Although leading national carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) recently received Skytrax’s coveted four-star rating, President and COO Jaime Bautista said it continues pushing in developing better products, systems and services.
In line with this direction, the Lucio Tan-led company has signed a landmark agreement with Madrid, Spain-based advanced airlines systems provider Amadeus to deliver an extensive transformation of the airline’s core technology systems. Bautista said PAL will adopt the full Amadeus Altéa Suite, a complete Passenger Service System that aims to streamline and improve all core passenger processes for the flag carrier, including reservation, inventory, departure control and flight management. He added the deploying the new system will enable PAL customers to enjoy a smoother experience, from booking to boarding.
“We want Philippine Airlines to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best airlines. We are immensely proud of our four-star rating, but it has only inspired us to work even harder. Our mission is to represent the best of the Philippines, and the best of the Filipinos to the world. So our next goal is to get that fifth star by 2020,” Bautista pointed out it a news statement.
“Philippine Airlines should offer a passenger experience that’s truly representative of the Philippines and a source of pride for our people. We are expanding and modernizing our fleet, opening new routes, but, most important, we are sharpening our customer service excellence. We need technology that will capably support our ambitions, but also a partner that shares our vision. Accordingly, after a rigorous evaluation, we found that in Amadeus,” Bautista explained.
Once adopted, Bautista said the next-generation Amadeus Altéa Suite airline IT system will help PAL enhance customer experience by delivering a more consistent and personalized customer service, develop new revenue streams, and improve operational efficiency. Moreover, PAL will get tangible benefits, such as faster and simpler check-in for travelers, the ability to reaccommodate disrupted passengers in a matter of seconds, improved on-time performance, and consistent automatic application of customer preferences at every touch point.
Bautista pointed out that deploying the Amadeus system will support PAL’s ambitions to join an airline alliance. More than two-thirds of Star Alliance airlines, three-quarters of Oneworld airlines and half of SkyTeam airlines use Altéa. As a community platform for airlines, Altéa enables better integration between partner airlines, with real-time sharing of availability, fares, customer and booking information to deliver a harmonized customer experience across the alliance.
Cyril Tetaz, executive vice president for airlines of Amadeus Asia Pacific, said he is confident PAL will become a major force in the global arena. “It’s clear that Philippine Airlines’s business strategy is en route to further propel it into the future of travel, where its customers need it to be, and we’re extremely proud to walk that path with the airline. We are committed to Philippine Airlines’s success in the long term, and look forward to delivering continual collaboration to ensure today’s agreement matches the expectations of its travelers,” he said.
“We warmly welcome Philippine Airlines to the Amadeus Altéa community, where it joins leading airlines around the world which similarly value the flexibility and customer centricity brought to them by Amadeus’s technology,” he added.
By the end of 2017, 199 customers had contracted either of the Amadeus Passenger Service Systems (Altéa or New Skies) and 195 had implemented them.