Category Archives: Technology

The Middle East awards programme, Amber pioneered by the Al Tayer Group, has launched a new mobile app in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to enable fast travel and hotel deals across GCC. The app introduces many benefits to customers, who can now enroll into the programme from anywhere, at their convenience, and view the latest offers across the Al Tayer Group portfolio of brands. Eliminating the need to carry a plastic card, members can begin to shop, earn and redeem points with the use of their digital card. The application will also feature daily updates on the best in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality, travel and cars across the Al Tayer Group portfolio. All masterfully curated by expert editors from local and global sources, the aim is to offer exclusive, original and aspirational content that serves as a source of inspiration to its readers. Members can also explore all Amber participating stores for opening times and locations; avail of convenient customer service with a click to call Amber Assist; and be the first to receive invitations to events and notifications of exclusive members’ only promotions and other privileges. The Amber application is available in English and Arabic and can be downloaded via the Play store on android phones and the App Store on iPhone devices.

Car booking app CAREEM has announced its partnership with Etisalat as it launches its new payment platform – CAREEM Wallet – for booking car rides. CAREEM Wallet allows the company’s customers to pay for car rides using Etisalat’s Reward points or choose to earn Etisalat Reward points as they use CAREEM services. Etisalat, the leading telecoms operator in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, is the first partner to integrate into the ‘CAREEM Wallet’. The announcement is the first of its kind in a series of several partnerships which the car hailing booking app is currently working on to integrate into its new platform. Khaled ElKhouly, Chief Consumer Officer, Etisalat said that they are excited to offer their Rewards members an innovative means to earn and burn Etisalat Reward points in partnership with CAREEM. Now their members can enjoy free taxi rides by simply redeeming their accumulated reward points or earn more reward points every time onboard a CAREEM taxi. This is yet another endeavor from them to provide enhanced value to their customers for being with Etisalat. Selim Turki, Product Market Fit Director , Careem, stated that they were delighted to have Etisalat on board as one of their key partners. Both CAREEM and Etisalat are on the same page when it comes to understanding the need for innovative new products that meet the unique needs of the consumer. CAREEM will continue to work with leading partners in the region such as Etisalat to offer ground-breaking solutions that aim to simplify our people’s lives,” said Selim Turki, Product Market Fit Director, CAREEM. The process is simple, all customers have to do is go to the ‘Wallet’ screen inside their …

Amadeus IT Holding has reported an adjusted profit of €494.5 million for the first half of 2016, recording a growth of 17.9 per cent compared to the same period of 2015. This was supported by a revenue increase of 15.1%, to €2,275.5 million, and EBITDA growth of 16.5%, to €907.1 million. Free cash-flow generation grew 23.2% in the first half, with the debt ratio at 1.31x EBITDA. They continue to invest in making the GDS the most efficient system for the distribution of travel products, as shown by the success of our merchandising solutions: 157 airlines trust us for the distribution of their ancillaries through the direct and indirect channels. The Airline IT business has also experienced strong growth in the first half of 2016. The number of passengers boarded using their Altéa platform grew by 10.9% supported by the organic growth of their customer base and new customer implementations. This strong performance was complemented by the acquisition of Navitaire from Accenture, finalised in January. Thanks to its contribution, the total number of passengers boarded using Amadeus’ PSS systems increased by 75.7%, to 622.4 million. At the same time, multiple global airlines continued to contract our solutions. Malaysia Airlines chose Amadeus as the their new PSS provider; Singapore Airlines contracted the full suite of Amadeus Revenue Management solutions; Lufthansa Group contracted Amadeus Altéa Departure Control Flight Management for all of its network airlines; and Avianca became the launch partner for Amadeus Anytime Merchandising.

Travelport and Roibek Travel have announced a new long term agreement that will see Roibek exclusively use Travelport’s industry leading technology across their 55 branches in the Kingdom. Travelport’s agency point of sale solution, Travelport Smartpoint, will give Roibek access to air and other travel content and services aimed at transforming the way agents work by maximising revenues, increasing productivity and improving the customer experience. Smartpoint also allows travel agents to sell not just air fares, but an airline’s full range of ancillary products and services in real time from over 400 of the world’s leading network airlines and low cost carriers. There are also more than 650,000 unique hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations available from Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. Ibrahim El Mohandes, Country Manager, Saudi Arabia, Travelport commented; “Travelport is delighted to announce this business partnership with Roibek Travel. Our technology solutions are redefining how travel is being search, bought and sold across the globe and our Travel Commerce Platform creates synergies that facilitate revenue growth for our customers, which will empower Roibek’s growth online, increasing revenue as well as improving customer service for the Roibek’s customers.”

In order to improve its transparent communication with its stakeholders, Turkish Airlines has released a mobile Investor Relations App compatible with iPad, iPhone and Android devices. With this application, all Turkish Airlines stakeholders, including shareholders, analysts and investors will be able to access the latest news and developments regarding Turkish Airlines with three different digital platforms and in two languages. With this application, users will  have online and offline access to various information and documents about Turkish Airlines including public disclosures, operational and financial disclosures, investor presentations and annual reports both in Turkish and in English and they will be updated with instant notifications. The application is accessible via Apple Store and Google Play with the searching word “Turkish Airlines”.

