Galileo launches Airline Public Fares in Asia Pacific

Galileo International today announced the release of Airline Public Fares, the third and final phase of the Galileo 360º Fares roll-out in Asia Pacific.

Following the launch of Agency Private Fares and Airline Private Fares in mid-2003, Airline Public Fares rounds out Galileo's full automation of the fares process. Airlines are now able to provide published fares via ATPCo into the Galileo database. Airline Public Fares will appear in Asia Pacific as three distinct components throughout 2004, with the first component (available immediately) including a streamlined fare display, inclusion of surcharge data in fare displays, and enhanced percent discount/mark-up functionality.

"Our Agency Private Fares and Airline Private Fares solutions provide significantly enhanced capabilities for agencies to store and sell private fares, and for airlines to distribute market net and private fares to agencies." said Janie Kaung, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Galileo's Asia Pacific region. "Now we are applying the same high level of automation to Published Fares, making the entire fares distribution process faster and more accurate than ever."

Galileo's 360° Fares programme directly answers the demands of travel agents and airlines, including two key industry drivers - speed of distribution and accuracy of data. Airline Public Fares' primary feature is the migration of the faring process to a server-based environment, making it easier and faster for airlines to update fares. This process also removes the need to input fares manually, resulting in virtual elimination of Agent Debit Memos (ADMs). This increased level of automation of published fare filings using ATPCO Automated Rules is a market-leading solution for Galileo's subscribers and airline partners.

These new capabilities bring key benefits to Galileo global subscribers:

· Faster time to market for new and adjusted fare and fare-related conditions.

· Improvement in the ability to integrate Internet-based fares across all Cendant TDS products. The Galileo 360º Fares capability, for example, is the platform used on Cendant's CheapTickets.com, a leading seller of discounted leisure travel products online in the United States.

· Rapid development time for new enhancements from airlines or industry mandates from organisations such as BSP.

"Rollout of Galileo 360º Fares underscores Galileo's commitment to the ongoing improvement of the management and delivery of fare content," added Dave Lee, Galileo's Senior Solutions Manager (Content), Asia Pacific. 

"We recognize that in order to have the best and most technically competent booking engines and desktop solutions in the marketplace, it is imperative that the underlying faring functionality allows for total integration across any platform. By the time all components of Airline Public Fares are in the marketplace in 2004, our Galileo 360° Fares suite will represent a fully automated solution allowing Galileo to meet the challenges of a new faring generation."