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Tag: Australia

  • Australia new vehicle sales edge higher in March

    Australia new vehicle sales edge higher in March

    Australian new vehicle sales bounced modestly in March as the timing of the Easter holidays resulted in more selling days compared to the same month last year.

    The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS report out on Thursday showed 105,410 new vehicles were sold in March, up 0.9 percent on the same month last year.

    March this year had two more selling day than in 2016.

    For three months to March, sales were running 0.8 percent behind the same period last year.

    Sales of SUVs continued their domination with a rise of 7.9 percent on March last year, giving them 39.4 percent of the entire market. Sales of passenger vehicles dropped 10.7 percent, extending their long decline.

    Sales of light commercial vehicles jumped 11.3 percent, while sales in the heavy vehicle market rose 11.0 percent.

    Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder with 18.6 percent of the market. Mazda Motor Corp had another strong month taking 9.9 percent.

    Hyundai Motor took third spot with 8.3 percent, ahead of Mitsubishi on 7.3 percent. The Holden unit of General Motors took 6.8 percent and Ford held 6.5 percent.

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  • Singapore Airlines locks in daily Airbus A350 for Melbourne

    Singapore Airlines locks in daily Airbus A350 for Melbourne

    Singapore Airlines is locking in its advanced Airbus A350 jet for a year-round schedule between Melbourne and Singapore starting May 11, 2017.

    The sleek jetliner has made a number of short-term appearances on the route, but later this year it’ll be running daily as Melbourne-Singapore flight SQ208 and the SQ207 return leg.

    Travellers at the pointy end can relax in the Star Alliance member’s latest business class seat, evolved from that of the  Boeing 777-300ER flagship.

    It’s an “evolutionary, not revolutionary” approach, reported AusBT’s Suzanne Wu from one of the first SQ A350 flights – “and that’s not a bad thing. Not a whole lot was broke, so not a whole lot needed fixing.”

    Melbourne’s SQ218/SQ217 is also running on an A350 until June 30, after which it will revert to the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

    Asian rival Cathay Pacific already has one Airbus A350 on the Melbourne-Hong Kong route as CX104/105, with a second slotting into CX134/135 from October 29, while Thai Airways says its own on-again off-again Melbourne A350 flights should launch before the year’s end.

    April sees Singapore Airlines celebrate 50 years of flying to Australia, and is tipped to debut its newest Airbus A380 – fitted with next-generation first class suites and business class seats – on the Singapore-Sydney route in October 2017.

    The redesigned first class suites will be fewer in number – down the current superjumbo’s 12 to between six and eight – but much larger in footprint, and have been relocated to the upper deck.

    Next year will see Singapore Airlines restart direct flights between Singapore and the USA, with both New York and Los Angeles in line for an ultra-long range version of the A350 dubbed the A350ULR.

    This long-legged jet will carry all-new business class seats compared to the Melbourne A350, but only around 170 seats – some 80 less than the airline’s regular A350-900s – in order to minimise fuel burn and maximise range for the 18-19 hour journey.

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  • Telstra launches five new SaaS solutions

    Telstra launches five new SaaS solutions

    Australian operator Telstra is drawing on the investments made through its venture capital arm Telstra Ventures to add five new SaaS solutions for its international enterprise customers.

    The suite of new applications is designed to better help companies as they go through digital transformation by offering solutions that reduce the cost and complexity of utilizing digital applications.

    The new range of applications are designed to improve the way organisations manage interactions with their customers and employees.

    New solutions include Near, a location intelligence platform that provides near real-time information on places, people and products, as well as all-in-one application delivery platform Nginx Plus.

    The new additions to the portfolio also include Panviva, a cloud-based platform that provides real-time process guidance to facilitate staff productivity and reduce human process errors, vArmour, a distributed security system delivering application-aware micro-segmentation, and mobile threat defense platform Zimperium.

    These applications are in addition to DocuSign, Guest Services, Kony, TeleSign and Whispir, which are currently available in the Telstra Applications Portfolio.

    This suite of new applications will be available in select locations in Asia, Europe and North America. Near, Panviva and Zimperium will be available from 30 March, while, Nginx Plus and vArmour will be available in June.

    “Organizations know they need to transform digitally to compete in today’s market, but there are challenges to overcome,” Teltra director of global applications Gianpaolo Carraro said.

