Carpatair, is investing in the complete automation of its passenger services and back office functions in order to achieve significant savings in its annual GDS bill, through its acquisition of a large package of solutions from SITA’s Horizon portfolio in a seven-year contract worth $10 million.

The tailor-made package of Horizon solutions will enable the phased introduction of e-ticketing, internet sales, on-line revenue management and enhanced passenger revenue accounting with a clear target to boost revenues by 15% and to achieve annual savings of $2 million on sales and distribution costs.

Nicolae Petrov, Carpatair CEO and President, said: “Last year we carried 390,000 passengers as we grew by 30% for the fifth successive year. SITA’s Horizon portfolio recognises very clearly that passenger services and yield management are the key to business transformation and the future of airline distribution. Carpatair expects that Horizon will fuel our future growth and make us even more attractive to the travelling public.”

“We have been very impressed with the results achieved by some non-legacy carriers who have adopted SITA’s Horizon e-commerce platform particularly in the area of self-service and on-line bookings. Direct online selling will help us reduce distribution costs by up to $10 per ticket,” said Petrov.

Carpatair covers a network of 26 destinations in Germany, Italy, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine with a fleet of 17 Saabs and Fokker planes. The airline’s hub is Timisoara, Romania, from where it will soon be flying to Paris as well.

Ilya Gutlin, SITA Regional Vice President, said: “This seven-year agreement speaks to the creativity at the heart of our Horizon portfolio which has great appeal for a fast-growing airline like Carpatair. Horizon supports a comprehensive airline distribution strategy that addresses self-service, yield and revenue management across all sales channels and customer touch points.”