Press Release 2004

Star Alliance and BEA Systems sign deal to lower technology cost structure for member airlines 
  
Star Alliance, the airline network for Earth and BEA Systems, Inc, the world’s leading application infrastructure software company, today announced a five-year agreement enabling each airline to lower its information technology (IT) cost structure significantly by purchasing infrastructure software from BEA.
 “We are always looking for new and meaningful ways to help our members operate more profitably and efficiently,” said Michael Stagl, Chief Information Officer, Star Alliance.  “This agreement with BEA gives our 15 members the opportunity to introduce BEA’s innovative application platform suite at a cost that no single airline would be able to negotiate.”
Star Alliance members such as United Airlines, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, as well as Star Alliance itself, have developed ticketing, baggage handling, and loyalty software applications on the BEA WebLogic Platform® in recent years.  With this new agreement, BEA WebLogic Server® and BEA WebLogic Integration® become Star Alliance’s preferred application server and integration software, respectively.  Star Alliance members have already begun to receive the benefits of this agreement.
“We have a proven track record in the airline industry as a provider of scalable, reliable infrastructure solutions,” said Mark Carges, Executive Vice President, Global Accounts, BEA. “After working with many Star Alliance members over the years, we’re looking forward to expanding our services to the entire network. We view this partnership as a tremendous opportunity for BEA to bring greater value to a global industry.”
Star Alliance was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers global reach and a smooth travel experience. The members are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Mexicana Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai Airways International, United, and VARIG Brazilian Airlines. US Airways is scheduled to join the alliance in 2004.

About BEA
BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) is the world’s leading application infrastructure software company, providing the enterprise software foundation for more than 15,000 customers around the world, including the majority of the Fortune Global 500. BEA, Tuxedo® and its WebLogic® brand are among the most trusted names in business.
Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., BEA has 77 offices in 31 countries and is on the Web at www.bea.com.

Contact: Lorne Riley, Star Alliance. Phone: +49 69 96375 122
email: lorne.riley@staralliance.com

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