Yemenia, the national carrier of Yemen, said it has signed up air transport IT specialist, SITA to manage its passenger growth and provide network communication services for the airline’s offices worldwide.

The move comes as Yemenia said it was expecting 10 per cent annual growth in passenger numbers. The implementation of SITA’s integrated services will begin in early 2011 with phased cutovers over the following months.

In addition to this extensive seven-year passenger management agreement, Yemenia has also contracted SITA for network communication services, said a top airline official.

With SITA’s managed IP (Internet protocol) solution, a total of 60 locations including Yemenia’s head office, sales offices and out-stations, will have secure IP access.

Captain Adbulkhalek Al-Kadi, CEO and chairman of Yemenia, said: “This is a very important step for Yemenia. By working with SITA we know that our future growth will be managed efficiently and effectively.'

'We are looking for SITA’s Horizon passenger management and distribution services to save up to 30 per cent of our various costs as we implement more direct sales and increase our e-commerce offerings to our passengers. We will also benefit from SITA’s significant ongoing investment in Horizon.'

SITA Horizon, the largest, international neutral multi-host system used by 130 airlines, will provide reservations, inventory, ticketing, pricing, fares distribution, departure control services, frequent flyer and advanced e-commerce capabilities to Yemenia.

In addition, revenue integrity and revenue management services will ensure maximised yields from all flights.

Hani El-Assaad, SITA regional vice president, Mena, said: 'This is a significant continuation of the investment Yemenia is making with SITA in world-class technology to provide services for its passengers that have the added benefit of improving the cost efficiency of the airline.'

'SITA’s unique capability in the air transport industry will provide Yemenia with the network infrastructure to support its operations and the sophisticated IT solutions for passenger management, which is the heart of an airline’s operations.'

'As a single supplier, we will manage the co-ordination of network management with passenger operations and our deep understanding of airline requirements will ensure that operational reliability, outstation coverage and ideal network communication requirements are met,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service