation with TDN Asia, Sri Lankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena explained that the integration of SriLankan into oneworld will indeed provide a new dimension to the carrier. “We are extremely serious in our preparation for this membership. It will then position Colombo as a new gateway into the Indian sub-continent and Asia. We are now upgrading Colombo airport to become a proper hub airport for oneworld. And we estimate that our integration into the alliance –planned for February 2014- will boost our passengers traffic by at least 10% to over four million passengers per year”, he explained.
Under the terms of the agreement the two companies will work in close co-operation to begin the migration process from SriLankan’s existing passenger service system to Altéa, with the first phase of the migration, covering the reservations, inventory and ticketing modules, scheduled to be completed this year. Migration to the Altéa departure control system module is planned to commence in the first half of 2014.
The agreement with SriLankan follows a period of sustained success for Amadeus and its Altéa suite across Asia Pacific in particular in 2012, when contracts were agreed with Garuda Indonesia and EVA Air. Most recently Amadeus has also successfully migrated Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines to Altéa, with Garuda scheduled to migrate later in 2013.
Nishantha Wickremasinghe, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines said : “We consider this a significant move in our future plans to place SriLankan Airlines in an advantageous position and becoming the first airline to adopt the Altéa Suite in the Indian subcontinent displays our commitment to be on par with the technological developments that are critical for efficiency in today’s aviation industry.”
Kaplia Chandrasena, Director/Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlines commented: “Implementing Amadeus’ Altéa suite is crucial to the evolution and expansion of SriLankan Airlines and our inclusion within the oneworld global alliance. The Altéa suite will truly modernise our IT processes, enhancing our service provision, whilst enabling us to become a more ‘customer-centric’ carrier than ever before.This agreement is highly significant for our employees, passengers and partners.”
David Brett, President Amadeus Asia Pacific, said: “As an ever greater number of people fly from and within Asia Pacific destinations, whether they’re first-time leisure travellers or seasoned business travellers, their demands and expectations are going to increase accordingly. Amadeus’ strategic direction is to provide the solutions airlines require to meet the current and future requirements of an increasingly discerning and demanding travelling public. This also includes helping airlines run as efficiently as possible while maintaining high levels of customer service. We’re delighted to support SriLankan Airlines as one of the most progressive airlines in the region.”
Hazem Hussein, Head of Airline Commercial, Amadeus Asia Pacific added : “We extend a very warm welcome to SriLankan Airlines to the Altéa community, and applaud its endeavour to become a member of the oneworld alliance. Both actions signal extremely strong commitment to put its customers first, and we look forward to working in partnership during the journey ahead.”
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