Global travel technology leader Sabre Corporation has given travel consultants and suppliers across the airline, hotel, rail, cruise and car rental industries a sneak-peek at its game-changing Sabre Red Workspace. The software solution will harness the changes in the industry and provide both retailers and suppliers with a content rich marketplace, intelligent decision support tools and predictive data insights that enable agents and suppliers to more easily create personalised experiences for travellers.  Developed on Sabre’s merchandising platform providing access to its award-winning GDS, travel consultants around the world will benefit from a more intuitive way to book travel, while airlines, hotels and other industry suppliers are now empowered to market their brands in the same way they market in other channels. Sean Menke, President of Sabre stated that Data, analytics, personalisation and mobile have been trending in the marketplace for some time and offer exciting opportunities for buyers and suppliers to meet changing traveller needs. Travellers want more than an itinerary; they want to feel confident about their purchases and expect a trip built around choice. That’s why in addition to a superior user experience, the new Sabre Red Workspace will provide travel consultants with data insights, relevant offers and price transparency. Data and analytics are critical assets to increase productivity and efficiency in the retail world, and their travel insight engine will help drive decision-making, revenue optimisation and true personalisation. Sabre will begin upgrading travel agency customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to the new solution in early 2017, after a pilot later this year.

Due to the recent situation occurred on 28th June 2016, at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, for passengers who have bookings on all flights departing from, arriving at, or connecting in Istanbul Ataturk Airport or Sabiha Gökçen Airport between 28 June 2016-July 5, 2016 (ticketed on/before 28 June 2016), providing that their tickets are revalidated by 31 July 2016 (inclusive) and disregarding related fare rules: 1. Rebooking and rerouting: Rebooking and rerouting will be carried out free of charge. This applies to all reservation booking classes only if at the same compartment; 2. Refund requests: Refund of unused tickets will be issued free of charge and for tickets which have been partially used (but the entire journey has not been completed), refunds will be issued after deducting the fare for the used portion, with no penalties being applied; 3. Extension of validity: Validity of a ticket can be extended until 31 July 2016 (inclusive) with no fare difference or deduction. All passengers are kindly requested to check the latest status of their flight on their official website or with their call center before traveling.

Air Cairo, an Egypt-based carrier, has signed a new agreement with Amadeus for both IT and distribution services. During June 2016, Air Cairo successfully completed its cutover to Amadeus’ Altéa Reservation and Inventory and Amadeus e-Commerce modules, whilst also signing for a full content distribution agreement.  The migration to Altéa Reservation will enable the airline to maximise booking and revenue growth through wide-reaching distribution channels, whilst Altéa Inventory provides the airline with the latest schedule management technology in the market place. Altéa will also provide the airline with a scalable platform to support its future growth. In terms of distribution, Amadeus-connected travel agencies will now benefit from access to the airline’s complete range of fares and prices, assisting the carrier in achieving its business goals in regional and international markets. Air Cairo has traditionally operated as a low cost /charter airline but is part way through an ambitious evolution aimed at becoming a Full Service Carrier. Part of the rationale for this strategic shift is access to more passengers made possible by partnerships with Egypt Air, which owns a significant stake in Air Cairo, as well as other airline partners.

Etihad Airways has introduced industry-leading technology powered by Sabre Corporation that helps personalise the travel experience for passengers, enabling them to easily purchase customised fares. The national airline of the United Arab Emirates operates more than 1,000 flights per week to over 120 destinations worldwide. Sabre’s Branded Fares will enable it to effectively market and sell its broad and unique roster of fares globally through the Sabre Travel Marketplace, reaching more than 425,000 travel agents globally including Sabre’s growing network in Asia, propelled by the acquisition of the former Abacus operations, which Sabre acquired in July 2015. Sabre Branded Fares allows airlines to address growing consumer demand for more personalised services that meet individual needs. Using Sabre’s enhanced solution, Sabre-connected travel agents can now provide travellers with Etihad Airways’ Fare Choices, enabling passengers to book different classes of travel with a variety of options, such as bags, seats and mileage to meet specific needs. Fare Choices allow Etihad Airways guests to book different classes of travel with a variety of fare options and benefits tailored to their specific needs. “Etihad Airways is experiencing strong growth and has a clear strategy to provide its passengers with more choice when booking fares,” said Harald Eisenaecher, senior vice president EMEA at Sabre. “We have been working with Etihad Airways to find new ways to further personalise its products and make the booking experience more seamless for passengers. Sabre Branded Fares is just one of several ways we are supporting the carrier’s goals to gain competitive advantage and lead the industry in offering a personalised and customer-centric service to its passengers.” Travel agents using Sabre can now offer clients more informed choices and a higher level of customer service, while also driving upsell opportunities based on enhanced visibility …

Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with interTouch, a premier integrated technology solutions provider to the global hospitality industry, to address growing ICT needs of the hospitality industry worldwide. interTouch will be offering, as part of a bundled solution, Huawei Switching & Wireless Solutions to its customers that include top-tier international hotel chains. The collaboration will enable interTouch to give its customers superior technology and innovation that delivers on connectivity requirements while significantly reducing total cost of ownership of these solutions.  The MoU signing ceremony between Huawei and interTouch took place during the annual Huawei Partner Summit held recently at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. In line with the groundbreaking MoU with interTouch, Huawei participated in the Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) conference held in Dubai last month. Farid Ben Asker, Director of Solutions for the Hospitality, Real Estate and Healthcare Industries, addressed a session at the HTNG and highlighted the importance of adopting next-generation technologies by the global hospitality industry.