February 26, 2004

Lufthansa Systems today announced that it has added an Internet Booking Engine to its product portfolio. The new booking solution enables Lufthansa Systems to specifically target low-cost carriers with its products and services. This underlines the company’s strategy, to enhance their leading position as IT provider for the airline and aviation industries worldwide.

The Internet Booking Engine developed by Lufthansa Systems is a solution that enables airlines of all sizes to handle all their passenger data including booking, passenger processing and accounting independent of a GDS. The deployment of an Internet Booking Engine is an attractive model especially for Low-cost carriers. The connection to a global distribution system (GDS) and the cost per booking involved is a more expensive solution for them.

In order to meet the demands of airlines of all sizes, Lufthansa Systems has expanded its MultiHost system, which integrates airline processes in several applications, to include an Internet Booking Engine. MultiHost is offered on a modular basis, and the individual components can be assembled exactly according to the customer's needs. This automates the relevant core processes. Based on the "pay for what you use" principle, customers only pay for the modules they actually use. However, they are free to purchase additional modules at any time.

The Internet Booking Engine from Lufthansa Systems has interfaces to all MultiHost modules, which can be added individually. This enables our airline customers to react flexibly to modifications in business models or to expansion, since it "grows" as an airline's business grows.

"We are continually developing our solutions further to meet the demand of the market. Our Internet Booking Engine is an option for all airlines as well as it allows them to increase their independence and flexibility. It is up to our customers to decide if they want to sell their entire seating capacity only through a GDS or if their seats can also be booked directly over the Internet," says Gero von Götz, Vice President Business Segment Airline Services at Lufthansa Systems.

Note to editors:

Lufthansa Systems is one of the leading IT service providers for the airline and aviation industries worldwide. As systems integrator, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group covers the entire range of IT services, including consulting, development, implementation and operation. Lufthansa Systems provides its IT infrastructure and operations services to a variety of industries. Headquartered in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt/Main, Germany, the company has branches in Germany and 13 countries and employs about 4,200 people worldwide.