(AFP Photo)
Egypt Air has become the first airlines in Africa to be granted the green light for the application of the “Fast Travel” programme, accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The “Fast Travel” programme allows passengers to perform their travel arrangements via self-service channels, such as the internet, kiosks, smart phones or automated check in.
Arrangements involve six areas, which are; “check in, bags ready to go, document check, flight rebooking, self-boarding and fast recovery”.
At least four of the prior mentioned areas must be covered by airlines in order to facilitate the travel procedures and help customers in saving time and effort.
Egypt Air head Hesham Al-Nahas said that the company was and will be keen to provide more services that would make their customers’ travel experience more comfortable and easy. He noted that acquiring the green light for the application of the “Fast Travel” programme is proof of the company’s commitment and speed in implementing the most up-to-date services in the area of travel and air transport, state-run news agency MENA reported.
According to MENA, Egypt Air station manager Adel Helal indicated that reaching the green light for applying the programme requires 20% of Egypt Air passengers to use travel self-services, which the company achieved.
The “Fast Travel” programme reduces costs and helps in saving an annual amount of $ 2.1bn for the airlines industry worldwide.
198 airlines and airport partners were proven to be “Fast Travel” compliant, marking 15.29% of global passengers by the end of 2013, while the programme aims to reach 50% of global passengers by 2016, and increase this rate to reach 80% by 2020.
IATA represents a total of 250 airlines, which marks 84% of total air traffic and is the trade association for the world’s airlines. The association’s mission is to “represent, lead and serve the airline industry”.
The association is present in different regions, such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, the Americas, as well as China and North Asia.
IATA also supports and aids in the formation of industry policy on crucial issues related to aviation, such as the environmental policy, infrastructure and safety issues.
In April 2014 Egypt Air signed a cooperation agreement with one of the largest insurance companies “Allianz”. The aim of the agreement was to provide Egypt Air customers with travel insurance policies, which is essentially required for those travelling to destinations that require them to submit insurance licences.
In November 2014 Tareq Bashir, chief process and information officer (CPIO) at Fawry, told Daily News Egypt that Egypt Air is one of their main clients that engaged with the company to provide its customers with electronic payment services.
