Mondial Assistance has signed a global contract to provide travel insurance to Malaysia Airlines passengers via the national carrier’s website. Travel insurance protects passengers from trip cancellation, lost of luggage and overseas medical costs and is available from 1 Feb 2008 for flights departing Malaysia. This will be extended to include more than 10 other countries in the coming months.

“We selected Mondial Assistance because of its track record in providing a robust product and dedicated customer service,” said Mr. Bernard Francis, Senior General Manager, Network & Revenue Management, Malaysia Airlines.

“Through this partnership, Malaysia Airlines also benefits from Mondial Assistance’s wide global network, so we’re able to roll out this offering to our passengers in more than 10 countries around the world. This will not only enhance the Malaysia Airlines passenger experience, but will open up a new stream of ancillary revenue for the airline,” he said.

Passengers will now be able to purchase travel insurance through an additional step in the online ticketing process.

This relies on Mondial Assistance’s online platform eMagin which allows Malaysia Airlines to offer insurance policies tailored to the needs of its clients.

“Malaysia Airlines is committed to adding value to its online customer experience while one of Mondial Assistance’s key strengths is in online distribution, so there is a natural synergy to our partnership,” said Mr Darren Smith, Director Asia Pacific Development, Mondial Assistance.

The partnership adds yet another prominent carrier to Mondial Assistance’s existing stable of 28 airline clients and the company is confident this will help other Asian network carriers realise the potential of travel insurance as a source of ancillary revenues.

“Mondial Assistance has been providing travel insurance services to many Asian online travel portals such as Zuji and Priceline for years. We’ve only recently targeted the airline segment, but we feel that there’s strong potential for growth and much opportunity for airlines in Asia,” said Mr Smith.

Mondial Assistance’s Asian businesses saw sterling growth of 25% in 2007, making the region a key growth market for the group. It opened offices in China in 2003 and followed-up with the opening of Mondial Assistance India at the end of 2007. Through partnerships like the one with Malaysia Airlines, the group plans to continue its steady growth in Asia as a key part of its development strategy.