Sabre Qik Solutions

To provide customers with the best possible service, businesses must tap into vast reservoirs of data from various systems. This data, however, can be spread across multiple databases, operating systems and platforms, making access a difficult undertaking. As a result, front-line personnel must focus on how to use complex computer systems and switch among the many applications rather than concentrate on customer needs. IT departments face the challenge of programming sophisticated development tools to create customized applications and support these systems in house. In a business environment that demands change, frontline personnel must have immediate access to the right information to win and retain the customer’s business.

The Sabre® Qik® Business Processing Solutions consists of user-friendly graphical user interfaces and automated applications that provide clients with proven productivity gains. These products offer real-time interface solutions preferred by travel companies world-wide for reservations, ticketing, check-in and a multitude of other business functions. These applications are designed to give customers the ability to create highly customized front ends to real- time host systems, databases, peripheral devices and other information sources using a simple yet robust application development tool. The Qik suite consists of tools and services to enable a business to solve problems with complete flexibility in ways that suit its specific situation.

The Qik solutions help a business realize a return on investment in as few as three months. Our clients have constantly experienced cost savings in a variety of areas:

Improved productivity by up to 8%,
Reduced new hire training by up to 30%,
Decreased telecommunication expenses by up to 8%.

CUSTOMIZED QIK APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

The Sabre® Qik® Developer Tool gives a company the flexibility to customize applications for its constantly evolving business environment. It enables modification of the system and integration of new technology and business procedures, such as CRM tools and inter-facing with other computing environments.

The Developer Tool requires no traditional computer programming experience to tailor the system to the customer’s unique needs. Pro cess experts can rapidly modify applications as business needs change. Applications can be built that eliminate complex native host system transactions and integrate the systems needed to successfully perform tasks.

QIK PASSENGER DATA ANALYSIS

The Sabre® Qik Analysis™ system enables government agencies to efficiently access and analyze inbound and outbound passenger data on flights traveling to particular countries. The application enables real-time access to airline data as well as other important data sources that are required for effective security and border control. Currently in use by several government agencies, the application has connectivity to multiple airline hosts, and more are being added each year.

QIK AIRPORT AUTOMATION

The Sabre® Qik Airport™ system provides airlines and ground-handling companies with an efficient, common GUI for passenger check-in and gate boarding locations. The Qik Airport system is an easy-to-train and easy-to-use tool regardless of the airline host reservations or departure control system in use. Shared-system-environment certified, the system is flexible and powerful enough to work in airport environments worldwide.

MULTIPLE QIK APPLICATIONS MANAGEMENT

The Sabre® Multitask Manager™ automated application control center is a key part of the Developer Tool. It enables businesses to accurately and efficiently execute repetitive processes and adjust to fulfillment operations that change on a daily basis. The Multitask Manager utilizes the Qik solution as a single control panel for managing multiple applications, creating a system that requires little attention, providing higher throughput advantages over graphical and data- intensive displays. If the underlying detail is needed, it can be viewed with a simple click of a button. Finally, the application runs with virtually any hardware or operating system.

CONSULTING SERVICES

The Qik consulting services combine industrial and system engineering expertise to assist a client in providing a solution that incorporates unique business rules into the application and to ensure that the solution is technically sound. Strict project methodologies are followed for all Qik projects to help ensure that they are completed on time, on budget and within scope.

FRONT-END SOLUTIONS

Developed by Sabre Airline Solutions using the Developer Tool, the Qikcustomized front ends cover a wide variety of functionality. A customer need not host its information in SabreSonic™ Res in order to take advantage of the benefits offered by these customized front ends.

The Developer Tool enables rapid development of productivity-focused GUI applications that span a broad range of functionality, industries and technologies. By using the Developer Tool, a customer can readily modify a selected Qik customized front end to create the GUI application that addresses its specific business and operation requirements. Alternatively, a customer can contract for consulting services that leverage Sabre Airline Solutions expertise in the development, implementation and support of customized front ends.

Following are examples of how a Qik customized front end can be used:

Airport Check-In

Use of the check-in application facilitates the airport check-in process by eliminating the need for check-in agents to enter cumbersome and repetitious commands. The check-in interface provides easy access to necessary information, accurate and fast response to customer requests, and improved check-in processing.

