Queen Street, has a separate office for Semi-Automated Business Research Environment (SABRE) training.

SABRE, which is the world's largest privately owned-real time computer network, provides travel distribution and information services to approximately 27,000 travel agencies in 70 countries.

SABRE, which is driven by 12 huge IBM mainframe computers running in tandem at American's central processing site near Tulsa, Oklahoma, became operational as a reservations system for American Airlines at Briarcliff Manor, New York in 1962. It was later developed as a travel agency booking tool in the mid-1970s after attempts to develop a universal industry-wide booking system failed.

In the late 1970s, SABRE was used to develop American's sophisticated yield management system, which more accurately than any other airline system predicts booking trends on specific flights and effectively maximises the airline's passenger revenues.

SABRE also handles the reservations functions of many other airlines and handles flight and other operational functions for American.

Most of Bermuda's travel agencies have the SABRE computer system. And when new staff members are unfamiliar with the system or when there are new developments within the system, the travel agent staff are trained through American agents.

"The service is a part of the travel agencies having our system,'' said American's Bermuda sales manager, Claudette Ford, adding that SABRE is the only system on the Island with such a training process. "People don't have to go abroad for training,'' she said. "They just come into our training room for the day.'' Besides the ticketing office and training room, the American Airlines city ticket office also has a separate sales office, where all marketing, promotions and sales enquiries are managed.

"I also help with desk sales promotions, co-ordinate special events and deal with any problems encountered by our ticket agents,'' said Mrs. Ford.