DUSHANBE, August 17, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s private air carrier, Somon Air, introduced the global distribution system, Amadeus, on August 10, according to Somon Air’s press service in Dushanbe.
This step has been taken to increase volumes of sale of air tickets abroad. “Introducing the Amadeus system, Somon Air has gained its own agents in Europe for selling air tickets,” said the source, “All agency accredited with the BSP (Billing & Settlement Plan) system in Germany may directly book and sell passengers fares on flights, operated by Somon Air, without direct agent agreement with Somon Air.”
Amadeus is a computer reservation system (or global distribution system, since it sells tickets for multiple airlines) owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The development center is located at Sophia Antipolic, France. In addition to airlines, the CRS is also used to book train travel, cruises, car rental, ferry reservations, and hotel rooms. Amadeus also provides New Generation departure control systems to airlines.
Amadeus is a member of IATA (International Air Transport Association), OTA (Open Travel Alliance), and SITA. SITA is a multinational information technology company specializing in providing IT and telecommunications services to the aviation industry. Originally known as the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, the company no longer uses this long name and is now known simply as SITA.
Amadeus was formed in 1987 by an alliance between Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines System. Today, it is the leader in terms of number of bookings worldwide.
Somon Air is an airline based in Dushanbe. It is Tajikistan’s first private air carrier. Somon Air was granted an operating license and aviation operator certificate in 2006. As of January 16, 2009, the Somon Air fleet included Boeing 737-400 (which is operated by East Air) and Boeing 737-800.
