SAS Group signs 10 year technology partnership with Amadeus

The Group’s airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Widerøe and Blue1 have signed a long-term agreement and will adopt Amadeus Altea Customer Management platform.SAS Group and Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, have signed a 10 year technology partnership for the provision of a new generation passenger service system.

Adoption of next-generation technology will support the SAS Group’s move towards cost efficiency and enhanced capacity to respond effectively to a fast-changing and competitive marketplace.

Amadeus will implement the new technology platform for the SAS Group of airlines through a phased migration process which will start in 2010.

Through the partnership, Scandinavian Airlines, Widerøe and Blue1 will adopt the full Amadeus Altea Customer Management Solution to manage their global sales and reservations, inventory and departure control processes.

The SAS Group of airlines will adopt the Amadeus e-commerce suite of solutions, to support their commercial websites and drive online sales alongside their existing e-commerce systems.

“ We are pleased to have signed a long-term agreement that will replace our legacy passenger service systems with a modern and standardized community solution,”says Mats Fagerlund, Senior Vice President & CIO SAS Group.

Amadeus Altea CMS comprises a fully integrated platform that delivers operational efficiencies across an airline’s passenger service systems. Its central repository of customer data facilitates enhanced exchange of travel records and profiles, from reservations trough to check-in. Further, Altea CMS is a shared platform used by over 100 airlines and offering connectivity to over 100, 000 travel agency locations worldwide, for sales.

A shared platform is especially relevant in the current economic environment,
“ Shared costs to maintain and further develop the system, a variable per passenger boarded fee structure and eased integration with an airline’s commercial partners who use the same platform, including travel agencies, all mean incomparable cost efficiencies for the SAS Group” , says Julia Sattel, Amadeus Vice President, Airline IT

“ Scandinavian Airlines is also the eleventh member of the Star Alliance to select our suite of customer management technology. With these unique advantages in perspective, we are confident Amadeus technology can support SAS Group’s revamped strategy”

To date over 50 airlines have opted for full Altea CMS suite, while some 100 other airlines use at least one component of Altea CMS. The adoption of the new technology platform means that Scandinavian Airlines will also align to the Star Alliance Common IT platform (CITP) which is based on the same technology.

SAS Group
Magnus Rosén IT
tel: + 46 70 997 5389
fax +46 70 997 1260
e-mail: magnus.rosen2@sas.se

Per Wehlander Distribution
tel.+ 46 70 997 2964
fax + 46 70 997 2890
e-mail per.wehlander@sas.se

SAS Group Press Duty telephone
Tel: +46 8 797 2944

Amadeus
Media Relations / Corporate Marketing
tel : +34 91 582 0160
fax : +34 91 582 0188
e-mail : mediarelations@amadeus.com

About SAS Group
The SAS Group is the leading airline group in Northern Europe, offering air transportation and airline-related services. Scandinavian Airlines and Blue1 are members of Star Alliance™, the world’s largest airline alliance. The Group also includes the airline Widerøe, the partly owned airline Estonian Air, SAS Technical Services, SAS Ground Services and SAS Cargo. SAS EuroBonus, founded in 1992, is the SAS Group’s loyalty program with more than 2.8 million members. In 2008, the SAS Group transported 29 million passengers to over 150 destinations. Read more on www.sasgroup.net

About Amadeus
Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators),travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories –Distribution & Content, Sales & e-commerce, Business Management and Services & Consulting Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters & marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Bangkok. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations through 69 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations covering 217 markets.

The company is majority owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs over 8,500 employees worldwide, representing 105 nationalities.
More information about Amadeus is available at: http://www.amadeus.com