The boost to international e-commerce will help the airline manage the intensified international online traffic of the Olympic Games.

Air China deployed the Amadeus e-commerce suite in 25 international markets and showed 52% growth rate in first quarter of 2008.

Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, today announced the successful implementation of Air China's international e-business in 25 international markets. Air China turned to Amadeus for a fully hosted and customized internet booking engine solution.

Through partnering with Amadeus, Air China now offers its international customers in many markets a fully localized online booking product in the native language and local currency, thus enhancing customers' overall experience and increasing online conversion rates.

Air China Director, E-commerce, Lui Dong commented: "As a carrier operating worldwide with a vastly diverse customer base, Air China opted to build a local web site presence in each of its international markets, thereby offering our customers the best online experience, locally. This will help grow our international online business, especially during the increase in passenger traffic before the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

"We also believe that Amadeus has the financial strength and focus to maintain unrivalled booking engine technology, allowing us to remain competitive. We can clearly see an impact on our results for the past few months, with a growth rate of our online bookings of over 50% during the first quarter this year. We look forward to continue working with Amadeus, to provide an excellent customer experience to all of our online bookers."

David Brett, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, "I believe our leadership position in China is due to our ability to provide international reach, leading functionality as well as our proven record as technology partner to airlines. We are proud to partner with Air China and help them continue to deliver significant growth. We supply them with e-commerce solutions and are committed to develop our business even further in the region."

Philippe Der Arslanian, Global Director, Airline Direct Channel, Amadeus added, "We are delighted to contribute to the success and development of Air China's online business.

"Our Web 2.0, fully customizable, solutions allow the region's players to accelerate their e-business and increase their international conversion rates. Further, Amadeus' strong commitment to e-commerce means that our partners will be able to sustain their online growth by benefiting from evolving e-commerce opportunities and emerging technologies."

The Amadeus e-Commerce solutions currently power more than 250 websites for over 80 airlines worldwide. These include Air Canada, Air China, Air France, BMI, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Air, Finnair, Iberia, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.