On December 18, Virgin Blue and Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, announced a technology partnership which will see Amadeus equip the airline with leading-edge technology solutions to support its continued growth.

As the multi-award winning airline further establishes itself as a "New World Carrier", combining low prices with an enhanced range of competitive services for its Guests, it has worked with Amadeus to implement a new distribution, e-ticketing and interline solution to enhance the competitiveness of its short haul operation.

Furthermore, Virgin Blue's new long haul subsidiary, V Australia, will use Amadeus for its complete customer management and online needs, including reservations, online booking, inventory control and airport departure control.

Amadeus has provided Virgin Blue's short haul operations (Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue) with a distribution and interlining hub, to expand booking reach as it increases its route network throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region. The solution will allow Virgin Blue's short haul operations to benefit from wider distribution to Global Distribution Systems and other airlines which are not typically available to low cost carriers. This is part of the carrier's strategy to diversify its distribution channels and grow interline traffic, as it expands its short-haul fleet. By enabling interline e-ticket processing, Virgin Blue will be able to receive interline passengers from full service ticketed carriers such as Etihad and sister airline, Virgin Atlantic.

In addition, Virgin Blue's new long haul subsidiary, V Australia, will use the complete Amadeus Altea customer management solution, to manage its sales and reservations, inventory and departure control operations. The airline will also use Amadeus e-Retail and e-Merchandise solutions to drive online sales and deliver a compelling online experience. It is expected V Australia will receive approval from the United States and the Australian Governments to commence flights between the east coast of Australia and the west cost of the USA within 2008.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said: "In our seventh year, our business is growing rapidly as we adapt our original business model under our New World Carrier strategy and at the same time prepare to launch our fourth airline V Australia. It's essential that we have technology systems that support our rate of expansion and a responsive technology partner who can keep pace with our requirements. Amadeus has proved to be agile and flexible in providing solutions and functionality and we are confident of a successful working partnership."

Frederic Spagnou, Vice President, Airline Business Group at Amadeus, said: "Virgin Blue is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and successful carriers in the world. The airline has recognised the need for a strong distribution capability to help drive the continued growth of its short haul business, and, by adding interlining and enhanced GDS distribution capabilities, it will be able to further increase revenues. The launch of V Australia is consistent with Virgin Blue's pioneering approach and we are delighted to be supporting this exciting venture by providing proven technology to ensure that the customer experience both on and off line encourages continued loyalty."

In the past year, Virgin Blue has increased passenger numbers to more than 15 million and recorded over AU$2 billion in turnover, this figure is expected to grow as new aircraft continue to be added to the fleet.