    “Recent research commissioned by Telstra found 76% of organisations believed they would be more effective if their technology and network platforms were more flexible and agile, while 67% said their ability to work more collaboratively and effectively is hindered by rigid technology and network platforms.”

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  • Vietnam requests Australia roll back ban on shrimp imports

    Vietnam requests Australia roll back ban on shrimp imports

    The Vietnam government contends the ban by the Australian Department of Agriculture on raw imports is ‘causing serious damage’ to the country’s shrimp farmers and exporters, and has requested it be reversed.

    Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce announced a six-month suspension on the import of raw shrimp this past January, following an outbreak of white spot disease in the northeast state of Queensland.

    Vietnam Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Quoc Khanh, has now asserted the ban has damaged the country’s shrimp farming industry that on average exports roughly US$55 million worth of raw product to Australia annually.

    Deputy Minister Tran recently told Australian ABC news that the ban is not in line with common practices and the spirit of nurturing and enhancing the existing good trade relationship between the two countries.

    The Deputy Minister pointed out that the temporary ban on uncooked shrimp was issued with no advance warning for Vietnamese shrimp exporters to take needed actions to avoid large economic losses.

    In addition, Deputy Minister Tran noted there is no hard evidence as to the cause of the breakout of white spot disease in Queensland and maintained that it is premature to blame Vietnamese exports.

    Ban could contradict WTO rules

    Absent evidence of a causal relationship between Vietnamese shrimp exports and the breakout of the disease, Mr Tran suggested the ban may be in contravention of certain World Trade Organization agreements.

    Australian ABC news reports that the Seafood Importers Association of Australia has taken a position that favours lifting the ban, saying it damages the international trade reputation of Australia.

    Biosecurity failures

    The Australian Department of Agriculture defended the move, saying it was necessary for biosecurity protection of the farm raised fish and seafood industry.

    A spokesperson insisted the ban complied with the provisions of WTO agreements that allow a member to temporarily suspend imports in certain circumstances.

    The spokesperson also argued the decision to suspend shrimp imports would not be in place any longer than necessary to ensure the protection of the domestic aquaculture industry.

    Deputy Minister Tran noted he respected the sovereignty of Australia and the biosecurity concerns, but nonetheless asked the Australian Department of Agriculture to reconsider the propriety of the ban.

    Vietnamese uncooked shrimp products have been exported to many countries around the globe, said the Deputy Minister, without any reports of white spot disease or other biosecurity concerns having arisen.

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  • The AirAsia Mega Sale is now on with international flights from $95

    The AirAsia Mega Sale is now on with international flights from $95

    Asian low-cost carrier AirAsia is at it again with another mammoth sale to dozens of Asian destinations during the Australian winter – so you can escape the cold and looking forward to warmer climes, naturally.

    Prices start from $95 one-way, which is for Darwin to Bali. Followed closely behind are $99 tickets which will get you from Perth to either Bali or Kuala Lumpur one-way.

    To give you an idea of how competitive these fares are, not 10 days ago Jetstar was offering $99 one-way flights to Bali from Darwin and $129 fares to Bali from Perth.

    Other hot fares in AirAsia’s Mega Sale include: Gold Coast to Auckland from $119, Perth to Jakarta from $124, Sydney to Kuala Lumpur from $149, Sydney to Penang from $174 and Melbourne to Singapore from $184. All these prices are for one-way economy tickets.

    Other cities on sale are Seoul, Siem Reap, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Krabi.

    These sale flights are for travel between 1 September all the way to 5 June 2018 – so you have plenty of time to save up the dosh for a big holiday blow-out. Just remember that black-out dates may apply during public and school holiday periods.

    Flights are available departing from Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Most flights include a stopover in Kuala Lumpur.

    AirAsia charges a $10 processing fee per flight per person on credit and debit card purchases. You can avoid this by paying with PayPal.

    As a low-cost carrier, this price does not include extras such as checked baggage, on-board meals and in-flight entertainment. These can be purchased during the booking process for an additional fee.

    We found these fares on I Want That Flight which you can tap into by clicking on the search buttons below.

    This AirAsia mega sale ends 19 March 2017.

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  • Australia Eyes Indonesian Mining and Tourism

    Australia Eyes Indonesian Mining and Tourism

    Head Of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Thomas Trikasih Lembong, predicted that Australia’s investment in Indonesia could increase up to USD 3 billion (around Rp 40 trillion) throughout the next three to five years. Most of Australia’s investment is predicted to be centered on the mining and tourism sector.

