Mercator says “Bienvenido” to Aeroméxico

DUBAI, U.A.E., 22nd September 2010 – Mercator, a Dubai-based global leader in business technology solutions for the airline and transportation industry, has spread its wings further across the globe this month, implementing its loyalty solutions CRIS (Customer Relationship Information System) and CASA (Customer Affairs and Service Audit) in Latin America with Aeroméxico.

Aeroméxico and its subsidiary, Aeroméxico Connect, together operate more than 500 daily flights. Mercator’s CRIS solution will be used worldwide to manage Club Premier, Aeromexico's award winning loyalty programme, as well as its Club Premier Corporativo and Salon Premier schemes.  Introduced in 1992, Club Premier was the first Frequent Flyer Programme to be introduced in Latin America and it now has more than two million members.

Mercator’s CRIS product will optimise the airline’s loyalty services and enhance the overall customer experience.  It will also reduce costs and improve communications with customers. In addition, the CASA solution will allow Aeroméxico to raise customer loyalty as the airline becomes more customer focussed and creates rewards to ensure their continued business with the airline. The migration of Aeroméxico’s loyalty system to Mercator's solution is part of its continuous improvement strategy to provide high quality products and services.

After the recent contract signing in Mexico City by Patrick Naef, Head of Mercator and Ricardo Sanchez Baker, CFO, Aeroméxico, Patrick said: “This partnership is very significant for us, as Aeroméxico is our launch customer for both our CRIS and CASA products in Latin America. We really want to help airlines differentiate themselves from the competition and respond to the needs of their own customers by empowering them with a complete view of the customer.”

Jeremy Rabe, Director of Club Premier, Aeroméxico said: “We are always looking for ways to provide a superior customer experience at every touch point.  Having a state-of-the-art loyalty solution is one of many steps we are taking towards this goal. The implementation of CRIS will allow us to enhance our customer knowledge, implement more frequent promotions and increase our speed in handling customer requests.”

CRIS, created and developed by Mercator’s dedicated team in Dubai, has been designed to effectively manage customer relationship and frequent flier programmes in a single integrated system. The loyalty solution is versatile and flexible and can also be used for non-aviation businesses. Recently the solution was implemented at Etisalat, the U.A.E.’s largest telecommunications provider. 

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About Mercator
Mercator www.mercator.com is a global provider of business technology solutions, serving over 100 customers across five continents. Mercator’s products include passenger and airport solutions, airline financial management, cargo and logistics, business process outsourcing, IT consulting and systems integration as well as customer relationship management and loyalty. From its Dubai base Mercator also provides the Emirates Group with the full range of business technologies it requires. Mercator employs over 1,500 business technology professionals and has an increasing number of partnerships with leading IT software, hardware and systems development organisations.

About Grupo Aeroméxico
Grupo Aeroméxico is comprised of four different affiliates: Aeroméxico, Mexico's largest transcontinental airline, Aeroméxico Connect, charter airline Aeroméxico Travel and EMA, the Group's airline maintenance company. Its fleet includes 777, 767, 737, and MD80 aircraft and next generation Embraer 145 and 190 aircraft. Grupo Aeroméxico operates its main hub out of Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport. The Group operates over 500 daily flights to different destinations in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, and Europe and Asia.

Aeroméxico is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airline alliance partnering 13 members which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. SkyTeam offers its passengers mileage accrual and redemption benefits, global flights and connections with one single check-in process for the entire flight. The alliance serves its more than 393 million annual passengers through its worldwide system that includes more than 13,000 daily flights to 884 destinations in 169 countries.

Dnata opens new lounge to provide special assistance to passengers at Dubai International

DUBAI, U.A.E., 7th September: Dnata has opened a new dedicated lounge to further enhance the special handling services it provides to thousands of passengers travelling through Dubai International. 

Operating 24 hours a day and located in Emirates Terminal 3, the lounge will cater for Emirates passengers who have reduced mobility and need additional assistance as they depart the terminal on flights to destinations worldwide. 

Six specially-trained Dnata staff members will be based in the lounge, dedicated to serving and attending to customers while they wait to board their flights. The spacious new facility has been equipped with televisions and has provision for hot and cold beverages. To make access to food outlets easier for these passengers, the lounge is positioned within close proximity to many of Terminal 3’s shopping and food outlets and going forward a dedicated duty free outlet is also planned.

On the recent opening of the new lounge, Jon Conway, Divisional Senior Vice President of Dnata Airport Operations said: “Dnata’s hard-working team typically provides assistance to over 900 passengers with reduced mobility every single day. Some are transiting through the terminal en route to other destinations, some departing on international flights. Our current lounge seats just 40 customers for a daily throughput of around 250 passengers. We are delighted to open this superb new lounge, which has more than 11,500 square feet of space and improved facilities. We will now be able to accommodate 250 passengers at any one time which also gives us room for the growth in passenger demand we anticipate in this sector over the next few years.”

The convenient location of the lounge - centrally placed between concourses 1 and 2 - will reduce transit times, ensuring a more comfortable and timely transition through Dubai International. A further added bonus of this location is that there is space to offer a direct buggy access as well as a dedicated screening machine and Arch Metal Detector (AMD) for the use of its passengers, thereby eliminating the waiting time for its customers at regular security screening points, often busy during peak hours.

Bill Rushton, Vice President – Property, Dubai Airports said: “The comfort of all our customers is very important to us and therefore we welcome the opening of the new dedicated lounge for passengers with special needs. The facility complements our other initiatives for individuals with special needs, such as special car parking spaces near entrances, alternative ramps for passengers who use wheelchairs, special toilets, dedicated immigration counters for individuals with reduced mobility and elevators with audio guidance and Braille labels. The new facility will go a long way in adding to customer experience across Dubai International.”

