Maldives’ national airline, Maldivian has announced a partnership with TravelSky Global Distribution System (GDS) aimed at expanding its reach in China.
As a leading aviation and travel informational technology solution provider in China, TravelSky is the third largest global distribution system (GDS) in the world, and has the world’s largest Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) data processing center.
During the past 30 years, TravelSky has established four business information systems spanning ticket booking, departing, distribution and settlement, which as a whole has supported the information development of China’s civil aviation industry.
Maldivian, in a post on its social media platforms announced that the airline is now live on TravelSky GDS and part of IATA’s BSP in China, enabling convenient ticketing.
“With direct flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, this milestone enhances travel convenience for agents and customers alike,” the airline said.
With this change, IATA accredited agents in China will now be able to easily issue Maldivian e-tickets through the TravelSky platform. The move is part of the airline's efforts to increase popularity and reach in China, one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world.
According to Maldivian, this partnership will provide convenient ways to tourists traveling to Maldives from China. China is currently the largest tourist source market for the Maldives, which will further boost the tourism industry of the country, the company said.
In addition, this will allow Maldivian to establish relationships with other international airlines.
Maldivian introduced its first wide-body aircraft to its fleet on 6 this January this year, fulfilling a key presidential pledge by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. While the Airbus A330-200, which has 264 seats, is currently in service, Maldivian sought to add a second wide-body aircraft to its fleet.
Maldivian has launched direct flights to three Chinese cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu with its first wide-body aircraft.
Maldivian currently operates a fleet of 25 aircraft. These include a wide-body Airbus A330, a narrow-body Airbus A320, four ATRs, nine Dash-8s, and 11 Dash-6 twin-otter aircraft.