Equinus Independent Reviews 2008/09 Travel Technology Guide
Equinus Independent Supplier Review
Amadeus
www.Amadeus.com
Having celebrated its 20th anniversary in late 2007, Amadeus may not need much introduction,
but there’s a lot more to it than being “another GDS”.
Setup by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS, Amadeus claims it’s the youngest GDS and
one that started with a clean sheet of paper. The first booking didn’t take place until 1992, by
which time a UK office had already been opened. In 1996 Amadeus setup an e-commerce
division and in 2001 it acquired e-Travel from Oracle. Today its corporate travel management
solutions enjoy high levels of adoption in some 1500 corporations around the globe.
Amadeus says it sells IT solutions rather than GDS products and having just appointed a new
Business Development Manager it believes it’s well placed to help travel professionals and 3rd
party developers maximise their opportunities. Amadeus is the clear number 2 GDS in the UK
with a market share of 30%. From a standing start just 15 years ago, this is a commendable
achievement and Amadeus must be doing something right?
One of the key reasons Amadeus is winning market share is its investment in front office sales
applications. The Amadeus Selling Platform is a browser based selling tool for travel agents
offering a customisable graphical and cryptic interface among its productivity tools. As an
open solution, the Amadeus Selling Platform can accommodate 3rd party content through its
tab style menu and user-friendly interface. In 2008 Amadeus will be showcasing newly
integrated content such as Activities & Entertainment, which offers add-on destination
content at more than 400 locations. Other recent enhancements for travel agents include
Cars Easy Shopper for all-inclusive leisure car rental and Holiday Hotels (based on
TravelTainment technology), incorporating resort properties and UK bed-bank inventory. For
business travel Amadeus now boasts easyJet among its 50+ low cost carrier participants and
Eurostar high speed rail services are now displayed along with air availability for easy
comparison.
An Amadeus strength is its API/Web Services which supports the majority of available
functionality. The API is used to connect customer web sites, tour operator reservation
systems and travel agent front-office applications. Amadeus fully supports the customer
throughout the API implementation and provides formal certification before live
implementation, ensuring a successful launch of the API solution.
For agents wanting an online presence, Amadeus offers a suite of e-commerce solutions for
managed (corporate) and unmanaged (leisure) travel. These vary in scale from basic “plug
and play” booking solutions to Amadeus e-Retail Engine, which is a fully customisable,
hosted Internet Booking Engine. In 2008 the company is launching the Amadeus e-Travel
Business Portal, designed to help SME travel agents better serve the needs of their business
travellers.
For cruise agents, Amadeus Cruise offers real-time booking and cruise content for 16 cruise
providers, giving agents online access to this lucrative market. What’s more, Amadeus Cruise
can be run independently of any Amadeus products or can be fully integrated with them.
Clearly, Amadeus has a lot to offer the travel sector, from agent to supplier. A visit to Stand
N521 at the 2008 Business Travel Show where both business and leisure travel solutions are
being demonstrated will prove that Amadeus is not just a GDS and can do a lot more than
book airline seats.
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www.equinus.com
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