AMADEUS is rebranding
from a Global
Distribution System
to a Live Travel Space,
saying that this terminology
better encompasses the
widening arena that it now
operates in.
The company is also
moving away from a
geographical market
segmentation to a
customer-focused market
segment that will focus
on personalisation. The
four customer segments
that Amadeus will be
personalising include retail
travel agencies, online travel
companies, business travel
agencies and corporations.
Jannine Adams, senior
manager marketing and
communications from
Amadeus, says that,
as a Live Travel Space,
Amadeus brings together all
players with more content
across more channels,
accommodating different
business models.
She says although
corporations have been
selected as a separate
customer segment, it is not
the company’s intention to
cut out the TMC and deal
with corporates directly but
to meet the needs of the
corporate traveller faster, as
managed by the TMC.
“We are collaboratively
working with TMCs,
within our business
travel agency segment,
and with corporations to
deliver solutions tailored
to their businesses so
they can better serve their
customers,” says Jannine.
While TraveluXion – an
Amadeus product tailored
directly for the corporation
– was closed earlier this
year, Cytric Travel and
Expense, geared to assist
large blue-chip companies,
and Amadeus Corporate
Traveller, which suits a wider
range of business sizes,
are currently available in
our market. Jannine says
both offer corporates an
online booking tool that
is personalised to load
preferred supplier classes
and to guide corporates
to book within policy
guidelines.
Amadeus has also recently
launched Amadeus Online
Corporate Traveller, another
direct corporate product,
in the Middle East and
North American market,
but Jannine says there are
no plans to launch this in
South Africa as it is not
geared to this market.
While the term ‘GDS’ has
not been done away with,
Amadeus is retaining it to
describe one of its three
current offerings which
also include NDC and API.
Jannine explains that NDC
and other technologies form
part of the new space where
Amadeus aims to deliver
more personalised solutions
to customers with a faster
time to market.
She adds that Amadeus
is currently working with
driver customers in a testand-learn
approach for the
NDC-X programme, but that
it will be available to all
customers later this year
and to all travel sellers by
2019. Current selected
driver travel sellers include
Flight Centre, Travix, CWT
and AmexGBT, although
the programme is not in
operation yet.
The API product offering
allows travel sellers to
display and personalise
Amadeus content on their
own web and mobile sites.
Morné du Preez, ceo of
Tourvest, is positive about
the move, commenting that
Amadeus was becoming
an innovator in technology
and not dwelling on historic
legacies.
“All the future hype is
around NDCs, direct connect
and larger aggregators.
In order for Amadeus to
continue to supply us with
effective content, they have
to follow a similar path,”
said Morné.
