IBS Inks deal with Vanilla Air, the new ANA LCC

TechnoparkToday.com>> February 6, 2014:  In a significant development that further strengthens IBS’ footprint in the hard to penetrate Japanese aviation market, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asia’s largest airline group in terms of revenues, has inked a deal with IBS Software for the implementation of two next-gen solutions to manage the passenger reservations and flight operations of Vanilla Air, ANA Group’s new Low Cost Carrier based from Narita. The new airline is an important component of ANA Group’s growth strategy and is positioned to become a leading low cost airline in East Asia. ANA currently operates nearly 240 aircrafts to 79 destinations world-wide and was recently declared a 5 star airline by Skytrax. IBS’ iCargo solution already manages nearly 70% of the air cargo movement in and out of Japan.

IBS’ iFly Res solution will cover reservations, schedules, inventory management, fares, ticketing and departure control requirements of the new airline, along with extending the distribution reach with internet booking and web check-in facilities. The second solution, iFlight Lite will take care of both the fleet operations and crew management requirements in a single system, safeguarding consistency, co-ordination and communication, while ensuring low up-front investment and quick return on investment. The system co-ordinates and manages all the key activities of an airline’s flight scheduling, flight operations, fuel, catering & slot management, crew management, aircraft maintenance and finance control activities.

These solutions will be provided on Software as a Service (SaaS) model and will be hosted out of IBS’ Japan Data Centre.

“We looked at several options before opting for IBS. It is our belief that IBS is best placed to have the solutions set comprising of iFly Res, DCS and Flight Operations, working seamlessly to support the mission critical operations for Vanilla Air”, said Mr. Tomonori Ishii, Representative Director, President, Vanilla Air.

“IBS’ delivery capability is well known to us and we were confident that the Res module would go live successfully in 10 weeks, DCS and iFlight Lite in 18 weeks which was considerably short term. The commitment and enthusiasm of the entire team is commendable and both parties worked hard in enabling the solutions to go live in these challenging time frames”, Mr. Takanori Yukishige, Senior Vice President, Innovation and IT Strategy, ANA.
“Our relationship with ANA Group goes back a long way, when IBS’ iCargo replaced the cargo management solution previously used by the group. There can be no greater endorsement of faith and trust, when a customer chooses to further cement an existing relationship. ANA Group has demonstrated just that. We see the new engagement as a clear signal that iconic airlines see significant value in associating with IBS as a transformational partner.” says V K Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS.