Amadeus News - English

SAS Group and Amadeus strike long-term full content agreement

09/07/2009

Amadeus has signed a five year full content agreement with the SAS Group, guaranteeing its travel agents access to the full range of fares and inventory of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Widerøe, Blue1 and Estonian Air. The agreement ensures that the airlines' schedules, fares, last seat availability and associated inventory available through Amadeus will be the same as through the airlines’ other sales channels worldwide. This agreement provides the customer with the confidence that they have access to the widest range of fares through Amadeus and demonstrates SAS Group’s commitment to the travel agencies channel

Journey updates now an SMS away for Grupo SATA travellers thanks to Amadeus

08/07/2009

Grupo SATA, the Azorean air transportation group, has successfully launched Amadeus’ new Altéa Automated Customer Contact solution, which enables airlines to notify individual travellers of changes to their journey, via mobile phone text message. The group’s airlines, SATA Air Açores and SATA Internacional, are the first in the world to offer their passengers this service using Altéa Automated Customer Contact. The new solution was developed in close partnership with Grupo SATA

BCD Travel chooses Amadeus Agency Manager as mid-office solution for EMEA markets

08/07/2009

In an effort to enhance its value to clients, BCD Travel has selected Amadeus, the leading provider of technology to the travel and tourism industry, to deliver a single mid-office platform for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. BCD Travel, the world's third-largest travel management company, will use the Amadeus Agency Manager platform to standardise processes and technology, reduce costs and improve visibility of business performance - actions aimed at simplifying and streamling its clients’ travel programs. Agency Manager is a global, multi-GDS mid-office solution that allows TMCs to standardise services, accounting and reporting functions across a diverse range of markets

Amadeus unveils new mobile solutions to empower the business traveller

30/06/2009

Amadeus today announced that a suite of mobile solutions will become available to the business traveller this coming summer. This includes the possibility of having efficient approval workflow while on the road and itinerary-based location information upon demand, as well as an employee security tracker. The new solutions will function on all the major mobile operating systems such as Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry.

Amadeus and China Southern Airlines partner to give Chinese travellers access to online bookings

18/06/2009

Amadeus has today announced the successful deployment of the Amadeus e-Retail solution for China Southern Airlines' international outbound bookings. Travellers in China are now able to book tickets to China Southern's global destinations via the China Southern website (www.cs-air.com). Amadeus and China Southern have been working together since 2006, when Amadeus technology first helped the airline to process inbound website bookings from customers outside China. This deal now sees Amadeus powering all international online bookings for the carrier's inbound and outbound customers

Amadeus strikes distribution agreement with easyCruise

16/06/2009

Amadeus today announced that easyCruise, part of the easyGroup, is now available in its system for both the UK and the US markets. The deal allows easyCruise to target the travel agency distribution channel, reducing their dependency on direct-consumer bookings, and also providing agents with a real value for money option for their customers

Amadeus - the first travel distribution company to introduce XML messaging for car rental companies

09/06/2009

Amadeus has developed a new platform enabling car providers to exchange 100% of their messages using Open Travel Alliance XML technology, making data exchange far easier than it ever was before. This innovation underlines Amadeus’ commitment to interact, share information and develop new services for customers, thereby facilitating the technology they will need for the future

Amadeus' 2008 business results show resilience in difficult trading environment

28/05/2009

Amadeus today announced business results for the twelve months ending 31 December 2008. Amadeus' revenue grew by 2.2% compared with 2007, to EUR 2,861.4m . Total travel bookings fell by 2.1% year-on-year to 526.6m but travel agency air bookings grew slightly, by 0.6%, to 364.2m. This was achieved in a declining market largely thanks to a 1.7 percentage point gain in market share; Amadeus retains the number one position in travel agency air bookings made through a GDS in 2008 with a market share of 35.6%

International arbitration tribunal delivers ruling on IATA-Amadeus ticketing information dispute

27/05/2009

An International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal has found that IATA’s use, in its PaxIS product, of electronic ticketing information transmitted by Amadeus, constitutes a breach of its contractual agreements with Amadeus and also infringes Amadeus’ rights under the EU Database Directive

Finnair completes switch to new generation departure control system and launches multi-channel self-service check-in

05/05/2009

Finnair has successfully switched all its departure control activity to the new generation technology Amadeus Altéa platform. Finnair is also the first airline to implement the new Altéa Self Service Check-in solution, which expands the choice of check-in channels for the airline’s customers to include web, mobile phone (SMS and MMS), as well as airport kiosks. The last phase of the transition to the new departure control platform involved migration of Finnair's passenger check-in at 63 airports world-wide. This was carried out with minimal disruption to the airline's operations and concluded on 29 April

Amadeus answers business travellers' car rental requirements in tougher economic climate

27/04/2009

Amadeus today launched the latest update of its global corporate travel solution for the business traveller, Amadeus eTravel Management, unveiling a range of new features for car rentals. Fuelled by an intensified need to ensure value for money in today's increasingly competitive environment, the recent version looks to provide a better, more flexible service for car rentals. Corporations will benefit from greater savings and improved customer service from their preferred car rental providers through optimized billing and booking services

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, Air France, Amadeus and IER partner to pilot a new mobile boarding pass

17/04/2009

Between April 16 and October 30, 2009, members of Nice Airport's passenger programme Club Airport Premier (CAP) and Air France's frequent flyer programme travelling on the Nice-Paris Orly domestic route will pilot a new boarding device, Pass and Fly. The pilot project will simplify passenger recognition, the crediting of CAP points and airplane boarding, through the use of a mobile phone that is Near Field Communication (NFC) - enabled. It is the first time in air travel that NFC, a short-range, wireless connectivity technology is used to enable mobile boarding passes

SAS Group signs 10 year technology partnership with Amadeus

02/04/2009

SAS Group and Amadeus have signed a 10 year technology partnership for the provision of a new generation passenger service system. Adoption of next-generation technology will support the SAS Group's move towards cost efficiency and an enhanced capacity to respond effectively to a fast-changing and competitive marketplace. Amadeus will implement the new technology platform for the SAS Group of airlines through a phased migration process which will start in 2010

Amadeus and Airport Transport Service sign global partnership for innovative limousine bus ticket booking solution

25/03/2009

Amadeus and Airport Transport Service Co., Ltd. (Airport Limousine), the leading provider of airport shuttle service between Narita Airport and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, have signed a global technology and distribution partnership for a limousine bus ticket booking solution

Amadeus Hotel Store goes live with Transhotel

24/03/2009

Amadeus announces today the launch of Amadeus Hotel Store, a new solution fully integrated at the Amadeus point-of-sale that brings seamless access to hotel consolidator content. Transhotel, a global hotels consolidator with 15 years experience, is Amadeus' launch partner for this solution

Virgin America and Amadeus enter long-term distribution agreement

20/03/2009

Amadeus and Virgin America, the award-winning California-based domestic airline, today announced a three-year distribution agreement which will bring full content to Amadeus users worldwide and enable the carrier to extend its reach. Amadeus users can now access and book fares and inventory that Virgin America makes available to the public through its internal reservation system and its consumer Web site, as well as through third-party sites

Emirates provides access to full content through Amadeus for five years

10/03/2009

Amadeus has signed a five-year worldwide agreement with Emirates to ensure travel agents have access to the airline's full range of content

Amadeus Rail IT upgrade takes CountryLink's customer relationship to a new era

17/02/2009

Amadeus has launched the latest version of Amadeus Rail's IT solution that provides rail operators with the technology to manage reservations, inventory, scheduling, seating, pricing and ticketing operations. The new version, initiated and being implemented by the Australian railway carrier CountryLink, sets a new standard for rail operators and is the result of Amadeus investment in IT products for rail

Amadeus joins BlackBerry ISV Alliance Program to provide travellers with mobile technology solutions on BlackBerry smartphones

16/02/2009

Amadeus today announced that it has joined the BlackBerry® ISV (Independent Software Vendor) Alliance Program, and will be exhibiting at the BlackBerry stand at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 16-19 February 2009

Economist Intelligence Unit predicts new age of austerity for business travellers

09/02/2009

Amadeus is today launching a report commissioned from the Economist Intelligence Unit, into the effect of the economic downturn on executives' choice of hotel. Titled, 'The Austere traveller - the effect of corporate cutbacks on hotels', the report finds that executives will make fewer, shorter and cheaper business trips in 2009 and prefer basic efficiency and good service over ancillary services. Fully one-fifth of the 354 executives who responded to the survey in Asia, Europe and North America thought an internet connection was more critical than a quiet room