RAK Airways, the youngest national carrier of the UAE and the first hybrid carrier with low fares and full-service passenger offerings in the Middle East, has selected Horizon, the passenger service solution from Sita, the IT provider for the air transport industry to help facilitate interlining with other carriers as well as enable exponential growth in the airline’s business in the coming years.
John Brayford, newly appointed CEO of Rak Airways, said: ‘Rak Airways is on a steady path of growth, thanks to the trust and commitment of our passengers. Signing up with Sita Horizon will meet all of Rak Airways’ passenger management needs as well as enable exponential growth in the airline’s business in the coming years. The Sita solution is very comprehensive and is backed by an investment program at Rak Airways. Sita has the state of the art technology, depth of industry expertise and local presence to work in partnership with us on this very significant implementation. The solution will give us the ability to operate interline partnerships and we are now ready to sign our first interline agreement with a partner carrier.”
The six-year, multi-million dollar deal will provide Rak Airways with Sita’s passenger services that are used by more than 120 airlines worldwide. Sita Horizon will provide fare pricing, ticketing, reservations, revenue integrity, passenger revenue accounting, online booking and shopping services. In addition, it will include full departure control services for the airline at its main hub Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. The new integrated system will be used by up to 200 reservations personnel at Rak Airways’ headquarters call centre, as well as at travel agent offices.
Rak Airways currently carries just under half a million passengers a year to destinations in its network and plans significant growth over the term of the Sita contract – to the point of carrying around 2.5 million passengers per year.