Airlines Deals

Paramount Airways, in an effort to increase its sales network and ink interline agreements with foreign carriers, will join the domestic Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) and finally make its online debut with a GDS in July. The domestic BSP, which was formalised in December last year, is slated to include all IATA agents and non-IATA agents. Paramount Airways in order to increase its global penetration has inked an agreement with Amadeus and will be live from the first week of July. Speaking to ETW, Paramount Airways’ MD, M. Thiagarajan, said, “We will be available globally because of Amadeus and this will give us a wider international presence. Partnering with a GDS is also a stepping stone for the interline agreements we want to have with other airlines.”

Thiagarajan emphasised that this was not an exclusive agreement and it was an open contract, hinting that the airline was open to other GDS too. He added that since they already had their internal connectivity to distribute tickets in place, the agreement was not a conventional legacy system. Paramount Airways is holding talks with a few airlines, including Qantas Airways, for interline connectivity, but Thiagarjan preferred to be tight lipped about the details. But he did indicate that the key hubs the airline is looking at are the Middle East, Europe and Far East, while Paramount would provide connectivity to all the cities it is already servicing. With ambitions of becoming a national carrier, the airline aspires to have interline agreements to service the entire country.