UATP and ARINC Help PayPal Make Its Airline ConnectionsJuly 31, 2007Annapolis, Maryland—In a new development for the airline industry, major U.S. carriers have started accepting PayPal for direct, on-line passenger ticket purchases. Two leading airlines have already announced participation, and PayPal plans to continue rolling out to the industry in the coming months. Millions of PayPal account holders can now fund their airline ticket purchases from a variety of sources by using PayPal. These include personal bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards and PayPal account balances. Aside from offering travelers more convenience and flexibility, PayPal payments help to reduce costs for the airlines by offering low transaction fees. Making this possible is an economical air travel payment system, the Universal Air Travel Plan, or UATP. Owned by the airlines, UATP provides cost-efficient, customized billing services for their valued corporate customers. UATP’s card system offers participants one of the lowest administrative costs of any solution today. The technology behind UATP’s authorization system is hosted and maintained by ARINC Incorporated in Annapolis, MD. Access to the UATP system once was limited to participating airlines and ticket sellers, but ARINC has recently upgraded the technology to handle standard types of on-line transactions from other businesses. The use of today’s secure Web Services eliminates the previous need for special types of connections. PayPal becomes the latest enterprise to take advantage of the newly expanded access to UATP, and it joins the ranks of hundreds of airlines and other major corporations already using the cost-effective UATP solution. PayPal is working with ARINC to host its UATP authorization interface, including 24x7 maintenance. ARINC has completed system fielding and is now connecting new airlines as they sign up with PayPal. The ARINC hosting service allows PayPal to take advantage of high reliability AMQS technology on ARINC’s AviNetTM Network which offers cost-effective and reliable communications services in over 200 countries and territories. The UATP/PayPal relationship is beneficial to both companies. It enables PayPal to enter the airline sector of the e-commerce market, and gives UATP new access to a large volume of ticketing transactions that might otherwise go through other credit card systems. Founded in 1936, the Universal Air Travel Plan, Inc. (UATP) is the world's first corporate travel charge system. It is accepted as a form of payment by more than 220 air carriers and thousands of agencies worldwide. Besides offering one of the lowest cost systems available, UATP offers the most detailed, consolidated, and centralized billing available to corporate customers. Direct individual airline billing allows customers to be credited for all flight activities, and secures the maximum benefit from their loyalty agreements. 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:07-64 Brand Management & Communications |
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