AI, Indian yet to integrate systems

New Delhi: Air India and Indian continue to operate as two entities despite their recent merger, with separate reservation systems and codes. The merged entity, National Aviation Company (NACL), is handling operations under the banner of NACL-AI and NACL-I for the two businesses respectively.
“It will take at least six months for the integration and till then, the entity will operate like two airlines,” a senior civil aviation ministry official said. However, industry estimates indicate that the process could take longer.
It could be anywhere between 18 and 24 months, they said. Integration of IT systems is considered a significant aspect of airline mergers. Not linking the two booking engines means that marketing efforts are not fully integrated. For customers, it means no assurance of seamless connectivity.
“Both of us (Air India and Indian) use different ticketing systems. While we use IBM, Air India uses Unisys and hence it will take us at least 12 to 18 months to have an integrated ticketing system,” a source in Indian told ET.
08/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Aug 2007, Indian Aug 2007