Image via WikipediaSHANGHAI, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd., (Shanghai), announced today the launch of its prestigious UATP-based business travel program, offering Chinese corporations China Eastern Airline's UATP accounts for global air travel spend. To meet customer demands, China Eastern Airlines chose to become a UATP account provider and expand its corporate market share.
"Within the new strategic structure, China Eastern Airlines is trying to become a customer oriented airline. In the past year, China Eastern Airlines has done in-depth analysis of different customer groups and integrated their air travel requirements which resulted in creative products, such as Easy Travel Card (E card)," said Mr. Ma Xulun, General Manager of China Eastern Airlines. "Account E is an upgraded program related to corporate clients. The product provides stronger and more comprehensive cost analysis support to corporate clients with first hand data. The launching of the program shows that China Eastern Airline's programs are in healthy development and expanding."
"UATP is pleased to launch a program in China with such distinguished companies as China Eastern Airlines and 99Bill. We look forward to seeing the success of the program," Ralph Kaiser, president and CEO, UATP said. "UATP is helping China Eastern Airlines expand its corporate program and build customer loyalty to their brand; we will continue to work with China Eastern Airlines for the future expansion of the program."
China Eastern Airlines UATP account holders will receive state-of-the-art air travel activity through detailed informational reporting. China Eastern Airlines will utilize 99Bill, the leading independent payment service provider in China, to complete its comprehensive suite of secure, safe and convenient payment solutions.
"As a strategic partner of China Eastern Airlines, 99Bill has been committed to support the company's information construction through our innovative payment service solutions. With the launch of 'Account E' service that is designed for large enterprises, 99Bill, as the operator of the platform, will provide a full suite of solutions for China Eastern Airlines. We believe that enterprise customers will be the ultimate beneficiary from the advanced travel management solutions, while China Eastern Airlines will strengthen its advantage in large enterprise market," said Oliver Kwan, CEO of 99Bill Corporation.
About UATP
UATP accounts are accepted as a form of payment for corporate business travel worldwide by airlines, travel agencies and Amtrak®. UATP accounts are issued by: Air New Zealand (Pink Sheets: ANZFF), American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), Austrian Airlines (Pink Sheets: AUALF), Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd; GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and Bovespa: GOLL4); Japan Airlines (Pink Sheets: JALSQ), Qantas Airways, Ltd. (Pink Sheets: QUBSF), United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA), and US Airways (NYSE: LCC). AirPlus International issues the UATP-based Company Account for: British Airways (LSE: BAY.L), Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), and Lufthansa German Airlines.
About China Eastern Airlines
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited, Shanghai, was founded in April 1995 and was listed at Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1997. It is one of the three largest civil aviation transportation backbone enterprises in China and grows out of China Eastern Airlines established in 1988. In February 2010, the alliance and reorganization of China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited and Shanghai Airlines Co., Ltd. was completed and the latter became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the former. Besides, China Eastern administers 10 branches holds controlling shares of more than 10 companies such as China Cargo Airlines Ltd. and Shanghai Eastern Logistics Co., Ltd.
By December 31, 2009, China Eastern owned more than 330 large and middle-sized transport planes with air service to 151 destinations and had over 600,000 employees.
About 99Bill
99Bill Corporation is the leading independent third-party payment service provider in China, offering a comprehensive suit of secure, safe and convenient electronic payment solutions to all kinds of enterprises and individuals. With the widest range of product categories and user groups, 99Bill makes electronic payment available by Renminbi, foreign credit card, China Mobile's pre-paid card, China Unicom's pre-paid card, Virtual POS, etc Its services support a variety of terminals, including Internet, mobile phone and POS, which could meet different demands from all enterprises and individuals. By the end of April 2010, 99Bill has signed up a total of 62 million registered users and about 450,000 merchant partners. 99Bill's system has been awarded a certificate for its first-class secure payment services by China Information Security Testing Evaluation and Certification Center, and is compliant with the internationally recognized Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
