Lufthansa Systems adds accommodation management feature to NetLine/Crew

Lufthansa Systems today announced that it has added important new features to its NetLine/Crew crew management solution. The system now offers a fully automated interface to Accommodations Plus International (API), a full service travel management provider who handles all aspects of crew layovers including real-time “day of operations” changes and comprehensive invoice reconciliation. This significantly automates the entire crew layover process yielding considerable cost savings to the airline, improving airline staff productivity, and enhancing the hotel experience for flight crews.

“The expanded NetLine/Crew offers airlines more than just a hotel booking function. The system handles the entire layover planning process. This comprehensive feature is an excellent example of how our focus on product innovation contributes to optimizing our customers’ processes,” explained Stefan Auerbach, Senior Vice President Airline Solutions at Lufthansa Systems.

API’s core competency is to target efficiencies throughout the entire cycle of crew accommodations. Historically, API has a track record of achieving an average of 10% savings on crew hotel expenses through its break-through services. The new NetLine/Crew integration with API provides crew controllers with an innovative approach for automated hotel management – particularly during critical day of operations changes. This feature enables crew controllers to stay focused on managing crews rather than dealing with hotels. It ensures that crew members always have hotels and ground transportation when it is needed the most. Furthermore, API’s services ensure traceability and accountability of all crew layover services with network-wide consolidated invoicing.

NetLine/Crew supports the entire crew management process from pairing, rostering and crew tracking to post-flight activities. The solution reduces many costs for airlines, including personnel costs (overtime, standby), travel costs (hotels, transportation, allowances) and training costs (simulator). With NetLine/Crew products, airlines can increase their productivity by up to five percent. This means that a medium-sized airline can save up to ten million US dollars each year. NetLine/Crew is part of the NetLine suite from Lufthansa Systems, an integrated platform covering everything from network planning and crew management to operations control.