    “That’s the sum total of the projects we are trying to develop. Two-thirds will be in the mining industry and one-third in the tourism sector, lifestyle, and others,” Thomas said on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

    Thomas explained that Australia’s has an exceptional mining industry. A number of the largest mining companies in the world is owned by Australia, such as EMR Capital, who purchased a gold and silver mine in North Sumatera, and Newcrest, who is currently operating the gold mine in North Maluku.

    In addition, Thomas said that the Indonesian government is really interested in cooperating with Australia in the tourism sector.

    “Many tourists from Japan, China, and Indonesia travel to Australia. They have great taste, management, and good designs. We need that in order to develop Indonesian tourism sector,” Thomas said.

    Currently, according to Thomas, Indonesian and Australian officials are committed to developing both countries’ tourism sector, especially coastal and maritime tourism. Thomas stated that Indonesia owns a varied number of islands and diving tourist destinations.

    “But we don’t have a maritime tourism industry, while Australia has a good reputation in yacht spots,” Thomas said.

    Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Steven Ciobo, stated that Indonesia could develop many tourist destinations in addition to Bali. Ciobo asserted that by having investments reeling in and the development of various infrastructures across regions, the number of tourists entering Indonesia can significantly increase.

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  • Garuda Indonesia Increases Flight Frequency of Routes to Australia

    Garuda Indonesia Increases Flight Frequency of Routes to Australia

    National airliner Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) will increase its flight frequency to destinations in Australia during the holiday period from May to October, 2017.

    The company targets its passenger growth from flights to Australia to reach 650,000 passengers this year.

    “Flight frequency from Jakarta to Australia is increased to five times from four times each week, while the frequency for Bali-Australia route is raised to seven times from six times per week,” said M Arif Wibowo, President Director of Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday (3/7).

    He said the addition of frequency on flights to Australia will be adjusted with market demand during the holiday period. Thus the flight frequency will be different each period.

    The addition of frequency is part of Garuda Indonesia’s effort in meeting demands and rising market growth, and is line with the synergy commitment the company has implemented with Tourism Australia. The cooperation has boosted the number of passengers on Australia flights to more than 644,237 passengers in 2016.

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  • Telstra forms SDN alliance with VeloCloud

    Telstra forms SDN alliance with VeloCloud

    Australian operator Telstra has entered a strategic partnership with US-based Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company VeloCloud to help accelerate the adoption of SDN in enterprise networking.

    The partnership, which includes an investment from Telstra Ventures into VeloCloud, will enhance Telstra’s SDN and NFV capabilities in the APAC region.

    As part of the agreement, Telstra’s Chinese joint venture Telstra PBS will add VeloCloud SD-WAN solutions to its product suite.

    Telstra Ventures managing director Mark Sherman said the investment is consistent with Telstra’s overall network strategy, which reflects the increasing role SDN and NFV are playing in enterprise networking.

    “We expect SDN will continue to transform enterprise networking around the world and VeloCloud SD-WAN can help companies achieve more agile and responsive networks as well as reduce costs,” he said.

    “We are excited about the opportunity to work with VeloCloud on solutions for our enterprise customers, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where their technology can help businesses manage their networks in dynamic environments across multiple locations. Our first step will be to offer VeloCloud technology to customers in mainland China.”

  • Telstra to launch LTE-Broadcast this year

    Telstra to launch LTE-Broadcast this year

    Telstra has announced plans to launch LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) services this year, and roll out the technology across Australia by 2018.

    The company is working with network vendor Ericsson to enable LTE-B in existing Telstra Media services this year.

    Telstra also plans to launch a 24×7 linear streaming channel using the technology, initially for certain compatible Samsung devices.

    LTE-B is a dedicated technology for broadcasting media over LTE networks for enhanced mobile video services such as mobile TV broadcasting and live streaming video services. The technology is also known as enhanced broadcast multcast services (eMBMS).

    LTE-B is designed to provide a constant bitrate data channel for broadcast content, with the bitrate not decreasing regardless of how many subscribers are watching simultaneously.

    Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said 99% of Telstra’s 4GX-branded sites are already LTE_B compatible, and the operator aims to achieve nationwide coverage by next year.

    “Telstra’s LTE-B product roadmap will include 24 x 7 linear streaming, live sports coverage beyond stadiums, pre-loading of popular content, news clips and games highlights,” he said. “We plan on enabling LTE-B across many devices, and are excited to deliver an enhanced mobile experience to our customers.”

    In line with these ambitions, Telstra is also adopting technologies including session continuity and dynamic switching, and aims to introduce these capabilities to its network by November 2017.

    Session continuity allows for seamless transitions between unicast and broadcast areas during video streaming. Dynamic switching shifts the transmission between unicast or broadcast depending on which technology will deliver a superior experience based on the current number of simultaneous users.

    “This technology will be crucial to improving the LTE-B experience for our customers. For instance, when network capacity becomes limited and multiple users are consuming the same content, the MooD capability can shift the transmission to broadcast,” he said.

    Telstra and Ericsson are also members of the global LTE-Broadcast Alliance, which is holding its first forum at this week’s Mobile World Congress, the annual mobile industry conference held in Barcelona.

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  • Telstra taps Ericsson for network evolution

    Telstra taps Ericsson for network evolution

    At Mobile World Congress 2017, Australian operator Telstra announced it has selected Ericsson to support its major “Network of the Future” transformation program.

    Ericsson will supply equipment and services to support the program, which includes a nationwide optical network transformation and expansion.

    The program will also include 5G new radio (NR) trials, the creation of a new Media Delivery Cloud to complement Telstra’s Telco Cloud project and deployment of CAT M1 functionality nationwide to establish Australia’s largest IoT network.

    Under the agreement, Ericsson will deliver a three-year optical transmission network and rollout plan to expand Telstra’s long haul, metro and regional optical networks, supplying and installing converged packet-optical technologies from Ciena.

    Ericsson, Telstra and Qualcomm will meanwhile collaborate on interoperability testing and an over-the-air field trial based on the 3GPP’s expected 5G NR specifications. Telstra is also a member of the group pushing for accelerated 5G NR standardization

    For the IoT initiative, Telstra and Ericsson have now commenced localized CAT-M1 trials in Melbourne and Tasmania in the first stage of a deployment across Telstra’s 4G network, which covers over 98% of Australia’s population.

    “These projects… provide the foundation for Telstra’s Network of the Future program, which is essential to delivering our customers a brilliantly connected future,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright commented.

    “Our expanded optical network will support important emerging network capabilities such as IoT, 5G and enhanced media delivery. And our move to virtualization through the Telco and Media Cloud projects will enable us to deliver our customers unique and differentiated services to meet their personal and business needs.”

    Telstra said its Telco Cloud network is now delivering live traffic. Telstra first announced its network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVi) program at last year’s Mobile World Congress and the company has now compled the first video call over a virtualized EPG.

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  • Indonesian president arrives in Australia

    Indonesian president arrives in Australia

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo has touched down in Sydney ahead of bilateral talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australian business leaders.

    The president and First Lady Iriana Widodo arrived on Saturday morning in rainy conditions and clutching umbrellas as they greeted Australian officials on the airport tarmac.

    Improving trade and investment ties is expected to be a key focus of Mr Widodo’s two-day state visit to Australia.

    The Indonesian president will meet with business leaders including representatives from Blackmores, Macquarie Bank and BlueScope Steel in the afternoon.

    He will also hold talks with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian before a private dinner at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Point Piper mansion, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

    The pair will discuss progress on an Indonesian-Australian free trade deal set to be finalised by the end of the year, perhaps as early as August.

    Indonesian trade officials were in Canberra last week for the fourth round of free trade negotiations since March last year.

    ‘Our relationship with Indonesia is growing deeper by the day but it has not yet reached its full potential,’ Mr Turnbull said in an opinion piece in Sydney Morning Herald, pointing out that Australia trades more with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand compared to Indonesia.

    AAP understands there are no insurmountable sticking points, unlike Australia’s negotiations with the European Union, where agriculture tariffs cuts are proving tricky.

    Australia Institute research director Rod Campbell hopes the two leaders discuss climate change and coal.

    Indonesia is seeking to dramatically boost coal-fired power generation in coming years despite its pledge to cut carbon emissions to 29 per cent from business- as-usual levels by 2030.

    Mr Widodo was due to visit Australia last year but this was postponed after violent protests erupted in Jakarta over comments its Christian governor made about the Koran.

