Frankfurt and Madrid, September 27, 2004 - IBM and e-Travel, the e-commerce business unit of Amadeus, have been chosen by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, one of the world's top airlines, to build and run its new generation Internet portal.
"Faster, easier and more customer-friendly." This is the goal of Lufthansa.com and the cornerstone of a 5-year agreement under which IBM and Amadeus e-Travel, together with Lufthansa aim to offer improved service to Lufthansa.com visitors with an intuitive, yet comprehensive booking and faring process.
Under the terms of this agreement, IBM will supply the consulting, solution development, maintenance and hosting operations. Amadeus will provide and operate the overall booking and faring solution. Together the two companies will provide the infrastructure, middleware and network technologies for the entire project.
"The airline will be able to react quickly to market demand at any time, thanks to the built-in flexibility enabled by the new portal," says Dr. Matthias Förster, Global Relationship Partner at IBM Business Consulting Services.
Ian Wheeler, Vice President, Marketing and Managing Director of e-Travel, said "We look forward to working jointly with IBM to provide improved online technology to Lufthansa and their customers. Currently adopted by over 60 airlines, including bmi, Qantas and Air Canada, our proven application service provider (ASP) self-service solutions, including Planitgo Flex Pricer technology allows airlines to improve their conversion and yield levels. Thanks to e-Travel servicing technology, customers are able to rebook online, freeing up call centres and putting the customer in control."
About IBM
IBM, the world's largest technology company, with more than 300 000 employees globally, is one of the biggest suppliers of Information Technology to the air transport industry. IBM is an IT supplier to most major airlines world wide, and has been working with the airline industry for more than 40 years. With consultants and professional staff in more than 160 countries, IBM Business Consulting Services is the world's largest consulting services organization, providing clients with business process and industry expertise, and the ability to translate that expertise into integrated, adaptive, on demand business solutions and services that deliver bottom-line business value.
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution (MAD: AMS)
Amadeus is the leading global distribution system (GDS) and technology provider, serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Amadeus is a leading IT solutions provider to the airline industry, providing a Customer Management Systems portfolio, including: Altéa Sell (distribution), Altéa Plan (inventory management system) and Altéa Fly (departure control system). British Airways, Qantas and Finnair are the first customers to implement this full suite of Customer Management Systems. e-Travel, the e-commerce business unit of Amadeus, is the leading global provider of online travel technology. It provides e-commerce solutions for airlines, corporations, travel agencies and other online travel businesses, and is dedicated to its customers' net success. e-Travel serves customers in 90 countries including corporations such as Airbus, DaimlerChrysler, Ingersoll-Rand and Oracle Corporation, as well as travel suppliers such as Air France, Iberia and Qantas, and online agencies such as Opodo.
Voor meer informatie:
Tineke Mertens
Manager Communications
IBM Nederland
Off: +31 36 545 4594
Mob: +31 6 200 150 92
tineke.mertens@nl.ibm.com