• Travel professionals and travellers alike will benefit from the Canadian flagship carrier's implementation of the Amadeus Altéa Suite in addition to a renewed distribution agreement
• Air Canada will also implement a range of Amadeus solutions such as Anytime Merchandising, Group Management and Passenger Recovery

MADRID and MONTREAL, Oct. 5, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Forward-thinking airlines understand that the critical combination of next-generation airline IT systems, along with the best global distribution capabilities and air travel content, are necessary to serve their customers and operate their business successfully.

Under a new agreement announced today between Amadeus and Air Canada, Canada's largest airline is poised to harness the best of both in support of its business strategy to enhance customer experience, improve profitability and operational performance in support of its growing international network.

Air Canada has signed for the full Amadeus Altéa Suite passenger service system (PSS) including reservations, inventory, and departure control solutions. The Amadeus Altéa Suite, once fully implemented, will enable Air Canada to enhance customer experience by delivering more consistent and personalized customer service based on individual customer preferences and attributes, pursue additional revenue generating opportunities, and improve operational efficiency. To support Air Canada's international network, the Altéa Suite will help Air Canada achieve closer integration with its codeshare partners and within the Star Alliance – more than two thirds of which are also Altéa carriers.

In addition to these solutions, the carrier will implement a range of other Amadeus IT solutions such as Anytime Merchandising, Customer Experience Management, Payments, Revenue Integrity, Group Management and Passenger Recovery. With the implementation of Amadeus Anytime Merchandising, Air Canada will be able to propose personalized offers according to individual preferences. The combination of the Altéa Suite and Amadeus Anytime Merchandising will, in particular, ensure that Air Canada is well equipped to address evolving industry initiatives such as IATA's New Distribution Capability (NDC).

At the same time, the renewed multi-year distribution agreement, signed in parallel to the Altéa Suite agreement, supports Air Canada's focus on delivering a consistent brand and customer experience across channels, a key aspect of its international growth. Amadeus users worldwide will be able to access Air Canada's industry-leading customizable fare products and availability via the Amadeus global distribution system, as well as the carrier's ancillary offerings.

Today, Amadeus travel agencies can seamlessly book Air Canada's full range of branded fares and select ancillary services, such as Preferred and Advance seat options. Future end-to-end connectivity will also enable integration of the airline's Corporate Rewards, Flight Pass and dynamic pricing offers.

"This new agreement with Amadeus marks the evolution of what has been a long, successful and strategic partnership. We see the benefits of having a fully integrated IT and distribution strategy which brings the strongest distribution capabilities as well as next-generation airline IT services to our customers worldwide," said Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Air Canada. "This agreement supports Air Canada's business strategy for delivering a more personalized travel experience to improve customer service across all touchpoints to support and improve the profitability of our international expansion and improving how we sell, distribute and deliver our products and services. It will enable us to better integrate our systems with our codeshare and Star Alliance partners."

"With Amadeus as its partner, Air Canada will ultimately have in place a modern, flexible community-based IT platform, other business-critical technology solutions, and unsurpassed distribution of its fares and content around the world," said Julia Sattel, Senior Vice President, Airlines, Amadeus. "The benefits of using the Altéa platform extend well beyond just the airline's operations. Amadeus-connected travel agents have the unique advantage of instant visibility to any changes affecting an Altéa airline booking, meaning they can better service their customers. Importantly, for Amadeus, this agreement also marks an important milestone for us in terms of our continued growth and expansion in North America in particular, a region which continues to be strategically crucial for the whole company."

Air Canada is targeting full Altéa Suite implementation in 2019. The renewed distribution agreement between Amadeus and Air Canada is effective immediately.

As of the first half 2017, 199 customers had contracted either of the Amadeus Passenger Service Systems (Altéa or New Skies) and 189 had implemented either of Altéa or New Skies.

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2016 served close to 45 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 57 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,300 airports in 191 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

About Amadeus
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies).

The Amadeus group employs around 15,000 people worldwide and does business in more than 190 countries. The company has central sites in Spain (corporate headquarters), France (development) and Germany (operations), and offices in 70 countries around the world. This year marks 30 years since Amadeus was founded. Throughout 2017, the company will be celebrating 30 years of collaboration with customers, 30 years of technological innovation and 30 years of helping power better journeys for travellers all over the world.

The group operates a transaction-based business model. 

Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol "AMS.MC" and is a component of the IBEX 35 index.

To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com, and www.amadeus.com/blog for more on the travel industry.

SOURCE Air Canada