Valuair to be first budget international carrier to partner with Abacus

Abacus International is to sign Singapore budget carrier Valuair to its distribution network, Abacus President and CEO Don Birch has confirmed.

Valuair will be the first budget international carrier to partner with Abacus, which also provides GDS services to over 200 full-service network carriers serving Asia.

Mr Birch said Abacus and Valuair had exchanged letters of intent, and Valuair bookings would be integrated into Abacus' network of 10,000 travel agents by the end of the month.

"We are delighted to have Valuair on board, and look forward to helping them dramatically increase their distribution footprint in Asia while maintaining their position as a value carrier," Mr Birch said.

Abacus and its technology partner Sabre have developed a low-cost booking solution to meet the specific needs of LCCs. The solution ties together information from an airline's distribution network and provides some management tools, rather than full GDS functionality.