TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Dec. 6, 2010) – GuestLogix Inc. (TSX:GXI) the leading global provider of onboard store technology to airlines and the passenger travel industry, today announced that Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia (“Garuda”), has selected the Company’s OnTouch® retail technology and merchandising platform to make it more convenient for its passengers to purchase onboard duty-free and other merchandise using credit cards on international and domestic flights. The carrier also plans to introduce OnTouch travel-relevant, destination based products and services across its network following its initial platform deployment.
The multi-year agreement with Garuda was facilitated by Rodamas, a new GuestLogix duty-free business partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Parlind Hutagalung, General Manager Rodamas, said, “We are pleased to be working with GuestLogix to deliver the best onboard experience possible for Garuda. This is an exciting time for our aviation market, and GuestLogix provides us the ideal platform to support our customers.”
Garuda Indonesia is the leading carrier in Indonesia that carries nearly 11 million passengers annually to over 50 destinations in 21 countries. The airline maintains code share agreements with 16 international airlines, has a fleet of 87 aircrafts and operates a low cost carrier unit called Citilink. Garuda is planning an IPO in early 2011 to fuel aggressive expansion plans to serve a market of 230 million people.
GuestLogix and Rodamas are equipping Garuda with a proven retail platform and merchandising approach to help it deliver the highest standards of service to its passengers by providing Garuda the opportunity to easily enhance any itinerary. “OnTouch integrates well with Garuda’s unique service concept, Garuda Indonesia Experience, as its flights will benefit from ready-built OnTouch products and services that help maximize the travel experience,” added Mr. Hutagalung. “This value-add capability will become increasingly important as Garuda implements its route expansion in 2011.”
The OnTouch platform provides Garuda access to a global portfolio of travel-relevant, destination based products and services, and the tools to create, manage and control a comprehensive branded onboard store that can be accessed both in the air and on the ground through the airline’s current distribution channels. As a result, Garuda will be able to develop compelling offerings that evolve from standard onboard retailing initiatives into more passenger-driven, travel-relevant, destination based programs. The GuestLogix platform meets the latest payment industry security standards, ensuring all transactions processed are secure, audited and reconciled.
“We are helping airlines enhance their relationships with their passengers by helping them meet their customers’ travelling needs across numerous travel touch points,” said Tom Douramakos, President and CEO, GuestLogix. “With Garuda, this begins with us providing a state-of-the-art point-of-sale solution onboard and leveraging our fully integrated platform to deliver sustainable, high margin ancillary revenues while creating an exclusive and branded experience for their passengers.”
About Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia is the national airline of Indonesia. It is a full-service network carrier and serves 28 domestic and 18 international destinations. The airline’s main hubs in Indonesia are located in Jakarta and Denpasar. In July 2009, the airline unveiled a new aircraft fleet, new in-flight product, new service concept and a fresh corporate identity to mark the start of its transformation into one of Asia’s successful and profitable airlines. Garuda Indonesia received its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification in May 2008, recognizing that the airline is fully compliant with global best-practice standards for flight operations, aircraft maintenance and safety management system. In December 2009, the airline was also upgraded to a four-star rating by Skytrax, the global benchmark for airline service standards, confirming the improvement in its front-line product and service quality.
About GuestLogix
GuestLogix is the leading global provider of onboard store technology and merchandising, which helps airlines and other operators create, manage, and control onboard retail environments tailored to their needs and their passengers. Serving approximately 38% of the global airline passenger traffic, GuestLogix has become a trusted onboard transaction processing partner to airlines around the world. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and maintains sales and support facilities in the US, UK, Singapore, and South Korea. GuestLogix is publicly traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange (Symbol: GXI.T). More information is available at www.guestlogix.com.
© 2010 GuestLogix. All rights reserved. ® OnTouch is a trademark of GuestLogix Inc. and is registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with GuestLogix’ business and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect GuestLogix’ current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including the matters discussed under “Risks and Uncertainties” in the Filing Statement filed on October 14, 2010 with the regulatory authorities. GuestLogix assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.