Mexicana Airlines Adds Duplicate PNR Management While Extending its Flight Firming Agreement with AAI.

Business Editors

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 2003

Airline Automation Inc. (AAI) announces that Mexicana Airlines has signed a two-year contract acquiring AAI's duplicate PNR management service, called Super Dupe Snooper(TM), and extended AAI's Flight Firming services agreement through the end of 2005.

"AAI's services vastly improve our productivity and profitability by continually coming up with new and innovative ways to improve the quality of our reservations," said Salvador Almaraz, Mexicana's distribution systems director.

AAI's automated flight firming application gives Mexico City-based Mexicana the ability to manage ticketing time limit rules on bookings made through the Global Distribution System (GDS).

Improved management of ticketing time limits increases the number of ticketed reservations, dramatically reducing the variability of no-show levels, reducing spoilage, reducing spillage, and increasing the onboard load factor on sold-out flights. In addition, PNRs with fictitious names are identified, and duplicate segments are identified and cancelled by the automated process.

With AAI's Flight Firming system, airlines have the ability to create their own customized business rules to get the greatest benefit from the flight firming service. Rules can be based on flight number, market, class of service, date of travel, date of booking, OSI messages, point of sale, status code, frequent flyer status, GDS or any combination.

And, in addition to Flight Firming, Mexicana acquired AAI's Super Dupe Snooper(TM) -- which replaces a labor-intensive, in-house process for Mexicana, significantly enhancing Mexicana Airlines' existing capabilities to detect and remove duplicate reservations, dramatically reducing the variability of no-show levels and reducing seat spoilage. Most importantly, it frees up inventory for those customers who wish to travel on popular flights that may have been previously sold out.

AAI's Super Dupe Snooper(TM) application compares all new PNRs to all existing PNRs in the Mexicana PNR database looking for PNRs with identical or similar names. Once PNRs with matching names are identified, the itinerary logic compares the itineraries to determine if there is any overlap, duplication or if the itineraries are non-chronological. In addition, AAI's Super Dupe Snooper(TM) identifies a duplicate between a PNR with one person and a PNR with more than one person, and will reduce and divide the record accordingly.

AAI's Super Dupe Snooper(TM) process allows the carrier to handle different levels of duplication in different ways. For example, an identical name match and an identical itinerary in two separate PNRs could be handled with auto-cancel, while a fuzzy name match and a mirrored itinerary could be sent to a queue for manual processing. In addition, customized handling of premium tier frequent flyers is also possible.

AAI provides automated flight firming services from its state-of-the-art computer facility in Tucson.

About Airline Automation

Airline Automation Inc. is an Application Service Provider (ASP) delivering airlines and travel-related companies with innovative, yet affordable, technology-based solutions since 1984. These include reservations processing, flight firming, duplicate ticket identification, e-ticket confirmation, flight schedule automation systems, Internet booking engine, frequent flyer systems and customer relationship management systems. Additional information on Airline Automation is available at www.airauto.com.

About Mexicana Airlines

Mexicana Airlines serves more than 42 cities in North America and nine cities internationally. For reservations go to www.mexicana.com or call Mexicana's toll-free reservations line at 01 800 50-220-00 in Mexico and 800-531-7921 in the United States.