Lufthansa becomes the world’s first airline to earn IATA ONE Order certification

−   Innovation in travel booking and accounting processes lays the foundation for devising more customer-specific offers
−   Joint pilot project with Lufthansa Systems promotes further development of the ONE Order global industry standard

ONE Order is the IATA initiative to modernize its member airlines' flight booking and accounting processes, to enable them to align their products even more closely to customers' needs and substantially simplify the customer's booking experience. Under the ONE Order approach, the customer is issued a single reference number for their journey, known as their Order ID, that covers all their flight and supplementary product documents (which have previously been handled separately). ONE Order thus allows all the travel products and services for a particular trip – even those of other providers such as partner airlines or third parties such as hotels and car rental companies – to be fully integrated under a single booking reference number.

The adoption of ONE Order has been made possible by IATA's New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard, which is using the XML standard to modernize the systems communications between airlines and other travel service providers.

Lufthansa's ONE Order certification from IATA follows the successful completion of a one-year pilot project at the airline in collaboration with Lufthansa Systems. The project's objective was to conduct the entire product offer and booking process solely on the basis of the NDC and ONE Order standards. As part of the long-standing involvement of the Lufthansa Group in helping to develop new industry standards, the project's feedback and findings were shared with both IATA and industry partners.

"We are very pleased to have become the first airline in the world to obtain this ONE Order certification," says Christian Popp, the Lufthansa Group's Head of Distribution and Revenue Management Strategy & Business Intelligence. "With the new ONE Order standard, we can even better address our customers' needs, tap new potential and create added value together with our system partners within the travel market. This latest development is also further confirmation of the leading role that the Lufthansa Group continues to play in innovation terms, and marks another major step towards the airline sales of tomorrow."

"We congratulate the Lufthansa Group on becoming the first airline group to earn our ONE Order certification," adds Yanik Hoyles, IATA's Director of Industry Distribution Programs. "With their NDC and ONE Order involvement, the Lufthansa Group is helping to take our industry further along the road to a modern digital retail experience."

As drivers of innovation in today's advanced distribution concepts, the Lufthansa Group works continually to develop and refine new technological solutions that can sustainably enhance the processes involved to offer a travel booking experience that is tailored as closely as possible to the individual customer's needs.

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In-shell pasteurisation reintroducing eggs into commercial kitchens

• Australian food service operators placing business at risk over preventable Salmonella outbreaks
• Australia has the highest incident rate of salmonella outbreaks in the developed world
• Foodborne illness leads to 1 million doctor visits and 32,000 hospitalisations per year[1] and the risk of substantial fines and reputational damage
• A newly available pasteurised in shell whole-egg assures against Salmonella for commercial kitchens

Food safety is always of the upmost priority in the hospitality trade, however something as simple as an unsafe egg anywhere in a food preparation area[2] can put an entire business at risk.

A single egg with Salmonella can contaminate work surfaces as far away as 40cm, leaving bacteria that persist for 24 hours. Australia has the highest incident rate of Salmonella outbreaks in the developed world[3] and most of those occurrences arise from the mishandling of eggs within the supply chain.

Commercial kitchens who work with or use egg products are at financial and reputational risk, with restaurateurs, caterers and food service suppliers, potentially exposing customers, aged care residents, hospital patients and tourists to the risks of preventable food poisoning.  

Alasya Restaurant and Takeaway was recently fined $80,000 after 135 diners suffered mass Salmonella poisoning and Sylvania Bakery was fined $122,000 after 200 people became ill due to Salmonella.

New research by Australian Pasteurised Eggs (APE) found eight in ten (83%) people will not visit a restaurant that has been fined for food poisoning, whether or not they had ever dined there themselves. For less than 20c. per plate, businesses can protect themselves from both reputational damage and substantial fines by moving to pasteurised shell eggs.

Whilst food-borne illness can affect anyone, the research found that one in three (33%) Australians are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses caused by pathogens such as Salmonella. Food safety and quality advocate, Gabrielle Thoreau tells us more about the risks, "People most susceptible are the elderly, pregnant women, diabetics, people with poor nutrition, kidney or liver disease and those currently undergoing cancer treatment."

"Under current legislation, food businesses must cook with and serve pasteurised products[4]. Until now, this has meant kitchens have had to use products such as liquid whole egg pulp, which sacrifice on flavour and culinary versatility," says Thoreau.

However, newly available whole-egg, in-shell pasteurisation can now assure of safety against Salmonella in the egg supply chain, with raw or undercooked recipe versatility. Salmonella is only eradicated in the cooking process when eggs reach temperatures in excess of 63-76 degrees centigrade, so food service operators that choose to serve runny fried, poached or scrambled eggs are potentially putting their patrons as risk.

The technology used by Australian Pasteurised Eggs ensures eggs are free from risk of Salmonella by removing 99.999 percent of the bacteria. The pasteurised eggs extend shelf life to 90 days while also preserving the full flavour, texture and appearance.

Thoreau says, "Pasteurising an egg starts with freshly laid shell eggs from approved, certified and inspected farms. The process involves submerging eggs into moving water baths using precise time and temperature zones to pasteurise and kill the bacteria. They are then coated with food grade wax to further protect the outer shell.

"For a long time, eggs have been taken off the menu due to the risks or replaced with a substitute like liquid pulp. This new technology is a game changer for the hospitality industry as it allows people to enjoy runny eggs again, without the concern of becoming sick," says Gabrielle Thoreau.

Seven out of ten foodborne illness outbreaks originate in food service operations[5], it is therefore especially important to trust your supply chain in preventing the transfer of contaminated eggs.

As Australia continues to experience outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis contaminated eggs, it has become increasingly important for those in the hospitality industry to take notice and make a change.

For more information on Australian Pasteurised Eggs, visit the website: http://www.safeeggs.com.au/