During 2009, Dnata provided special assistance to no fewer than 245,070 passengers with reduced mobility and anticipate this increasing to more than 350,000 by the end of 2010. As well as lounge access – the Special Handling team provides assistance with checking in baggage; travelling through the terminal and help with boarding flights.

Dnata Travel and HRG Offer Corporate and Leisure Travel Services to the Qatari Market

Doha, QATAR, 19th May, 2009 – Dnata Travel and HRG, the region’s leading experts in corporate, business and leisure travel, have opened an outlet in Doha, Qatar.
This announcement follows the opening of Dnata Travel/HRG in Afghanistan in January and takes the travel management company’s regional reach to seven countries; UAE, Bahrain, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Afghanistan and Qatar.

The latest expansion underlines Dnata’s position as the leading travel management company in the GCC – a position recognised at the World Travel Awards this month, when Dnata won the Middle East’s Leading Travel Management Company award for the third year in a row.

Dnata Travel Qatar, located on the Airport Road, (contactable on +974 448 4848) will offer the full range of corporate and leisure travel services, including tailor made holiday packages; car hire; outbound VISA services and a unique corporate travel management solution with advanced tracking and reporting tools.

Abdulla Tawakul, Senior Vice President - Corporate and Regional Network, Dnata Travel Services, said: “With access to Dnata’s unrivalled local and international networks, Dnata Travel Qatar will be able to offer customers a consistently high level of service and an unbeatable range of products.”

He continued: “Qatar is a country in which there is huge potential for the corporate travel market. With Dnata’s 23% shareholding in the global corporate travel management company HRG, we are ideally situated to capitalise on this market.”

Qatar General Manager Rehan Ali Syed added: “Skilled and professional staff with the ability to deliver travel related products and services to international standards are what will set Dnata Qatar apart from the competition".

Dnata Cargo goes all chocolatey for Mother’s Day

Dubai, U.A.E., 19th March, 2009 – Mothers in the UAE are set to celebrate their special day with more chocolate than ever before after Dnata Cargo handled its largest single shipment of the sweet treat.

A whopping 115 tonnes of chocolate, with a value of AED 1.3 million, was flown into Dubai on a special B747 charter from East London in South Africa last week.

Jean Pierre De Pauw, Divisional Senior Vice President, Dnata Cargo, said: “We may be experiencing an economic downturn, but seeing a company importing a plane load of chocolates indicates that people in the UAE still have a strong desire to celebrate when they can.”

Because of the already soaring daytime temperatures in Dubai, Dnata Cargo wrapped the delicate cargo in thermal blankets for its journey from the aircraft to the terminal.

“Chocolate is very sensitive to heat so it was vital that Dnata Cargo ensured as consistent a temperature as possible during the offloading of the cargo from the aircraft and subsequent transfer to the cargo terminal,” explained Jean Pierre.

“Thanks to our special thermal blankets we can be confident that it won’t be the chocolate that will be melting on Mother’s Day.”

Dnata Cargo Scoops a Silver in Industry Advertising Awards

Dubai, U.A.E., 2nd March 2009 – Dnata Cargo has been a awarded a Silver for its ‘humorous’ and ‘clever’ cargo advert in the recent Air Transport World 2009 Advertising Awards held in Washington DC, USA.

Now in its 35th year, the AdAwards, one of the global airline industry's most coveted accolades, celebrate excellence in advertising in the airline industry. Submissions are judged by Air Transport World readers worldwide, including airline industry decision makers such as CEOs and Chairmen, participating online.

Dnata Cargo’s ad was given the Silver Ad Award in the Cargo Services Category after being judged on a scale of 1 to 10 by a readership of industry peers. According to the judges, Dnata’s ad was an example of a very simple concept that uses humor to make a point. The simple headline, simple use of copy and the graphic work well to illustrate the portfolio of services Dnata Cargo offers its customers. Judges described the creative as “humorous, innovative, cute, eye-catching, clever, and genuine”.

Ismail Ali Albanna, Executive Vice President, Dnata, who was in Washington to receive the award, said: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of Dnata. To be recognised in this way by our industry peers is really satisfying. It is a clear endorsement of our advertising strategy and highlights that our campaign is achieving one of its objectives – to get Dnata Cargo noticed and talked about.”

Dnata Travel and HRG Bring Internationally Recognised Travel Brands to Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan, 28th January, 2009 – Dnata Travel and HRG have announced the opening of Afghanistan’s first internationally recognised one stop travel shop in the country’s capital, Kabul.

Dnata is the Middle East’s leading travel company with expertise across the full range of travel services, including retail travel, corporate and government travel, contact centres, incentives, events and e-commerce solutions for travel-related businesses.

With a 23% share in UK-based Hogg Robinson Group, Dnata is also able to bring a corporate travel company with global reach to the region for the first time.

Iain Andrew, Divisional Senior Vice President, Dnata Travel Services, said: “Dnata is positive about the opportunities presented by the market in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a rapidly expanding emerging market of strategic importance close to some of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world. As the country becomes more stable more international companies are moving into the region. With the opening of our offices here in Kabul, Dnata and HRG are able to offer these companies the full range of travel services they are used to across the globe, from internationally recognised brand names to international standards.”

The move follows the signing of a deal with local travel partner, Dunya Travel, in April 2008.

Dunya Travel is the market leader in Afghanistan and is the first IATA accredited agency in the country. Dunya is also a member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and is the PSA for Emirates Airlines, Kam Air, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Safi Airways and other Afghan carriers. Its associates also include GSA’s for United Airlines and Lufthansa for Afghanistan.

Dnata currently has contracts with 21 UN agencies, including; United Nations Development Program for Afghanistan (UNDP), United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).