MIAMI, Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Amadeus, a
leading technology partner for the global travel industry and
Southwest Airlines announced today a new milestone in their
partnership. Under a new multi-year agreement, Amadeus' corporate
travel booking tool users around the world will gain access to
Southwest's fares and inventory.
"Providing seamless functionality and booking ease to our
corporate customers worldwide is a focus we share with Amadeus,"
said Kevin Krone, Vice President
Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer, Southwest Airlines. "This
new global agreement marks another milestone in our continued
partnership, offering a new dimension in distribution to deliver
world-class access to our entire available inventory of seats to
more than 90 destinations."
With the direct implementation of Southwest's content, users of
Amadeus' e-Travel Management and i:FAO's cytric corporate booking
tools will gain benefits such as:
- Greater functionalities including live availability and last
seat inventory delivered via an integrated display
- Functionality supporting all pricing rules, fare rules and
return of ticket number
- Fare searches returning the lowest fares available
- Booking and ticketing capabilities for the carrier's loyalty
program/Rapid Rewards members
- Additional functionality related to deferred ticketing,
retrieving and canceling reservations, and exchange funds toward
new itineraries
"Our ongoing partnership with Southwest has fostered great
outcomes in IT and now in the area of corporate travel
distribution," said Scott Gutz,
President and CEO of Amadeus North
America. "Corporations need access to Southwest's content
and we couldn't be more pleased to assure that the carrier can
offer their products in the way they want through our direct
corporate channels."
Gutz said this new agreement marks another achievement in
Amadeus' successful advancement in North
America. It also aligns with the company's significant
investment in corporate travel overall, including other
customer-focused, high priority efforts around corporate booking
tool innovation which will begin rolling out later this year.
Additionally, with Amadeus' flexible and open systems, and
because it uniquely hosts Southwest's inventory via its Altéa
airline IT solution, Gutz said the two companies will explore how
those factors might be leveraged toward delivering an improved
experience and capabilities to Southwest customers.
Amadeus e-Travel Management helps corporations manage their
global travel programs more efficiently and cost-effectively. The
solution helps business travelers plan, personalize and purchase
their trip while remaining compliant with the global travel policy.
Over 6,000 corporations worldwide utilize Amadeus e-Travel
Management to integrate all the elements of their programs into one
intuitive and easy-to-administer solution. i:FAO's cytric is
an e-procurement solution for managed business travel used by 2,600
corporations worldwide. In 2014, Amadeus acquired the i:FAO Group,
a leading provider of travel management solutions for
corporations.
This agreement marks a next step in Amadeus' partnership with
Southwest. In April 2014,
Southwest and Amadeus announced an agreement whereby Amadeus Altéa,
the next generation passenger services system for airlines, was
selected to support the carrier's domestic service.
July 2014 marked the successful full
implementation of Amadeus Altéa to enable the carrier's first-ever
scheduled international flying.
About Amadeus:
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions
for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel
providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.),
travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers
(corporations and travel management companies).
The Amadeus group employs around 10,000 people worldwide, across
central sites in Madrid (corporate
headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well
as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organizations globally.
The group operates a transaction-based business model.
Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol
"AMS.MC" and is a component of the IBEX 35 index.
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Media inquiries:
Debbie Iannaci
Director, Corporate Communications
Amadeus North America
Tel: 305-499-6448
Email: diannaci@amadeus.com
Jessica Nelson
Senior Account Supervisor
Kwittken for Amadeus North America
Tel: 646-747-7141
Email: amadeusnoram@kwittken.com
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SOURCE Amadeus
