Singapore, 6 June 2005 – SiChuan Airlines (3U), the mainland Chinese carrier based in ChengDu, is the 9th mainland China carrier/group to sign on to Abacus’ reservation inventory participation. SiChuan Airlines’ Direct Connect Availability (DCA) participation with Abacus is its first with a foreign Global Distribution Service (GDS) and the move is expected to allow the airline to attract a larger share of the domestic and international travel market.

Through the Abacus DCA service, SiChuan Airlines is given the power to exercise point-of-sale quota allocation and control their flight inventory hence Abacus subscribers can now receive real-time flight status and seat counts directly from their own reservations system.

See-Toh Hon Chew, Vice President, Air Content Associates of Abacus International said, “With 17 years of experience in Asian markets, Abacus recognises the importance of mainland China as a driver in the regions growth and looks forward to assisting SiChuan Airlines to make the most of the changing travel landscape. We’re proud to have been chosen by SiChuan Airlines to distribute their inventory and to be able to provide them with a wider reach throughout Asia-Pacific. This partnership is also very important to Abacus as it reinforces our position in the region as the first foreign based GDS to host the largest number of mainland China-based carriers.”

Mr. Shen Cheng General Manager of Information Center SiChuan Airlines believes this deal is great for both Abacus and the airline. “Joining Abacus is the first step for SiChuan Airlines to enter the international market. It is an important area of SiChuan Airlines’ strategy to expand into the overseas market, especially Southeast Asia. Moreover, through Abacus, more agents and passengers can enjoy our services,” said Mr. Shen. “Abacus is the leading travel provider in the Asia-Pacific region and we look forward to working more with them in the future,” he said.

Other mainland China hosted carriers already subscribing to the Abacus DCA service include Air China Group (consisting of Air China, Southwest Airline, ZheJiang Airline), China Eastern Group (consisting of China Eastern, Yunnan Airlines, Northwest Airlines), China Southern Group (consisting of China Southern, Northern Airlines, XingJiang Airlines), as well as Shanghai Airlines (FM), Xiamen Airlines (MF), Shangdong Airlines (SC), Shenzhen Airlines (ZH), and Hainan Airlines (HU).