PRESS RELEASE

17 December 2006 , The Marriott Hotel, Doha

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hosted a seminar on “Simplifying the Business with E-Ticketing” under the honorable patronage of His Excellency Mr Abdul Aziz Mohd Al Noaimi, Chairman (CAA) where key officials from IATA, Amadeus , Qatar Airways and other airlines & travel agencies in Qatar were briefed on priority issues relating to e-ticketing growth in Qatar . Among the eminent dignitaries were Mr Akbar Al Baker, CEO Qatar Airways, Mr Ibrahim Kamal, GCC Country Manager, Faris Azzi, General Manager Amadeus Qatar & North Dubai , Mr Saleh Abdulla Haroon, Director Air Transport & Airport Affairs (CAA) and Abdulla Al Subaei, Director Finance & Admin (CAA). The main objective of the workshop was to raise awareness of e-ticketing. Discussions on the technical aspects of e-ticketing implementation to augment its penetration in the region were held.

The program of Simplifying the Business (StB) highlighted that with E-Ticketing, the development of technological and business processes would bring long-term benefits as the cumulative annual savings for the program were estimated at US$ 6.5 billion with greater customer satisfaction. The implementation of e-ticketing worldwide would simplify airline procedures and passenger handling. The program targeted the complex business practices like ticket issuance, passenger check-in, baggage handling, passenger flow in the terminal and freight handling. Each project leverages existing technologies and encourages up-to-date development as per the standards and recommended practices set up by IATA.

 I, therefore, urge you to share with us your views through your discussions so that we can fulfil our objective.

Wish you a prolific day of interesting and stimulating discussions.