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Webjet today announced a series of developments designed to propel a number of significant strategic initiatives, specifically:

• Webjet has entered in to a 50% joint venture with World Aviation Services Limited Malta(1) to facilitate the entry into certain emerging European markets in 2011.
   
• Webjet Singapore is scheduled to commence at the end of the month following the launch of Hong Kong as part of our partnership operations with Westminster Travel.
   
• Webjet in America expects its Canadian site to be operational this week following the introduction of our USA Spanish language site.
• As part of our hotel platform for all regions Webjet has entered into a major hotel supply arrangement with Hotel Club(6) which will effectively provide a total of over 100,000 worldwide hotels.
   
• We are extending our resource contract with IGT(2) into Manila to provide for scaleable lower cost Transactions service and ticketing support.

 
Commenting Webjet’s Managing Director said:
 
The combination of these significant partnerships will significantly propel our development over the next several years. As part of these plans we are also substantially strengthening our management resources to ensure that full focus is maintained on our core Australian business, simultaneously with the necessary resources to rapidly develop our international operations.
 
The management upgrades include:

• Richard Noon, currently CEO Australia, will take up the key global responsibility of group finance and IT Development Director. This follows Richard’s appointment to our board late last year.
   
• Shelley Beasley(3), currently MD Travelport Pacific will join us as COO at the end of February. Shelley brings an unparalleled amount of international experience in airlines and GDS operations.
   
• Chloe Lim of AOOM(4), previously MD of Hotel Club will join us on a five month contract with a particular focus on the marketing plans for our expanded hotel operations.

 
These changes are in addition to the previously advised appointment of John Guscic(5) (previously CCO of GTA) as Managing Director from 1 April at which time I assume the position of Non Executive Chairman.
 
We are therefore bringing together a powerful assembly of partnerships and the best possible international executive resources to globalise Webjet’s operations and materially and aggressively extend our hotel product range and markets.
 
This represents the largest strategic development in our history and is the culmination of exhaustive analysis and planning over the last six months during which time we considered and dismissed a number of alternative acquisition strategies where we considered either the value or risk to be unsatisfactory.
 
Clearly these developments will represent both a capital investment and a start up cost which will be mitigated by the structured partnerships and the committed contributions which will bring special knowledge and local focus and maximum economy of scale.
 
As at the half year filing in February we will provide some guidance metrics on the level of start up costs and capital commitments which are being conservatively and cautiously managed.