JEDDAH, 8 March 2007 — As the expansion of the Kingdom’s infrastructure gathers pace, the need for support services to address the flood of business activity increases. Daniel Naoumovitch, chief executive officer, Sabre Travel Network Middle East, visited Jeddah last Monday to consolidate the relationship between SABRE and its airline clients.
We have been in the area for many years and are known to the travel agency community,” he said. “This region has huge potential and we regard it as one of the most important world wide.”
Sabre Travel Network Middle East is a joint venture between Sabre Inc. and Gulf Air. It was established in January 2005 following a 15-year marketing partnership that previously existed between the two companies.
Sabre Airline Solutions, headquartered in Southlake, Texas, US, has approximately 8,900 employees in 45 countries. Revenues for 2005 totaled $2.5 billion. Sabre Holdings, an S&P 500 company, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TSG.
It is the pioneer and leader in the Global Distribution System (GDS) and provides, maintains and trains users of the hidden software structure that organizes airline schedules, makes bookings and provides multi-modal connections to travelers — corporate and individual.
The sophisticated system that the company operates, books millions of flight options and thousands of other travel products from a broad range of suppliers comprising 413 airlines, 64,000 hotels, 32 car rental companies, 11 cruise lines, 220 tour operators and 35 rail lines. In 2004, 36 percent of all air travel booked by agents was booked through the Sabre GDS.
Sabre accounted for approximately 100 million airline tickets sold during the year almost 40 million of which were sold by travel agencies located outside the US. Airlines sold more than $45 billion worth of air travel through the Sabre GDS. “We were pioneers of the GDS system and the content of our system that allows the travel agent to make the booking is second to none,” Naoumovitch said, “but is requires continuous development and hard work.”
SABRE’s primary objective over the last two years is lay foundations was to grow in the GCC region. Based in Bahrain, they have increased human resources, offices, increased the agency base and thereby enhanced customer services, added trainers and maintenance personnel and have established a physical presence throughout the Kingdom.
A priority was to tailor the business to fit the cultural and traditional parameters as far as possible and work within them. It was for example, Naoumovitch said, essential help desk in English and Arabic.
He saw the expansion in business and the needs for the GDS system and SABRE infrastructure as coming from the solid growth in the industries and infrastructure, especially the new airports and economic cities. “With this expansion, you support in a solid and continuous way.”
The aim was to support the carriers in the best way possible to increase revenue and drive costs down, working with them from the beginning to maximize integration into the final infrastructure.