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  • DHL eCommerce launches Fulfillment Center in Sydney

    DHL eCommerce launches Fulfillment Center in Sydney

    The Fulfillment Center will provide overseas merchants with fast, flexible shipping that integrates inbound freight, inventory, and last mile delivery in a single consolidated service.

    DHL eCommerce, a division of the world’s leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group, announced the launch of its Fulfillment Center in Sydney, Australia to support booming demand for overseas goods amongst Australia’s online shoppers. International brands and retailers are now able to reach out to the rapidly growing Australia market.

    “Australian shoppers are the second-most likely in the world to buy online from overseas merchants, and the significance of their purchasing power will only increase as cross-border e-commerce grows at an average of 29 percent per year until 2020,” said Damien Sheehan, managing director Australia, DHL eCommerce. “Online retailers need to overcome the traditional problems associated with overseas expansion – finding new suppliers in each market, delivering shipments within days not weeks, and keeping costs in check – if they want to stay competitive in this borderless future.”

    Adding, “The launch of our Australian Fulfillment Center gives our customers immediate access to one of the world’s most mature and fastest growing e-commerce markets, with the scalability and quality needed to reach Australia’s highly savvy online shoppers.”

    The Fulfillment Center will provide overseas merchants with fast, flexible shipping that integrates inbound freight, inventory, and last mile delivery in a single consolidated service. The center also operates using the same service level agreements, management platforms, and customer support as all other parts of DHL eCommerce’s global Fulfillment network, allowing existing customers to expand their sales into Australia with minimal onboarding time and hassle.

    “E-commerce has gone borderless, and order fulfilment needs to do the same,” says Charles Brewer, CEO DHL eCommerce. “Our Australian facility adds another node to our standardized global network of Fulfillment Centers located in US, Mexico, India, Hong Kong and Central Europe, eliminating the need for e-commerce merchants to hunt for new logistics partners as they look to expand their global reach.”

    The center’s design accommodates front-end integration with a range of popular marketplace and web-shop platforms, as well as multichannel order management and last-mile solutions for immediate and highly-accurate deliveries all across Australia. All of the center’s services operate on a pay-per-use model with no capital spend or fixed costs.

    “The value of Australian e-commerce sales is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent between now and 2020, making cost-effectiveness and scalability the critical issues for online retailers in the country,” said Malcolm Monteiro, CEO Asia Pacific, DHL eCommerce. “Whether it’s extending into new channels, offering more delivery options, or simply increasing inventory and warehouse capacity, global brands need fulfilment solutions that can adapt to their needs without requiring hands-on intervention every time a change occurs.”

    Concluding, “Global e-tailers can access our latest fulfillment center for simplified nationwide inventory and last-mile delivery and also as part of a rapid and painless global expansion.”

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  • Telstra 1H profit falls 14.4% to $1.38b

    Telstra 1H profit falls 14.4% to $1.38b

    Australia’s largest operator Telstra has reported a 14.4% decline in net profit for the first half of its financial year to A$1.79 billion ($1.38 billion), as the company dealt with an increasingly competitive market.

    Revenue for the six months ended in December fell 6.4% to A$12.8 billion, with fixed line revenue down 4.7% to A$3.3 billion and mobile revenue falling 8.7% to A$5 billion.

    Telstra added 200,000 new mobile subscribers, including 79,000 postpaid customers. Postpaid ARPU declined 2.6% but is showing signs of stabilizing, the operator said.

    On the fixed line side, Telstra acts as one of numerous retail resellers of services over the national broadband network (NBN). Telstra’s NBN customers grew by 292,000 to 792,000 giving the company a market share – excluding the small number of customers serviced by the NBN’s satellite service – of around 51%.

    Network applications and services revenue meanwhile grew 18% to A$1.5 billion due to higher revenue from cloud services as well as services provided to industry, including Telstra’s share of revenue from NBN commercial works.

    Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the results indicate that the company performed relatively well in a tightly competitive environment.

    “It is significant that we were able to increase subscriber numbers in mobiles and retail fixed plans despite the increased competition,” he said.

    “We have a clear strategy to differentiate our products through the speed, coverage and reliability of our networks, innovative product design and new customer experiences, including access to media content. We are committed to improve the experience we provide our customers and as announced last year, we are investing up to $3 billion incremental capital expenditure in networks for the future and digitisation of the business.”

