Oracle scores Qantas frequent flyer deal

Qantas has selected Oracle on Demand to upgrade its 22-year-old, Fortran-based frequent flyer platform.

Qantas continues to revamp its frequent flyer program, selecting Oracle on Demand for its new loyalty CRM platform.(Qantas A330 image by planegeezer, CC2.0)

Oracle will provide its Siebel Loyalty Management platform to the airline so it can better manage its 7 million members.

Chief executive of Qantas Group Loyalty, Simon Hickey, said in a statement that the airline consulted other carriers to determine the best platform for its needs.

"Oracle On Demand and Siebel Loyalty will set the foundation for Qantas to offer real-time targeted loyalty promotions, across a wide variety of member touch points," he said.

Oracle said in a statement that Qantas would be taking a "phased approach" to replacing the Fortran system, called "Profile". Phase one of the transformation will see Qantas implement a new "Frequent Flyer Service Centre".

Oracle didn't provide detailed information on the other phases of the operation.

The software will be hosted from Oracle's Texas-based datacentre.

According to The Australian, Qantas went to market for a new solution last year.

Qantas this week commenced its trial of a new next-generation check-in system running out of its Perth terminal. Participants in the trial were selected from Qantas' platinum, gold, silver and bronze members of the frequent flyer program.