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Low cost Philippine carrier Airphil Express, which is set to expand regionally this October, is looking to Sabre Airline Solutions to underpin its business transformation and growth.
The carrier, formerly known as Air Philippines before it was rebranded in March this year, has renewed its partnership with Sabre Airline Solutions as its main eCommerce technology partner.
At the time of the rebranding, Lucio Tan, chairman of Airphil’s parent, Philippine Airlines, said that the airline was acquiring a total of 20 new aircraft over the next four years.
In Philippines’ high growth travel market, Airphil Express is a fast-growing airline that earlier this year re-engaged in the market as a full-fledged low-cost carrier.
It is also on an ambitious plan to expand regionally, starting with services to Singapore this October. Domestically, the airline has steadily increased its frequency of flights as well as its number of destinations. The expansion will continue well into the next quarter.
To support this phase of its development, Airphil Express has extended its relationship with Sabre Airline Solutions for another five years.
Sabre will provide the airline the solutions it needs for growth and customer service, including SabreSonic Customer Sales and Service (CSS). Airphil will also leverage Sabre’s eCommerce expertise for the carrier’s online channel.
This enlarged scope of partnership will allow Airphil Express to enhance its customer offerings to include unbundled fare structures with ancillary and self-service options.
“Airphil Express is about responding to the needs of our passengers in the most cost-effective manner possible. In the very competitive low-cost arena of the Philippine travel market, Sabre Airline Solutions shares our commitment to provide our customers with thrifty fares and flexible travel options.
“In turn, we hope to see a significant return on our aggressive investments into technology platforms such as Sabre,” said Maria R. Java, vice president for marketing, media, eCommerce and product at Airphil Express.
The airline will continue to use SabreSonic CSS and SabreSonic Web to boost its sales and service processes. The airline’s website (www.airphilexpress.com), which will be the lead revenue channel for the airline, will be further enhanced by the key benefits that SabreSonic Web delivers.
“We are truly excited to continue our relationship with Airphil Express. This is a huge expression of confidence in Sabre’s solution flexibility and configurability, allowing it to cater to different airline business models worldwide, yet respond to the needs of emerging cash markets such as the Philippines.
“By continuing to engage Sabre to support its business transformation and growth plans, Airphil Express is banking on Sabre’s ability to scale up and adapt to its changing business needs. We expect to fully deliver on these expectations,” said David Chambers, Sabre Airline Solutions’ regional vice president, Asia Pacific.
Airphil Express flies to 28 destinations in Philippines and will begin services to Singapore in October. This year, Airphil Express operates 16 planes in its fleet and carries about one million passengers annually. Its service mission is to “endeavour for the most cost-effective, well-served adventure in flight.”
The announcement of Airphil Express’ renewal follows Sabre’s recent news that it has expanded its presence in Philippines, boosting e-Commerce services to the airline industry.
Sabre Philippines, based in Manila, is primarily tasked with the development, customisation, hosting and support of Sabre Airline Solutions’ e-Commerce solutions for airlines. The office has a staff of 130 people, compared to 70 people in the first quarter of 2009, and has doubled its office space during the same period.
While he was in Manila officiating the recent opening of Sabre Philippines’ newly-expanded office, Sabre’s president of airline products and solutions, Steve Clampett, reiterated Sabre’s commitment to the country.
He said Sabre will continue to recruit top-class talent in the areas of product development, business analysis, customer support, solution delivery, quality assurance, and general management.
Clampett explained that Manila was chosen as Sabre’s regional base because of the quality of its manpower resources. Its strategic business location was another reason.
“The Philippines is located right in the heart of Asia, just four hours flying time away from major capital cities in the region,” said Clampett. “Sabre has many customers in this region and it’s important for us to have resources close by to provide the best customer service.”
