JOHANNESBURG and LONDON, Sept. 5,
2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As an airline at the forefront of
innovation, South African carrier kulula is reinventing the airport
experience for its customers, with the implementation of Sabre's
new Digital Workspace solution.
Digital Workspace, Sabre's first completely cloud-based
solution, will enable airport agents to deliver a seamless and
personalized airport experience to customers. This solution equips
agents with workflows that eliminate the traditional linear
check-in procedure and improve agent productivity by up to 30
percent compared to current processes. This innovative new
technology will be rolled out across all the airports that kulula
serves, assisting more than 1,200 agents. Travelers on kulula can
therefore expect shorter queuing times and enjoy a hassle-free
check-in experience.
"Investing in new, digital technologies is crucial to our
strategy, which centers around improving the travel experience for
our passengers," said Wrenelle Stander, executive director –
Airline Division, kulula. "In today's digital world, our
customers expect a reimagined air travel experience, and Sabre's
digital technology will help us achieve our goal of becoming the
most visionary and customer-centric carriers on the African
continent. With Sabre's Digital Workspace, we will transform
the airport experience to be more seamless, more personalized and
less stressful – moving us a step closer to a fully digital
integrated operation."
Digital Workspace is part of Sabre's Commercial Platform, an
industry-first solution that delivers end-to-end personalized
retailing and enables airlines to successfully retail, distribute
and fulfill across all customer touchpoints. Announced last
year, the Sabre Commercial Platform is completely transforming
airlines into intelligent digital entities – through advanced
retailing, dynamic pricing, an open API hub, an ultra-fast shopping
engine and a mobile, consumer-grade workspace for airport
agents.
"Today's digitally-savvy travelers are expecting a more seamless
experience from their airlines," said Sabre's Dino Gelmetti, vice president, sales –
Middle East and Africa.
"Passing through the airport is traditionally one of the most
stressful aspects of travel, so reducing queuing times and check
points will make a huge difference for kulula's passengers. kulula
is one of the most progressive airlines in Africa, and Sabre's cutting-edge technology
will enable it to differentiate itself within a highly competitive
and challenging environment – improving efficiencies and creating
an unrivaled customer experience."
Investments in the Sabre Commercial Platform accelerate
innovation beyond the core SabreSonic passenger service system to
enable airlines to maximize revenue and deliver end-to-end
personalized retailing.
About Sabre
Sabre Corporation is the leading
technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre's
software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by
hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage
critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations,
revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also
operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more
than US$120 billion of global travel
spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers.
Headquartered in Southlake, Texas,
USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the
world.
About Comair, which owns and operates
kulula.com.
Managed and owned by South Africans through its
listing on the JSE, Comair has operated successfully in this
country since 1946. This proudly South African aviation and travel
group comprises four business units:
Airlines
Comair offers scheduled and non-scheduled
airline services within South
Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, as
its main business. The Group operates under its low-fare airline
brand, kulula.com, as well as under the British
Airways livery, as part of a license agreement. kulula.com is
the market leader in affordable, easily accessible air travel and
continues to grow in the cost-conscious business and leisure
markets. It has become one of South
Africa's iconic consumer brands, while British Airways
continues to grow in the corporate and public sectors, as well as
in the inbound tourist markets.
Tourism and Hospitality
Comair's catering service,
Food Directions, originally launched to cater to the airline
brands, now also provides a range of health and other food products
to retailers. Its award-winning domestic and international
SLOW Lounges have set the standards for airline hospitality
in South Africa. The SLOW Lounge
concept is based on the theme that time plays a significant part of
life and the concept has been expanded to SLOW in the City, SLOW
XS and The Course. Investment in technology to improve
operational efficiency and offer innovative products to travel
agencies and consumers has seen the Group become the country's
largest digital travel distribution network, covered under the
Comair Travel brand.
Aviation Training
The Comair Training Centre –
originally founded in early 2000 to train the airline's own flight
and cabin crew – has grown considerably and now provides
operational training for pilots and crew from other domestic and
international airlines and even overseas air forces. Comair
acquired EPT Aviation Training (Pty) Ltd and Global Training
College South Africa (Pty) Ltd in 2017 with the primary
objective to enhance its already formidable proposition, increasing
its capacity for external commercial training of cabin crew,
passenger handling, and travel and tourism training. It holds
benefits for not only Comair, but the many young South Africans who
envisage a career in aviation. Comair's most recent acquisition is
that of the leadership development consultancy company, Metaco
Holdings (Pty) Limited. The acquisition fits well with Comair's
training business that already encompasses courses for pilots,
cabin crew, ground operations staff and travel and tourism. Through
Comair's existing client base, it has identified the demand for
leadership and team coaching, and Metaco fits this
requirement.
Aviation IT Solutions
In 2018, Comair entered into a
joint venture with an IT company, Infinea SA Holdings (Pty) Ltd,
establishing a jointly held company called Nacelle (Pty) Ltd.
Nacelle is a service provider in aviation and related sectors,
providing services such as IT operations and support, IT project
deployment, process design and software development.
Comair is the only known airline to have achieved operating
profits for 73 consecutive years, has a safety record which is
internationally recognised and a level 2
B-BBEE recognition. Comair has independently been certified
by the Top Employers Institute as one of the Top Employers
South Africa 2019.
For more information, visit www.comair.co.za /
www.kulula.com
SABR-F
Media Contact:
sabrenews@sabre.com
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SOURCE Sabre Corporation