• As an Amadeus System User, Aeroflot gets access to top of the trade sales and distribution system for reservations and in future, seamless interaction with global alliance members.

• Russian travel agencies totalling over 1000 offices will also move to Amadeus in order to benefit from the industry’s most advanced technology and Travel Agency business system.

The board of directors of Aeroflot Russian Airlines has approved the migration of the carrier’s sales and distribution services to the Amadeus system in September 2002. Amadeus, a leading global distribution system (GDS) and travel industry technology provider, will give Aeroflot access to the most comprehensive and modern sales and distribution system for reservations and in the future, seamless interaction with global airline alliance members. Amadeus will also expand its reach as over 1000 travel agency offices, which currently access Aeroflot’s inventory system for bookings, join its distribution network.

In a commitment to provide world-class service and safety, Aeroflot, which has flights to 108 destinations in 54 countries and close to six million passengers a year, has in recent years engaged in a far-reaching, modernisation plan, that includes the upgrading of its fleet and internal processes.

Now, in search of a technologically advanced and cost-effective, reservations system, Aeroflot has chosen to migrate its sales and distribution system to Amadeus, while keeping its inventory system in SITA Gabriel. The airline, which will then become an Amadeus System User, will still maintain control of private and commercially sensitive functions.

The Amadeus System User concept facilitates airlines to integrate with travel agencies that use the Amadeus system for their reservations. These travel agencies currently number 56,000 globally. In Russia, Amadeus is the leading GDS with a network, of 600 travel agency offices connected to 1400 terminals. Aeroflot will further contribute to these resources, as it will migrate together with its distribution network of over 1000 travel agency offices. Overall, Aeroflot will significantly reduce time to market for its products and offer even higher levels of customer service, while Amadeus more than doubles its booking volume in the region.

Nikolay Egorov, Deputy General Director of Information Technology at Aeroflot said, "To achieve maximum efficiency within global standards, Aeroflot needs an advanced distribution system like Amadeus, that will enable us to offer our customers the best service possible. Likewise, the bulk of our bookings are carried out through our travel agencies. This makes it vital for us to also be able to serve them better with a modern and cost-effective distribution solution."

The Amadeus System User concept also facilitates interaction between airline alliance members. As Aeroflot is looking to join a global airline alliance, this means that it will be able to interface in a totally seamless and transparent manner with the existing alliance members that are already Amadeus System Users. Aeroflot will consequently benefit from a significant reduction in internal processing and servicing tasks and be able to dedicate more time and effort to ensure the needs of its customers are fully met.

"Our sales offices will be able to enjoy improved access to the reservations and fares data of our future partner airlines. In addition, Aeroflot can now look forward to launching additional system enhancements and developments to further ease the travel process of our global customers," said Egorov.

"It is an honour for us to work closely with Aeroflot in its commitment to provide world-class service. Amadeus will create an efficient solution for all the sales and reservations requirements of Aeroflot, added Hans Jorgensen, VP Airline Business Group for Amadeus. "When the time comes for the airline to share the same reservation platform with other members of the global alliance, Amadeus will again deliver instant and quantifiable costs savings. The System User concept is already a proven solution for over 100 airlines seeking to maximise efficiency and harness cost savings," he stressed.

Aeroflot Russian Airlines flies to 108 destinations in 54 countries, 83 of them to foreign destinations and 25 within Russia. Aeroflot is the only Russian airline that provides high level, world-class service for both international and domestic passengers.

At Aeroflot, our commitment is to provide safety and world-class service. Aeroflot pilots, technicians and other personnel undergo rigorous training. For the last three years Aeroflot flight safety level has been outstanding - 99.90%- 99.98% (well within ICAO standards). Aeroflot boasts a fleet of more than 100 planes, including new Boeing aircraft. In 2000 alone, the company transported 5,100,900 passengers and 107,000 tons of cargo and mail.

Established in 1994, Aeroflot, with its history dating back to the dawn of civil aviation in the Soviet Union in 1923, has traditionally been carrier #1 in the USSR and, later, Russia. Joint stock company Aeroflot - Russian Airlines has become the legal successor of Aeroflot -Russian International Airlines in accordance with the decision taken at the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 24, 2000 to change the company's name.

Aeroflot became a public company in 1995. The Russian Government owns 51% of Aeroflot's stock, with the rest owned by major Russian and Western institutional investors, as well as individual shareholders. In March 2000 Aeroflot announced that 20% of its shares, securitized in the form of Level I Global Depositary Receipts, will begin trading on international stock markets.

With more than five million satisfied passengers, Aeroflot is proudly carrying on the great tradition of Russian aviation.

More information about Aeroflot is available at: www.aeroflot.com

Amadeus is a leading global distribution system (GDS) and technology provider serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world’s travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive data network and database, amongst the largest of their kind in Europe, serve over 56,000 travel agency locations and more than 8,500 airline sales offices in some 200 markets world-wide.

Through the Amadeus System, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings with some 500 airlines, representing more than 95 per cent of the world’s scheduled airline seats. . The system also provides access to some 56,000 hotels, 46 car rental companies serving some 24,000 locations, as well as serving newer provider groups, including ferry, rail, cruise, insurance and tour operators.

Amadeus is a significant provider of information technology and an enabler of e-commerce for the travel industry. Amadeus also delivers the powerful booking engine behind the web pages to over 3,000 travel agencies, 40 corporate sites, 14 hotel sites and 119 web sites serving 37 airlines.

Additionally, it provides similar e-commerce solutions for partners including Terra Lycos (Spain, Portugal and Latin America).

Founded in 1987, and fully operational from 1992, Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.  Its data centre is in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis (near Nice), France. The company has some 4,000 employees world-wide.  

More information about Amadeus is available at: www.amadeus.com

For further information please contact:

Public Relations,
Aeroflot
Tel:          +7 095 752 9071
Fax:         +7 095 752 9071
E-mail :     presscentr@aeroflot.ru

Corporate and Marketing Communication
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution
Tel :         +34 91 582 0160
Fax :        +34 91 582 0188
E-mail :    info@amadeus.net

© 2001 Aeroflot - Russian Airlines
www.aeroflot.ru