OAG and TOPAS Increase Access to the Korean Air Travel Market
June 12, 2009
Exclusive partnership agreement will benefit airlines, travel agents and travellers
OAG (www.oagaviation.com), the industry's most accurate single source for aviation data and air travel information, announced today it has signed a 5-year exclusive partnership agreement with Topas, South Korea’s leading reservation system used by about 4000 travel agencies, which will transform the way airlines can market and sell their services to Korea’s business and leisure travellers.
For the first time, airlines are able to promote their flight connections directly to Korean travel agents for routes to, from and within South Korea using OAG’s Automated Routing Connection service (ARCS) which automatically integrates an airline’s connecting schedules into the Topas system. This will ensure maximum visibility on Topas reservation screens of the latest flight connections information for any airline worldwide that wants to target the South Korean marketplace. It will also benefit the travel agency community, who will be able to offer a much wider selection of flight options to their clients.
Mario M. Hardy, Vice President – Asia Pacific for OAG said, “Our partnership with Topas will offer airlines the opportunity to gain competitive advantage in attracting more connecting passengers. This collaboration is based upon our joint technical skills and our desire to create value for our customers and open new markets. It is also an endorsement of OAG’s data and content management capabilities and we are delighted to be the exclusive distribution partner for Topas. We look forward to providing increased levels of support for the Korean travel community.”
Hardy continued, “OAG statistics show that South Korea has seen steady growth in international passenger flights over the last 10 years although, like so many other countries, it has seen a recent dip as the global recession takes its toll. However, with South Korea’s new Open Sky policies coming into play and the impact of the currency fluctuation which is attracting more Japanese visitors to Korea, growth should soon be on its way again.”
Media enquiries
For media enquiries please contact:
Mario Hardy, Vice President – Asia Pacific, OAG
T: +65 6395 5878 (Singapore) mario.hardy@oag.com
or
Alison Pickering, Head of Corporate Communications, UBM Aviation
T: +44 (0)1582 695477 (UK) alison.pickering@ubmaviation.com
or
Dong Soo Chae, PR Representative, TOPAS
T:+82 2726 6869 (KR) dongsoo@topas.net
About OAG
OAG, www.oagaviation.com , provides the industry's most accurate single source for airline information and is best known for its airline schedules database which feeds the world’s global distribution systems (GDS) and travel portals, and drives the internal systems of many airlines, air traffic control systems, aircraft manufacturers, airport planners and government agencies. OAG is part of UBM Aviation (www.ubmaviation.com), a global data and information business for the air transport industry. It brings together buyers and sellers of air travel and transport, enabling the world’s airlines, their customers and suppliers, to do business successfully.
About TOPAS
TOPAS was founded in 1999 through the capital infusion of Korean Airlines and AMADEUS.