Baghdad, Iraq: 14 March 2011 -Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry operating the Galileo global distribution system (GDS) and worldwide ticketing expert Hahn Air announce the implementation of new e-ticketing functionality that will enable Galileo-connected travel agents in Iraq to issue e-tickets on bookings made with any of Hahn Air's 230 partner airlines.
Leveraging Travelport's innovative Electronic Transitional Automated Ticketing (ETAT) solution, agents will be provided with an efficient method to reconcile ticket transactions outside of the standard bank settlement plan (BSP) process. ETAT allows approved travel agencies to issue e-tickets in countries such as Iraq where BSP is not available.
Operating the industry's leading universal e-ticketing platform, Hahn Air will make its tickets available using ETAT through Baghdad-based Qasr Al Nahrain Travel & Tourism - the official distributor of the Galileo global distribution system (GDS) in Iraq. Qasr Al Nahrain will assist travel agencies with the purchase of these e-tickets.
Aws Alhashimi, who manages the Galileo distributor in Iraq, said: "We are very pleased that Hahn Air is supporting an important e-ticketing functionality that will enable local Galileo agents to issue e-tickets. We are confident that this will result in improved efficiency for our agents and an increase in bookings for Hahn Air's network of carriers."
The ETAT initiative forms part of Travelport's broader strategy to grow its presence in emerging markets and is a step closer toward Hahn Air's goal of worldwide ticketing availability. Travelport and Hahn Air have already teamed up for several ETAT implementations, including in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Angola, and plan to work together on other roll-outs in the near future.
Simon Riha, Chief Business Development Officer at Hahn Air, commented: "Partnering with Travelport for their ETAT solution in Iraq is an excellent opportunity for us to connect to the growing Iraqi market and make booking flights easier for the local travel trade. It also makes perfect sense for us to back this initiative as Travelport has just established their footprint in the country and we have a great working relationship with them."
With a presence in more than 180 countries, Hahn Air has interline e-ticketing agreements with a wide variety of international airlines and makes their published fares available for ticketing through the Galileo GDS under the leading ticketing platform HR-169.
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About Travelport (www.travelport.com)/
Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry.
With a presence in 160 countries, approximately 5,400 employees and reported 2009 revenues of $2.2 billion, Travelport is comprised of the global distribution system (GDS) business that includes the Galileo and Worldspan brands; GTA, a leading global, multi-channel provider of hotel and ground services; and Airline IT Solutions, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines.
Travelport also owns approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), a leading global online travel company. Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group, One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Travelport management.
Follow Travelport on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Travelport
About Hahn Air (www.hahnair.com)
Hahn Air, the ticketing expert, has been specialising in global sales and distribution for many years. Operating the industry's leading universal ET (E-Ticketing) platform, Hahn Air has implemented agreements with more than 230 airlines worldwide. The company plays a leading role in ensuring higher, optimised and secure revenues for its partner airlines in more than 180 (non) BSP and ARC markets through global accessibility to 85,000 IATA and IATAN travel agents, using any GDS. Please visit www.hahnair.com for more information.
More information on Hahn Air's service partner Qasr Al Nahrain Travel & Tourism is available at www.qasralnahrain.com
For media enquiries, please contact:
Sabine Ullrich
Head of Corporate Communication and Marketing
Tel: +49-6103-5013-235
E-mail: s.ullrich@hahnair.com
Alana Ngoh
PR Manager, Travelport Middle East
Tel +971 4 607 0548
E-mail: alana.ngoh@travelport.com
© Press Release 2011
