Mercator’s RAPID revenue accounting solution has experienced an upsurge in demand during the last financial quarter, with a number of airlines signing new contracts for the first time with the Dubai-based business technology provider.
 
Tunis Air, Sudan Airways, Air Algerie, Sri Lankan, Garuda, Etihad and West Jet have all selected RAPID to manage their revenue accounting, as they seek innovative ways to streamline their businesses and reduce costs in these challenging economic times.
 
Duncan Alexander, Vice President of Mercator said: “Οur exceptional growth is the best testimonial we could hope to receive. The acquisition of new customers and the range of tailor-made solutions we have delivered to them are directly attributable to the competency of our staff and the suitability of our core revenue accounting applications.  Both are crucial factors in enabling us to address key industry needs in this difficult economic environment”.
 
In Africa, Tunis Air has successfully cut over to RAPID passenger revenue accounting, the very first customer to go live on an Application Service Provider, (ASP) model. During this process, the application is hosted by Mercator in their Dubai offices and accessed by the Tunis Air revenue accounting team in Tunisia via a secure internet connection.
 
Sudan Airways, the national carrier of Sudan, has recently selected Mercator’s RAPID passenger and cargo revenue accounting system to help the airline meet current economic challenges facing the industry.  Mercator will initially provide an outsourced bureau service while simultaneously training the Sudan Airways revenue accounting team to operate the system. Then, once the Sudan Airways team feels sufficiently confident to take over, the processing system will move from Mercator to the client’s offices in Khartoum. Sudan Airways, which operates a fleet of 15 aircraft to 20 destinations, will benefit from several key features of the solution, including revenue maximisation through accurate, timely billing and verification and a reduction of processing costs through the enhancement of productivity.
 
Air Algerie has also recently gone live with RAPID Passenger and began processing data in March. Air Algerie also uses Mercator's MARS (Mercator Airline Reservation System) system and reservation data is seamlessly interfaced to RAPID. Closer to Mercator’s Dubai offices, the U.A.E.’s Etihad airline recently upgraded their platform to a higher version of RAPID.
 
In the Asia Pacific region there have been two successful completions of RAPID projects. Sri Lankan has migrated to a new release of the product and Garuda, the national carrier of Indonesia, has implemented both the RAPID passenger revenue accounting and RADAR - the Management Information System, (MIS) provided by Mercator. While the revenue accounting process has been streamlined and kept up to date with the new system, the feedback from the commercial team at Garuda is very positive – their managers are enthusiastic about the business intelligence provided by the new MIS system, saying they feel it will assist their executive team in making informed decisions more quickly.
 
WestJet, Canada's leading high-value, low-cost airline, has signed up for Mercator’s RAPID Bureau Interline Solution hosted in Dubai. The airline is predicted to make significant cost savings by outsourcing the processing of passenger coupons and cargo air waybills to Mercator, smoothing the impact of production ‘spikes’ on their cash reserves. The payment of a simple, single transaction fee per coupon processed by the Mercator’s Outsource Centre, assists the airline in its financial planning. The advantages for WestJet will include the swift determination of revenue, boosted productivity and efficiency, greatly reduced accounting costs and refined processes. The carrier’s executives will also be armed with incisive management reports, giving them the confidence to make tactical decisions and giving them the ability to formulate long-term strategies.
 
Janice Paget, Vice President of Finance Projects at WestJet, said: "We are extremely excited about our new partnership with Mercator. Their team demonstrates the same core values in which we strongly believe. They have provided us with a timely, efficient solution to a complex issue whilst maintaining strong internal controls backed up with excellent customer service. This solution has provided a valuable part of the foundation for our growth relating to our interline strategy".