Air Canada Brings Tier 1 Check-In Service to Tier 3 Airports with iMuse Express™

May 8, 2007

Annapolis, Maryland—Air Canada has discovered a cost-effective way to bring fully connected check-in services to its seasonal and Tier 3 airport locations. The answer is ARINC’s iMuse Express™ service, a portable, secure Internet check-in solution that sets up in minutes wherever an Internet connection is available.

Canada’s national flag carrier is now using iMuse Express for efficient check-ins at eight of its Tier 3 destinations from Allentown to Maui, and at seasonal locations such as Palm Springs. The iMuse Express hardware fits into a suitcase, and consists of a laptop PC and two small printers for boarding passes and bag tags.

“Air Canada was looking for a way to gain host access without costly host connections at our tier 3 airports, seasonal airports, and distant points like Bogota,” stated Patrice Ouellette, Air Canada Director, Customer Service Platform. “We found our answer in iMUSE Express. We now operate a total of 50 iMuse Express Kits, and we can connect to the Air Canada host and deliver efficient check-in services anywhere in the world.”

Key to the success of iMUSE Express is its ability to connect securely over the Internet to ARINC’s Remote Passenger Services Data Center at Tulsa, OK. Here, the host computers of many leading airlines including Air Canada are continuously connected. Air Canada agents using portable iMUSE Express get direct host access at a fraction of the cost of wide-area network connections and workstation hardware.

“Air Canada has long been a leader in adopting new technologies, and they are among the first to explore the benefits of secure portable check-ins,” stated John A. Dungan, ARINC Director of Remote Passenger Services. “The fact they have quickly put 50 systems to work says it all. The effect of portable Internet-enabled check-ins on airline and airport operational models is just beginning to be felt.”

ARINC originally developed iMuse Express to enable airline check-ins at locations such as hotels and convention centers, and ARINC leads the industry in supporting this breakthrough in passenger convenience. But today iMuse Express offers more than convenience—it is a strategic, flexible response for airlines and airports facing new competition as the Open Skies agreements become effective in March 2008.

Air Canada connects its portable iMuse Express check-ins via standard dial-up Internet, airport Wi-Fi, or PC card (Sprint and Verizon) connections. Even the dial-up mode provides fully adequate response times, according to Mr. Ouellette. Air Canada has deployed iMuse Express for check-ins at Albany, Allentown, Bogota, Grand Cayman, Harrisburg, Maui, Palm Springs, Providence, and Rochester. The service at Palm Springs is winter only, and the carrier plans to rotate these units to one of its summer destinations.

ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,200 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified.

Release: 07-85

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