Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 10 (IANS): Ireland's flag carrier Aer Lingus has entered into a contract with Technopark-headquartered IBS Software Services (IBS) here for help in planning and managing their cockpit and cabin crew.

In a press release issued here Monday, IBS said their solution will help Aer Lingus to plan cost-effective and efficient operations of its fleet with an optimal level of properly trained and appropriately qualified crew.

Aer Lingus, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, operates scheduled flights to 75 destinations across 22 countries.

IBS' MPM solution is a culmination of extensive R&D over a period of 14 months, involving inputs from four global airlines: Air Astana, easyJet Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Crew-cost represents a significant percentage of an airline's total cost base and is, therefore, an area of special focus as airlines increasingly search for new ways to remain competitive in a sensitive and rapidly evolving business environment.

The solution is the first of its kind and goes way beyond the traditional thinking in the area of airline crew management which enables faster and smarter crew allocation decisions, leading to a reduction in crew costs through improved recruitment process, training plans and crew movement profiles.

Fergus Wilson, Aer Lingus's chief operating officer, said they were looking forward to a successful partnership with IBS.

IBS, one of the leading IT solution providers to the global travel, transportation and logistics industry in 2010, saw 55 successful 'go-lives' of IBS solutions all around the world -- equivalent to over one per week throughout the year.

Its list of customers is spread across six continents and includes names like All Nippon Airways (ANA), Jet Blue, Kingfisher Airlines, Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) and Qantas.

IBS operates from 10 global business centres in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa.