Wragge & Co LLP Outsourcing, Trade & Technology Team has advised Malaysia Airlines on a £53 million passenger service systems outsourcing project with SITA. Under the ten-year deal, SITA Passenger and Travel Solutions will manage five core business processes – ticketing, fares management, revenue integrity, distribution and departure control.

This deal will transform Malaysia Airlines' front-line and back-office operations, reducing costs and providing travellers with improved online booking capabilities. It means Malaysia Airlines is well placed to meet IATA's December 2007 deadline for the introduction of e-ticketing.

Head of IT outsourcing Bill Jones led a team comprising associate Valerie Taylor and solicitor Richard Smith. They worked alongside Malaysia Airlines' in-house legal and project teams. SITA's legal team included SITA in-house legal and Herbert Smith.

Bill Jones said: "This is a major global project, relying on Wragge & Co's international expertise and its ability to work with advisers in other jurisdictions to provide a round-the-clock service. It is strategically important for Malaysia Airlines. They wanted a commercial approach and first-rate IT and outsourcing credentials, and our experience and expertise fitted the bill."

Dr Amin Khan, Senior General Manager of Transition Management at Malaysia Airlines, said: "From the outset Bill and his team worked closely with us and provided effective commercial and legal advice. They worked as part of the larger Malaysia Airlines team to achieve a demanding timeline and to ensure that we were advised about the legal risks in this complex outsourcing project."

Malaysia Airlines is Malaysia's national carrier and one of Asia's largest airlines. It flies more than 48,000 passengers from 70 airports worldwide to over 100 destinations everyday. It holds a lengthy record of service and excellence, having received more than 100 awards in the last 10 years, including being the first airline to win the "World's Best Cabin Crew" by Skytrax UK.

SITA is the world's leading service provider of IT business solutions and communications services to the air transport industry. Based in Geneva, it covers 220 countries and territories generating aggregated revenues of $1.554 billion for the year 2005. In 2005, Wragge & Co advised SITA Information Networking Computing on its OnAir joint venture with Airbus and Tenzing Communications Inc.

Wragge & Co's 45-lawyer OTT Team specialises in IT and outsourcing work, with experts advising on the supply and acquisition of major systems. A broad client base means it is equally at home advising suppliers: PA Consulting on its innovative public sector e-procurement portal, the Zanzibar Managed Service, or users: Anglian Water on its £50 million deal with CSC. Other clients include British Airways, Capgemini and Cadbury plc.

---

For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Amie Ryalls on +44 (0)121 213 2360

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.