Galileo and Air Canada announce technology breakthrough providing Galileo agents in Canada with desktop access to Air Canada's full range of products

    First Merchandising Solution by a GDS to Support All Air Canada Fare and
    Flight Pass Products

    LANGLEY, U.K. and MONTREAL, Aug. 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Galileo, a leading
global distribution system (GDS) and subsidiary of Travelport, and Air Canada
today announced a multi-year agreement for a revolutionary graphical agency
desktop solution that will provide Galileo-connected Canadian travel agents
access to the full range and attributes of Air Canada's innovative à-la-carte
fare products and Flight Passes.
    Air Canada will become the launch customer of the desktop solution,
developed by Galileo and powered by Air Canada's direct-connect application
programming interface (API) platform called "AC2U." Galileo plans to make
their system available to travel agents in Canada in the fourth quarter of
2007.
    Galileo is the first and only GDS to offer a full merchandising solution
capable of supporting the full range of Air Canada's fare and Flight Pass
products. The new desktop solution offers Galileo agencies full product
descriptions, the ease of a graphical display and prompts the user when
product options are available. All information is seamlessly integrated into
the travel agent accounting and back-office systems.
    "Galileo is embracing new ways to do business and we are especially
pleased to partner with Air Canada, an innovative and forward-thinking
carrier, as our launch customer for this new solution," said Dave Falter,
president, Galileo Americas.
    Added Jean Collier, vice president, Supplier Services, Galileo Americas,
"As airlines around the world roll-out a variety of non-traditional optional
services, it is critical to provide carriers and their customers with
merchandising tools to sell these services. At the same time, it is important
to protect an airline's brand integrity and to merchandise products as they
would via their own distribution channels."
    Commented Air Canada's Vice President, Sales and Product Distribution,
Marc Rosenberg, "Today's announcement marks the successful outcome of many
months of close collaboration with Galileo to develop a robust, user-friendly
solution that meets Air Canada's merchandising requirements. We are satisfied
that Galileo subscribers in Canada will soon have a powerful, automated tool
that will help them enhance productivity and customer service, by offering the
full range of Air Canada product features."
    The new desktop solution will enable Galileo subscribers to shop, price
and book all Air Canada domestic, U.S. transborder and international
itineraries and fares including Tango, Tango Plus, Latitude, Latitude Plus and
Executive, as well as the capability to book using Air Canada's complete range
of Flight Pass products.
    The new desktop was initially developed to meet the needs of Air Canada,
the world's first network carrier to offer its customers à-la-carte pricing
with the ability to choose among product attributes they wish to pay for, such
as advance seat assignment on its lowest Tango fare, onboard meals and lounge
access, or opt out of to obtain a discount such as checked baggage,
refund-ability and frequent flyer mile accumulation.
    In addition, Air Canada is the only airline that offers customers Flight
Passes providing the convenience to pre-purchase air travel in bulk, either in
the form of banks of flight credits or fixed monthly subscription rates that
allow for unlimited flights. Flight passes, available in single and multi-user
versions, are popular with leisure and corporate clients who appreciate online
booking convenience and the price predictability of a single or fixed
all-inclusive payments.

    About Galileo

    Galileo is a global technology leader. Its core business is providing
electronic global distribution services for the travel industry through its
computerized reservation systems, leading-edge products and innovative,
Internet-based solutions. Galileo is a value-added distributor of travel
inventory dedicated to supporting its travel supplier, agency and corporate
customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. Galileo, a Travelport
brand, is headquartered in Langley, UK and has offices worldwide. Visit
www.galileo.com.

    About Travelport

    Travelport operates Galileo, a global distribution system (GDS) and GTA,
a wholesaler of travel content. In addition, it also owns a controlling
interest in Orbitz Worldwide, a leading, global online travel company. With
2006 revenues of $2.6 billion, Travelport has approximately 6000 employees and
operates in 130 countries.
    Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group of New
York, Technology Crossover Ventures of Palo Alto, California and One Equity
Partners of New York.

    About Air Canada

    Air Canada's achievements have been honoured recently by consumers and
the industry. This year, Washington D.C.-based Air Transport World, gave Air
Canada the magazine's Market Leadership Award based on the airline's success
in implementing an innovative and transparent pricing structure, its use of
online technology to meet consumers' needs and its fleet-wide renewal with a
consistent, market-leading onboard product among North American airlines. In
2007, Air Canada was also ranked "Best Airline in North America" for the
second time in three years in a independent passenger survey of 14 million air
travellers conducted by Skytrax. In addition, Air Canada was named favourite
carrier by Canadian travel agents in a survey of travel agents conducted by
Baxter Travel Media.
    Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five
continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in
the world and serves 32 million customers annually with a fleet consisting of
335 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the
world's most comprehensive air transportation network.



For further information:
For further information: Media inquiries: Galileo: Jill Brenner, Galileo
Americas, 973.939.1325, Jill.brenner@travelport.com; Air Canada: Isabelle
Arthur (Montréal), (514) 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto),(416) 263-5576;
Angela Mah (Vancouver), (604) 270-5741; aircanada.com