AS air travel in the Middle East continues to deliver strong growth, Air Cairo, an Egypt-based carrier connecting the Middle East and Europe, has positioned itself to take advantage of the increase in air traffic through 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 maximize 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. Along with the eCommerce module, these IT solutions bring tangible benefits for the airline as well as enhanced services to travelers. 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. Yasser El Ramly, Air Cairo's CEO, said: "Partnering with Amadeus is a major milestone as we transition to become a Full Service Carrier. Migrating to a modern IT system such as Altéa means we can effectively codeshare with partner airlines, and issue interline tickets, which brings new growth opportunities. In parallel, the full content agreement enables us to take our partnerships with Amadeus' travel agency community to the next level as they gain access to our inventory in an efficient and effective way. For those international markets where we expect to see significant growth but where our brand is less well known, such as Saudi Arabia, it's important to work with intermediaries that can communicate the value of our services to prospective customers." Air Cairo is targeting fleet expansion from four to over twenty aircraft by 2020 and, as such, has considered how best to increase sales and visibility for its services in new international markets. Maher Koubaa, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Airline IT & Distribution at Amadeus, added: "Amadeus is firmly committed to Egypt and the surrounding region. We are seeing a greater number of airlines shift from a pure low cost strategy towards a more subtle combination of approaches. As part of such a move it becomes natural to explore the benefits of a more function-rich IT system. Air Cairo's plans are ambitious and we look forward to partnering with them during this exciting evolution." Antoine Medawar, Vice President for Amadeus MENA, said: "We are pleased to support Air Cairo's growth plans by boosting the airline's regional and global reach through the world's largest and most diverse travel agency community. Travellers around the globe will now have a wider variety of ways to book and fly with Air Cairo, through the channel of their choice." Khaled Gad El Mawla, Managing Director Amadeus Egypt, said: "This is further evidence of the strength of Amadeus' comprehensive offering. More and more airlines in the region are signing-up to our industry leading IT and distribution technology to make their businesses more effective, efficient and profitable."
