WAM Abu Dhabi, May 31st, 2012 (WAM)--Etihad Airways has started rolling out new Sabre software, following the billion dollar technology agreement signed by the two companies last year.

The implementation of Sabre's catering software kicks-off the largest technology project in the airline's history, as it migrates all business operations to Sabre software, including rolling out Sabre's passenger reservations software.

Lee Shave, Etihad Airways' Vice President for Guest Experience, said: "This new catering software allows us to better manage, audit and analyse important processes such as meal forecasting and the procurement of equipment and resources." "The enhanced control means we should make savings in excess of US$5 million per annum, while continuing to provide a world-class and award-winning guest experience onboard." Maher Koubaa, Sabre Airline Solutions' vice president in the Middle East and Africa, said: "We have a significant partnership with Etihad Airways and it's great to see the project start.

"Every year we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in technology to help airlines like Etihad enhance their operations, improve customer service and ultimately drive more revenue, and we will be working with them closely over the coming years to help them grow," he added.

Sabre's in-flight catering software is the industry's only integrated solution that will allow Etihad Airways to manage all meal and catering services from a single platform.

Using the software, the airline can more accurately cater for in-flight meals, special requests, and monitor quality control, meaning passengers can always expect to receive high quality meals. Etihad Airways will also make savings by reducing meal wastage through improved forecasting, and by better auditing of caterer invoices.

The technology brings together what is currently a multi-layered manual process into a fully automated single platform for the entire in-flight service supply chain. This helps to streamline operations and reduce operational complexity.

The technology was implemented using Sabre's software-as-a-service (SaaS) hosted infrastructure and followed an intense customer consultation.

Shave said Etihad Airways picked the Sabre SaaS model instead of a local install option because of the speed to market and the cost benefits.

WAM/MN