JEDDAH: Saudi Airlines Cargo has signed a contract to become the "launch customer" of OAG Cargo's new Route Mapper tool, the company said in a statement Tuesday. "The new application will help the airline's cargo customers perform a series of essential daily business tasks, such as searching online for Saudi Airlines Cargo flights and flight-related information," said Shihab Al-Amoudi, Saudi Airlines Cargo Head of Global Communications and Advertising Department. "Customers can easily identify non-stop and connecting flights using a visual global map of cities served by Saudi Airlines Cargo, as well as view timetables of all available flights from a chosen city for all routes served by Saudi Airlines Cargo," said Al-Amoudi who is also spokesperson of Saudi Airlines Cargo. Phase 1 of the rollout will see the generic Route Mapper product implemented from April 1, 2011. This will incorporate use of Arabic language, customized branding, future schedules and full integration into the www.saudicargo.com website. Al-Amoudi said discussions were already under way for future phases of development with OAG, which is expected to develop more cargo features and benefits to enhance the Route Mapper product. Bart-Jan Haasbeek, VP Sales of OAG Cargo, signed the contract during the Air Cargo Africa event in Nairobi with Peter Scholten, Vice President Commercial of Saudi Airlines Cargo. "We are proud to have such a prestigious Launch Customer such as Saudi Airlines Cargo for Route Mapper," Haasbeek said. Saudi Airlines Cargo will see immediate business benefits, he said, adding that OAG shares the excitement about the next stage of development of the product. "The signing of the contract is the beginning of a long and successful business partnership with a strong global carrier," Haasbeek said. Saudi Airlines Cargo operates 9 freighters and sells the belly-capacity on 125 passenger aircraft from Saudi Arabian Airlines spanning a rapidly expanding global network of 85 destinations.