Airport Operations

An airport operations interface enables airport personnel to increase productivity by reducing keystrokes, which frees agents to address customer needs. The interface uses a single application for ticketing, check-in, flight control, aircraft departure, baggage handling, gate changes, seat assignments and sending and receiving IATA messages, along with numerous other tasks. The application delivers the seamless travel experience travelers expect with many easy-to-use functions, helping to speed passengers on their way.

Automated Ticket Issuance

The automated ticket issuance application delivers functionality to process PNRs that are placed in a CRS queue and automatically generate paper and electronic tickets. This application was enhanced to interface with the FedEx delivery systems for faster, more auto-mated processing. It supports printing of shipment labels and places the assigned delivery waybill number in the appropriate customer PNR, enabling cross-referencing of transactions and easier tracking.

Cargo Management

The cargo application offers a real-time, customized interface to cargo systems. It improves customer service and reduces costs by transforming complex host computer environments into an easy-to-use system. Agents using a cargo application in reservations and terminal operations no longer type long commands or navigate through complex menus of multiple systems in order to process a shipment from booking to delivery.

Meal Ordering

The catering application forecast system generates meal order fore- casts based on the latest airline reservations information and historical boarding trends. Once the meal orders are produced, the application sends the information to the airline’s caterer.

Common-Language Environment

Check-in and gate agents often process departing passengers directly into the airline’s host system, which may be a different task when performed from the check-in system. A common-language environment application provides check-in agents with a common interface so they no longer need to learn multiple host systems.

Reservations Quality C ontrol

A front-end solution can be created to provide reservations quality control and complement the application that performs quality checks on Web-based bookings. This solution offers a command control interface that delivers more effective management of multiple finish sessions running on multiple PCs or a single server. It also supports dynamic selection of processing rules as well as the ability to track errors and session status messages.

Global Distribution Analysis

The distribution analysis application enables an airline to monitor airline fares, pricing, availability and schedule information across multiple CRSs, including Amadeus, Apollo, Galileo, Worldspan, SITA and the Sabre® Global Distribution System. It can capture product data displayed in each CRS and monitor the information according to an airline’s specific requirements. This application helps perform competitive analyses and also ensures that each CRS fully promotes the airline’s products.

Contract Bid Management

The contract bid management application has been used by airlines as an automated decision-support tool. The application helps the customer determine an airline’s qualifications for a bid and set bid prices for travel. With qualification information determined, a comprehensive schedule based on the target date is built and filtered using the specifications provided by the system. The result of the process is a set of markets in which the airline is qualified to bid. After considering the lowest non-sale published fare, revenue data, historical passenger counts and load factors, the application helps set bid prices for specific markets.

Profile Real-Time Risk Identification

The profile application is a real-time risk-identifying solution that can help an airline target possible security-risk passengers. It rapidly searches data on multiple information systems to reveal passengers that match security profile patterns. With these search results at hand, agents no longer need to review every passenger record during check-in, thereby improving productivity, customer service and security.

Reservations Change Notification

The notify application is an automated interface that enables a client to enter schedule change information and notify customers of such events.

Call Center Reservations Management

The reservations management system is a call center application designed to support reservations systems. This application eliminates the need for reservations personnel to type long commands or navigate through complex menus. Instead, they can focus on customer requests, promote sales and deliver quality customer service in a fraction of the usual time.

Schedule Change Improvement

The schedule change application utilizes pop-up menus and windows to improve the schedule change process. Resulting in reduced training time, the interface automatically formats and updates the airline’s schedules so users need not learn difficult entries. In addition, the application increases user productivity when building and maintain ing flight schedules. By providing error checking and leading the user through the complex process, the application enables flight schedule changes to be made at a moment’s notice.

Sales Interface Creation

To facilitate group sales, the sales application logic helps guide an agent through complex rules and regulations to quickly book and efficiently manage a group reservation. Consideration can be made for tracking deposits, e-mailing and faxing information, and pulling together the entire contract by the time the phone call has ended.

Corporate and Crew Travel Booking

Used in the cruise line industry, the tour application performs bookings for corporate and crew travel. The application handles complex travel requests and serves as a middle layer between the in-house tour booking system or host and the Sabre Global Distribution System.

Travel Agency Solution

The Turbo Sabre^SM desktop application enables travel agencies to shop for and sell travel products without using complicated host formats. It offers user-friendly, high-speed, point-of-sale access to the Sabre Global Distribution System. The intuitive design of this application influences a variety of areas in the travel agency environment, reducing training time and improving quality control by checking for data entry errors at the point of sale. It also improves productivity by combining steps in the travel interaction process and reducing the number of required keystrokes.

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