PRESS RELEASES

ARINC, a world-leader in air transportation systems, and Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, have together selected the latest generation IER 918 CUSS kiosk to provide the benefits of self-service check-in at 22 airport locations.

In a contract awarded recently, IER – the leading supplier of passenger and baggage processing solutions for air transport – is providing Flybe with more than 100 IER 918 self-service check-in kiosks being installed in locations in the British Isles and Continental Europe.

The IER 918 is a new generation of Common Use Self-Service kiosk designed to meet the latest challenges and take advantage of emerging trends in passenger travel; such as e-ticketing, RFID, WiFi, 2D bar-coded boarding passes, e-passports and identity-verification to check-in airline passengers with or without bags.

The IER 918s ordered by Flybe are equipped with passport and bar-code readers plus general purpose printers and are providing the airline’s passengers with new and enhanced pre-departure services at many of the 34 airports from which Flybe operate.

 “We are delighted to have IER working with us in the support of Flybe and helping them provide an enhanced travel experience for their customers through IER and ARINC’s technologies,” said ARINC vice president and managing director EMEA Dave Poltorak.

ARINC is a world-leading provider of passenger self-service solutions and has unparalleled experience in the field. After thorough investigation of available kiosk solutions and kiosk manufacturers, we were confident in the choice of IER’s 918 devices for this key programme with Flybe”.

“We are committed to getting the seven million passengers a year we carry through our airports in the UK and Europe as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Flybe’s Director of Marketing Simon Lilley. “These machines minimise queuing and really speed up the check-in process. Since the first kiosks went live in 2006, we have been very pleased with passenger feedback.”

 “Flybe is now Europe’s largest regional airline and operates out of more UKUK, 20% European business and 10% European leisure destinations. airports and any other airline with a new route network which is 70% domestic

Flybe has been a market leader in developing its range of passenger services.  Flybe was the first low cost airline to offer online check-in to passengers carrying hand and hold baggage and was the first to introduce a pre-assigned seating facility to allow passengers to pre-book their seats. Flybe is committed to bringing the benefits of self-service to its customers and is pleased to have selected the IER 918 kiosk solution for this key programme.

Clive McGinn, Managing Director of IER Ltd, said: “We are extremely proud to be working with ARINC on behalf of Flybe for this, our largest single deployment of Self-Service check-in kiosks. The delivery of such a number of devices over so many diverse locations in such a short time was a challenge which we welcomed and we are gratified that Flybe’s programme is such a success with its customers. We very much look forward to even greater proportions of passenger take-up of our self-service technology within the Flybe network.. The IER 918 represents the next generation of self-service kiosk technology; bringing the benefits of innovative technological solutions with affordable engineering quality to help our customers improve their operational effectivity and passengers’ satisfaction”.

For many years, IER has been involved with IATA in creating the CUSS standard and has gained an extensive expertise in this field resulting in a comprehensive range of solutions including hardware, middleware and customised self-service application.

About Flybe:

Flybe is Europe’s largest regional low cost airline with 170 routes operating from 24 UK and 30 European airports. Flybe is the largest carrier at Birmingham, Exeter, Manchester, Southampton, The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and BelfastCity. Flybe operates a modern fleet of 77 aircraft including Bombardier turboprops and Embraer regional jets. By phasing out older aircraft it plans to fly one of the most environmentally-sensitive fleets in the world. For more information, visit the web site at www.flybe.com

About ARINC:

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional offices in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified. 

 Suresnes, June 17, 2008