Worldspan, IBM ink $350 million ticketing deal

ATLANTA - Airline-ticket processor Worldspan has signed a five-year, $350 million deal to buy IBM equipment to update its system. <br> <br> IBM&#39;s Transaction Processing Facility operating system is used by much of the travel industry to process transactions. <br> <br> Worldspan said it hopes to cut costs and improve its efficiency by upgrading its system. <br> <br> ``The Internet has forever changed the dynamics of the travel industry and has challenged the IT strategies of most companies in this marketplace,&#39;&#39; said Paul J. Blackney, president and chief executive officer for Worldspan. <br> <br> ``Our renewed relationship with IBM will enable Worldspan to leverage our existing system with new technology to increase capabilities and continue to provide flexible, Internet-based applications for our customers.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Atlanta-based Worldspan is a travel reservation service owned jointly by Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines. It has 3,200 employees. <br> <br> Besides selling its services to various airlines and travel agencies, Worldspan handles ticketing for online companies, including Priceline and Expedia.