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  • Allphones Australia closing 18 stores as it undergoes administration

    Allphones Australia closing 18 stores as it undergoes administration

    Allphones closed its 18 stores on Monday after it has gone into administration. The decision took place after its new owner, Canadian company Glentel, has failed to improve the company’s status after a turnaround project. There are 66 stores that will continue to operate while PBB looks for someone who will take over the rest of the store network.

    “Despite financial support from the shareholder and significant efforts to deliver a successful turnaround, the shareholders are unable to continue funding the group’s losses. The Board of each entity (there are nine in total) has been left with no option other than to place each entity in the Allphones Group into Voluntary Administration this morning,” PPB Advisory said in a statement. Retaining an agreement to resell Vodafone services to help Allphones recover has failed that the company now entered into administration.

    There were 69 employees affected by the store closure. Phil Carter of PBB Advisory said that they were undertaking an urgent review of Allphones. They aim to ensure that the employees impacted were fully supported. However, the future of its employees was still uncertain.

    The company aimed to stabilise the current operations and store network. Carter said that their immediate priority was to work with the company’s key stakeholders, franchisees, licensees and staff to keep the store’s trading on a business as usual basis. Allphones group was acquired in May 2016 and it has employed 440 people. It owns 25 stores while seven were operated by franchisees. Allphones’ other stores were licensed to other parties.

    In 2013, the company has lost its contract to run 45 Virgin Mobile-branded stores in the country. It has suffered $25 million impairment due to the lost of contract.  In the same year, Allphones also ceased selling all Optus consumer products including mobile, broadband products and fixed telephony. Optus decided to end the contract to overhaul its retail strategy in improving customer relation. During this period, Allphones strengthen its partnership with Vodafone and expanded into the Philippines.

    “We’re contracted to do up to 250 Allphones stores in the Philippines for a telco,” CEO Shaun Colligan told in 2013 . “And the crux of that was this digital solution. You’re taking a quantum leap for those guys where retail has gone from being a very transactional prepaid environment and we’re helping to move them to a post-paid contractual environment.” The company currently has more than 60 outlets in the Philippines.

    Its naming rights sponsorhip of Sydney Olympic Park’s Superdome, now Qudos Bank Arena, has ended in 2016. The company’s first shopfront opened in 1989 in South Australia.

  • Cathay Pacific to launch new distribution capability to connect more effectively with customers

    Cathay Pacific to launch new distribution capability to connect more effectively with customers

    Cathay Pacific announced it will adopt New Distribution Capability(NDC) in order to significantly enhance its customers’ experience when making travel arrangements through a multitude of sales channels.

    NDC is the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) programme that improves communications between airlines, travel agents and web-based travel service providers by addressing the industry’s current limitations around product differentiation, time to market, access to full and rich content and the transparency of the shopping experience.

    Developed in response to key changes in the industry’s operating environment – including the customer shift towards travel comparison websites, their widespread use of social media when making travel decisions, and many airlines’ desire to offer more ancillary products – NDC has redefined travel technology standards and enables a more vibrant travel technology ecosystem.

    Cathay Pacific’s development and subsequent use of NDC will enable it to connect more effectively with customers by providing agents and other third-party sales outlets with detailed, image-led product content, promotions and advanced service information. By doing so, customers will have a better understanding of the airline’s premium ground and inflight products and will subsequently be able to make a more informed purchasing decision, wherever they shop.

    Cathay Pacific General Manager, Sales and Distribution, Toby Smith, said: “We continually strive to enhance our passengers’ experience at every stage of their journey with us – and that starts from the moment they plan their travel arrangements. Through NDC, Cathay Pacific will be able to provide customers with a wealth of detailed information about our flights and product offerings at all points of sale, which will enable us to deliver on our brand promise of a Life Well Travelled.”

    IATA’s Director NDC Program, Yanik Hoyles, offered his support: “We welcome the decision by Cathay Pacific to implement the NDC Standard. NDC is modernizing the way that airline products are presented through travel agents, providing consumers with greater access and transparency. With NDC, travelers will be able to compare the full product offering regardless of shopping channel.”

    After a thorough commercial and technology evaluation of potential vendors, Cathay Pacific selected Dublin-headquartered OpenJaw Technologies as its NDC platform partner. The airline has an existing relationship with the company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed TravelSky Technology, with its product powering the Cathay Pacific Holidays website and flight-booking feature on the Cathay Pacific mobile app. OpenJaw recently achieved Level 3 NDC capability certification, the highest level of certification offered by IATA.