Airlines Expand Use of Market Intelligence Data (MIDT) and Shepherd Systems' MarketMaster(SM) Technology to Optimize Revenues, Enhance Customer ServiceBRADENTON, Fla., May 12, 2003 -- Shepherd Systems, a subsidiary of Galileo International (a Cendant company, NYSE: CD) and a leading provider of marketing intelligence data transfer (MIDT) software and services for the travel industry, today announced that several airlines are expanding their use of MIDT and Shepherd Systems' MarketMaster(SM) Internet-based market intelligence systems. South African Airways (SAA), based in Johannesburg; Flybe, based in Exeter, UK and formerly known as British European Airways; and Air Zimbabwe, based in Harare, Zimbabwe are expanding their use of MIDT and have contracted to use Shepherd System's new MarketMaster or MarketMaster LE systems. Formerly known as British Midland, bmi, based in London, has contracted for its first selective MIDT dataset and the use of MarketMaster to make more informed planning decisions. Shepherd Systems' MarketMaster and MarketMaster LE(SM) allow airlines to analyze MIDT to better understand airline market dynamics and assist in critical network and sales planning decisions. This announcement comes at a time when U.S. and European transportation regulators are proposing that market intelligence data be eliminated based on their belief that small airlines are denouncing MIDT. "Contrary to the view of the U.S. and European regulators, airlines of all sizes have access to, and are using, MIDT to make critical planning decisions that enable their survival and growth during these difficult economic conditions," said Mike Malik, president and CEO of Shepherd Systems. MarketMaster is Shepherd System's most robust and feature-rich online market intelligence system that allows the airline to quickly determine market position and penetration. The system is designed to provide analysis of key issues for an airline, such as: -- comparisons between an airline's booking performance and a specific competitor's or alliance's performance; -- future booking trends; -- the strength of the airline's network and areas that need adjustment; -- source of traffic flowing to and from the airlines' network; -- potential sources for greatest revenue opportunities. "Although we have been using MIDT for a number of years, due to the financial challenges in the industry and our efforts to cut costs, we did our own analysis and confirmed that MIDT is something we cannot do without," said Mike Bond, South African Airways executive manager, Strategy and Planning. "In order to make sound business decisions, we need to have access to market intelligence data and intelligence systems to direct us to additional market and revenue opportunities that can help us overcome the current industry challenges and plan for the future. Shepherd Systems' new MarketMaster technology is able to extract even more value from the MIDT to help us maximize our revenue opportunities." Flybe and Air Zimbabwe will utilize MIDT and the MarketMaster LE system for global analysis of existing routes and new route options based on the airlines' historical market share performance and their competitors' performance by class of service mixes. MarketMaster LE is designed to use MIDT data to guide airline sales organizations toward those markets and agencies that represent the highest incremental revenue opportunities. It helps identify revenue loss problems before they become a crisis by analyzing the airline's advanced bookings and advanced competitor bookings up to 12 months into the future. "The MarketMaster LE system allows regional airlines to evaluate market sizes and match schedules to provide the best possible service to customers," said Phil Husbands, Flybe information manager. "Access to MIDT within the MarketMaster LE online system permits us to perform far more accurate analysis than we were capable of previously." "Many airlines have been purchasing MIDT data for the past decade and have harnessed its power to make fact-based, intelligent decisions quickly and effectively," stated Malik. "There was a large gap in the accessibility of intelligence data between the larger carriers and the smaller operators, and our products bridge this gap. MarketMaster LE also accepts the MIDT data from all global distribution systems (GDSs) to provide greater depth of analysis for all users. The ability to analyze this data is invaluable in helping airlines make planning decisions that impact their growth and profitability." MarketMaster and MarketMaster LE are part of a suite of systems offered by Shepherd Systems to support the work of the network planning, revenue management and sales departments of airlines. The systems require no installation, hardware or software and are available via the Internet, minimizing cost and time taken to achieve productivity with the systems. About Shepherd Systems Shepherd Systems is an industry leader in the provision of sales and marketing intelligence systems and services within the travel industry. The company's customer base includes 42 international and U.S. major airlines. Shepherd Systems is a leader in airline marketing intelligence and sales force automation products. These products include: executive information, sales manager and sales representative systems that integrate travel agent Global Distribution Service bookings (MIDT), flown revenue and Airline Reporting Corporation/Bank Settlement Plan sales data. In addition, Shepherd Systems provides Galileo MIDT to the industry. For more information about Shepherd Systems, visit http://www.ShepherdSystems.com . About Galileo International Galileo International is a global technology leader. Its core business is providing electronic global distribution services for the travel industry through its computerized reservation systems, leading-edge products and innovative Internet-based solutions. Galileo is a value-added distributor of travel inventory dedicated to supporting its travel supplier, agency and corporate customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. A subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), Galileo is part of Cendant's Travel Distribution Services Division and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA, with offices worldwide. Visit http://www.galileo.com . About Air Zimbabwe Air Zimbabwe is the successor to Air Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, and previously Air Rhodesia. Privatized in 1997, Air Zimbabwe is the country's largest passenger carrier, and also carries cargo. The airline's initial fleet of four Boeing 707s and two Viscounts at Independence has been phased out and replaced with two Boeing 767-200ERs and three Boeing 737s. The B737s operate domestic and regional routes while the B767s operate mainly long-haul routes to Europe -- London, Gatwick, Frankfurt. The airline, which operates a large engineering/maintenance base, has 1400 employees and two subsidiary companies -- National Handling Services (Pvt) Ltd, which specializes in ground handling; and Galileo (Zimbabwe), which provides reservations facilities to travel agents. Air Zimbabwe's headquarters is located at the Harare International Airport, Harare, Zimbabwe. About bmi bmi is the UK's second largest full service scheduled airline and has its main operational base at London Heathrow where it holds 14 percent of all take off and landing slots. The airline operates over 2,000 flights a week with a fleet of 41 jet aircraft. bmi serves 26 destinations in 10 countries and in 2002 carried over six and a half million passengers. Through its membership in Star Alliance, a grouping of 16 airlines offering seamless travel worldwide, it is also able to offer an international network reaching all areas of the globe. About Flybe Flybe is committed to offering incredibly low fares throughout its regional network with ticket prices from just 19 pounds Sterling per sector, bookable online at http://www.flybe.com . The airline will carry more than three million passengers this year on its network, which starting in the summer of 2003 will embrace 20 domestic and 17 international destinations. Flybe has key hubs at Birmingham, Scotland, Belfast and London, is developing a new low cost hub at Southampton, and is introducing services to Jersey, Dublin, Milan (Bergamo) Geneva, Belfast, Malaga, Murcia and Toulouse, with additional destinations scheduled for launch in the autumn. About South African Airways South African Airways is Africa's leading airline. It is currently undergoing a fleet renewal plan, which will convert its entire fleet from Boeing to Airbus, giving it one of the world's youngest aircraft fleets. On April 1, 1999 South African Airways -- formerly a division of Transnet -- entered a new era of privatization and was renamed South African Airways (Pty) Ltd. SOURCE Shepherd Systems Web Site: http://www.flybe.com http://www.galileo.com http://www.ShepherdSystems.com |