China Southern becomes first Chinese carrier to sign up for Lufthansa Systems' network planning solution

Lufthansa Systems today announced that the IT provider has signed a five year contract with China Southern over the network management solution NetLine. Implementation is scheduled to be completed late 2007.

China Southern Executive Vice President Mr. Tan Wangeng said: “Together with one of the world’s leading IT service providers, we plan to build an appropriate flight scheduling and network planning system. This will lay a firm foundation that will help fuel our airline company’s reengineering process.”

With NetLine, China Southern has opted for an integrated yet modular platform for network planning and control, capturing all the facets of the whole business process. The solution will allow China Southern to evaluate the outcome of scenarios, plans, and decisions very quickly and reliably. This is possible because it puts a strong focus on automation and optimization tools that speed up planning and operational processes, save costs, improve revenues, and guarantee consistent robustness and stability.

“Lufthansa Systems has been a presence in the Chinese airline market for some time now. We are especially proud to partner with China Southern as the largest carrier in this important market,” said Dr. Gunter Küchler, Member of the Executive Board at Lufthansa Systems. He added: “I believe that this contract signature is just the first step in our cooperation. We are looking forward to supporting China Southern on a long-term basis and working with them to determine the needs for IT support to optimize other airline processes.”

China Southern has been the largest airline in The People’s Republic of China for the past 27 years. The airline will benefit from the NetLine solution in connecting more than 80 cities around the globe. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include: Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan and as well as International service, including: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dubai, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Penang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.