* SITA INC improves networks for Cathay Pacific, Amtrak
SITA Information Network Computing last week promised to optimize network links for Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific and to help Amtrak deploy self-service kiosk technology.
To start, SITA partnered with Peribit to deliver an integrated traffic management product to Cathay Pacific, based on Peribit’s Sequence Reducer technology, which couples compression with bandwidth management to speed traffic over WAN links. SITA assessed Cathay Pacific’s network and determined the airline would benefit from traffic management technology. Cathay Pacific wanted to maximize the current infrastructure and add services without affecting network performance, according to Edward Nicol, director of information management at Cathay Pacific.
Peribit Sequence Reducer technology uses data compression, so that packets take up less bandwidth, and QoS technology, to reduce contention among different applications using the same link. After an initial rollout of Peribit devices to 11 Cathay Pacific sites through March and April, the airline, with Peribit’s and SITA’s help, plans to have some 58 locations equipped with 73 Peribit appliances by June. Peribit devices sit at both ends of a WAN link.
SITA also announced it had teamed with Amtrak to put SITA technology to use in Amtrak kiosks.
The Quik-Trak self-service ticketing kiosks are set to roll out to 80 train stations across the U.S. The plan calls for a total of 177 to be installed.
Quik-Trak features a browser-based reservation and ticketing application that will use SITA INC’s iTravelDirect product, which Amtrak also uses for its Web site. Company representatives say the common IT platform for kiosks and the Web site will increase customer service satisfaction and lower long-term IT costs. The two groups say enhancements to the reservation online and self-service kiosks will let customers book sleeping accommodations and view up-front pricing.
According to a statement from Amtrak, since adopting the technology, Amtrak.com’s share of online ticket sales has increased by nearly 6%, and at the same time, costly customer inquiries have dropped by 15%.
