Star Alliance to Build Common IT Platform for Members
EUROPEAN UNION, September 8, 2005. Star Alliance together with member carriers Lufthansa and United is creating a next generation technology platform for passenger service systems in the airline industry. For this, the parties have jointly selected Amadeus to build a Common IT Platform for the alliance.
This deal will see Lufthansa and United replace their own legacy IT systems, with expansion to other members being planned. Commenting on the decision, Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO said: "The Star Alliance Common IT Platform represents the realisation of a long time strategic goal, driven by the effort to better serve the customer, significantly lower IT costs and dramatically increase the speed of delivering new products to market."
On behalf of Amadeus, Jos'e Antonio Taz'on, President and CEO, said: "We are proud to have been chosen above some of the world's most prestigious IT providers. This announcement underlines the unique value offered by our Alt'ea suite of IT solutions for airlines and alliances in today's competitive environment."
Lufthansa and United will replace their current legacy systems with one technology platform based on industry leading products and state of the art technology.
"The new Common IT platform is an important step forward for passengers, the Star Alliance and Lufthansa: we can now offer our customers an even better service from reservation to check-in", commented Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, Deutsche Lufthansa AG . The project is also testimony to the more intensive co-operation within Star Alliance, proving that we are not solely a sales and marketing alliance, but more importantly an alliance for the customer which makes seamless travel a reality", he added.
While the carriers' current IT systems all use different technologies, the new platform is based on a common technical infrastructure and software. The heart of the new system offers enhanced customer service functionalities, specifically for both sales and airport environments, and includes such transactions as schedule, availability, inventory, reservations, fare quote and ticketing as well as passenger check-in. The improvement in customer service will come through ease of use as well as through common and better quality of data which the airline service agents will be able to access when dealing with alliance customers.
"The Star Alliance Common IT platform will help provide what customers want: ease and convenience," said Glenn Tilton, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United. "Star Alliance, like United, is focused on providing the best possible customer experience in the most efficient way possible. The ability to lower costs while improving our customers' experiences further underscores the importance and value of our membership in Star Alliance.
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