In the news: Cebu Pacific buys Tigerair Philippines, Accorhotels.com’s Arabic site, Amadeus accessible to international airlines in China, India’s Via.com adopts Abacus’ solutions

Tigerair scales down ops in the Philippines, sells Filipino unit to Cebu Pacific

Singapore’s Tigerair and Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) inked a strategic alliance on January 7, which will see CEB buying a 40% stake in Tigerair Philippines.

CEB said it would acquire the stake plus the remaining 60% of the budget carrier from Tigerair’s local partners for US$15 million.

In a joint statement, Tigerair’s chief executive Koay Peng Yen said. “Tigerair and Cebu Pacific share a vision for both airlines to join forces and compete more effectively in the regional market.”

“We also look forward to achieving greater cost savings from the coordinated operations, while providing more travel options and greater convenience for our customers.”

The statement added the alliance would allow Cebu Pacific to target high-growth markets including Australia and India, while Tigerair would be able to fly more passengers to other cities in Cebu Pacific’s network in the Philippines and North Asia.

CEB president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei said the two airlines would operate as separate entities for the time being, keeping its existing managers and brand. They would also collaborate on operational and marketing fronts, as well as cross-sell domestic and international routes.

The sale of the loss-making Tigerair Philippine would enable Tigerair to grow its business in the low cost air travel in North Asia through a stake, reported at 10%, in Tigerair Taiwan. The airline also formed an alliance with Indian budget airline, SpiceJet.

Accor.com launches Arabic site to serve growing Middle East market

Accorhotels.com, the multi-brand reservation website for Accor hotels, is now available in Arabic, accelerating the group’s digital distribution strategy to better serve customers in high growth markets.

The move will help the group capitalise on the expansion in outbound travel from the Middle East region. According to the World Tourism Organisation, outbound travel from the Middle East has more than quadrupled in the last 20 years.

With approximately 422 million speakers worldwide, Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world, according to UNESCO. By creating an Arabic version of Accorhotels.com, the company said it would better serve this major market with numerous opportunities for both domestic and outbound travel.

The Arabic-language booking portal also features offers and services to Accor guests. The company will also set up dedicated Arabic call centre to help guests with online bookings.

With the addition of Arabic, the website now offers a choice of 31 geo-localised versions and 16 languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Bahasa Indonesia.

International airlines get green light to use Amadeus in China

Air France, KLM and Lufthansa are among the first airlines to get approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to useAmadeus for distribution in China under the new CRS (Computer Reservations System) regulations.

Describing the development as “a substantial milestone in the China market”, Amadeus said that for the first time the authorised airlines will be bookable via Amadeus through a pre-selected group of travel agencies in Beijing. This preliminary group will be expanded to include other locations like Shanghai and Guangzhou.

“Implementing a new market wide policy is not without its challenges and we appreciate the CAAC’s efforts to progress the airline applications. In addition to the initial list of approved airlines and travel agents, we have several more that have committed to working with us in the market,” added Bart Tompkins, managing director of Amadeus China.

Amadeus is also in the process of applying for IATA billing and settlement plan (BSP) certification in China. Once obtained, this will give international airlines and travel agents the ability to use the Amadeus system to settle ticket payments, in line with industry practices.

Via.com adopts Abacus technology to scale regional operations

Via.com, one of the fastest growing online travel agencies in India with over four crore customers, is adopting Abacus global distribution system front and mid office solutions in scaling its domestic and international operations.

It is also deploying Abacus to maintain its edge with the most technically demanding corporate accounts, while improving compliance to travel policy terms

Via.com has also made a corresponding investment in the leisure sector with Abacus, enhancing the shopping experience with lower-priced itineraries based on a broader set of carriers and fares. New post-ticketing automation will take care of any changes to travel plans.

Swaminathan Vedaranayam, CEO of Via.com, said, “Abacus understands Asia and its solutions are scalable, so we are excited to be using their innovative technology to support our expansion across India and into Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and new markets like Malaysia and Thailand.”

Added Jeetendra Sawhney, Abacus India’s managing director, “Via.com is already on an impressive trajectory, but this investment in the latest Abacus solutions will help the brand accelerate even faster, delivering cost reductions and productivity gains that add directly to the bottom line.”