Emirates Airline and ezRez Software Announce Global Technology Partnership

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Emirates Airline and ezRez Software, Inc. today announced a new multi-year partnership under which ezRez will be the exclusive technology provider for hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities available through the airline's website, www.emirates.com.

Travelers will be able to add hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities to their flights when booking online at www.emirates.com, or they can use the website to book standalone hotel rooms and car rentals.  The entire itinerary, whether booked individually or in a shopping cart with Emirates flights, will be available through the "Manage a Booking" tab on the airline's homepage.

Emirates' worldwide reach and diverse customer base require a global technology platform that can be localized for each individual market.  With ezRez, Emirates will have control over a single global system that is deployed in 14 languages and supports payment in 42 currencies.  Additionally, Emirates will segment inventory by geographic region and traveler type to optimize hotel offers for the individual preferences of each market.  

"Emirates has won numerous awards for service, technology and in-flight comfort.  When we decided to offer hotels and car rentals, it was important to partner with a technology company that could meet the same high expectations we set for ourselves," said Russell Sheldon, Senior Vice President Network Passenger Sales Development, Emirates Airline.  "The ezRez platform is flexible enough to meet the needs of each individual market while delivering the world class products our customers expect from the Emirates brand."  

"Emirates serves nearly every major global market and is on its way to becoming the largest carrier in the world," said John Swanciger, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing at ezRez.  "As a global platform with unparalleled localization capabilities and the ability to offer unique travel products to any customer at any point in the purchase process, ezRez is a perfect match with Emirates."

In addition to using ezRez's configurable online tools, Emirates is making extensive use of the ezRez API to access inventory.  The online hotel and car hire functionality is scheduled to launch in Q1 2011.  In subsequent phases of the partnership, Emirates will incorporate ezRez's agent booking tool and use the ezLoyalty platform to provide additional functionality to Skywards, the airline's award-winning loyalty program.

About Emirates

Since its launch in 1985, Emirates Airline has received more than 400 international awards in recognition of its efforts to provide unsurpassed levels of customer service.  The airline has experienced rapid and consistent growth, above 20 percent a year on average and has been profitable for the last 22 consecutive years. Emirates carried 27.5 million passengers in the 2009-10 financial year – 4.8 million more than the year before – and declared a net profit of AED 3.5 billion (US$ 964 million).

Emirates is the world's most profitable airline.  Its 151 all wide-bodied fleet includes 7 freighters and is among the youngest in the skies, with an average age of 69 months. The airline plans to more than double its size in the next 10 years.  Emirates is based in Dubai, and operates services to 105 cities in 64 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific. Visit Emirates online at www.emirates.com

About ezRez Software, Inc.

ezRez Software, Inc. enables its partners to sell any combination of travel products including air, car, hotel, trip activities, packaging and travel insurance to anyone, anywhere in the world. Its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform allows clients to easily launch online travel agency functionality with the look and feel of a customized implementation at a fraction of the cost. ezRez provides access to more than 200,000 travel suppliers and its clients include some of the world's largest airlines, hotels, travel agencies and banking loyalty programs, such as AirAsia, American Airlines, American Express, Emirates Airline, Intercontinental Hotels, JetBlue, LAN Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and United Airlines. Based in San Francisco, ezRez was founded in 2003 and has secured $17.1 million in venture funding led by Canaan Partners with participation from Azure Capital Partners.  For more information, visit www.ezrez.com.

SOURCE ezRez Software, Inc.