Asiana Airlines unveiled plans on Wednesday to develop a one-stop travel planning system to make flight reservations easier for customers and streamline the check-in process.
The country’s second-largest carrier said it struck a deal with Amadeus, a travel-specialized technology developer, to jointly set up an automated system on its website and at its airports through Nov. 2013 providing 60 billion won ($50.3 million) in funds.
 |
Chief of Asiana Airlines’s passenger business unit Ryu Kwang-hee (right) and Amadeus vice president Julia Sattel pose at the carrier’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday after signing an agreement to jointly develop automated travel management solutions. (Asiana Airlines) |
Amadeus’s Altea Customer Management Solution has been adopted by 155 carriers across the globe including members of the Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline coalition. The France-based company also runs a flight search website.
With the new system, travelers will be able to book flights, hotels and rental cars at the cheapest prices possible, receive the tickets and get a refund within half a minute, Asiana said.
“It’s as if we’re transitioning from DOS to Windows by making things happen with a single touch of a button,” an Asiana spokesperson said.
“We’re planning to replace all of the existing machines at airports with the new solutions, which will greatly shorten the time for travel search and check-in queues.”
The national flag carrier has been wrestling to simplify its check-in process as Incheon International Airport, its main hub and one of the world’s busiest airports, becomes increasingly more crowded with groups of tourists from Korea, China, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries.
Asiana expects the system to reduce check-in times for group by up to two-thirds.
By Shin Hyon-hee (
heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
