Dubai: Etihad Airways has entered into a $700 million (Dh2.5 billion) deal with technology giant IBM in the hope of improving customer experience and achieving its ambitious growth plans.
The cloud services contract, announced only on Tuesday, was signed at the end of September 2015. It is considered one of the most important “strategic collaborations” by the airline and a major step towards developing a “sophisticated” cloud data centre in Abu Dhabi.
“This is a game-changing agreement for Etihad Airways, for our partners and employees, and for Abu Dhabi,” said James Hogan, the airline’s president and chief executive officer.
The airline, which had earlier enlisted Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman as its global brand ambassador, carried 14.8 million passengers last year and currently serves 113 passenger and cargo destinations.
As part of the agreement, around 100 Etihad Airways information technology employees will migrate to IBM, where they can further enhance their IT skills. The technology company will manage the airline’s entire data centre operation, including individual infrastructure services and IT helpdesk.
With the deal, IBM will also deliver a range of technology services to better serve guests and employees.
The airline will have access to IBM's technology including the mobile tools developed through the Apple-IBM partnership and hopefully manage airport operations more efficiently.
