Cathay Pacific Airways and IBM have announced the signing of two multi-year agreements whereby IBM will provide Application Support and Maintenance Services and Application Development Services as part of Cathay Pacific's plans to change its IT operating model and tap into external service providers to deliver key services and solutions.

Cathay Pacific will leverage IBM's Application Support and Maintenance Services to manage over 80% of its application portfolio. IBM is also included in Cathay Pacific's panel of providers for providing Application Development Services. Both services will be backed by IBM Global Business Services consultants specialised in the travel and transportation industry, and IBM development resources through the company's Shenzhen Global Delivery Center and the Center of Excellence for the Aviation Industry.

"Partnering with IBM is consistent with our strategy to leverage the external market to assist in delivering solutions that support delivery of world-class service to our customers,” said Tomasz Smaczny, Director and Chief Information Officer of Cathay Pacific. "We look forward to a long-term relationship with IBM and being able to capitalize on IBM's capabilities across technology and business processes.”

"We are pleased to partner with Cathay Pacific to integrate our business insight and technology expertise to enable Cathay Pacific to deliver on its long-term growth strategy."said D.C. Chien, General Manager, IBM Greater China Group. "We believe we can help Cathay Pacific in its efforts to drive customer acquisition and loyalty while growing shareholder value and delivering sustained service levels and controlling costs."