Amadeus donation technology is now raising funds for UNICEF with Iberia

Spanish carrier Iberia has just become the first company to use Amadeus technology to implement a unique CSR programme offering its customers an opportunity to make a donation to UNICEF when purchasing air travel online. Every time a customer buys a ticket on Iberia’s website they can now make a donation of 3 to 20 Euros. This will be allocated entirely toUNICEF projects.

Even a small donation has the potential to make a difference to children’s lives. For example, with 3 Euros UNICEF can vaccinate 6 children against poliomyelitis and protect them from the disease for the rest of their lives; with 10 Euros, 8 children can receive treatment against acute malnutrition for 8 days, and with 20 Euros, UNICEF can provide 6 families with mosquito nets to help prevent malaria.

Donation potential

These are simple gestures that provide meaningful results. When combining Amadeus’ technology with the scale and reach of travel players such as major airlines and online travel agencies, there is real potential to raise millions of euros for those most in need. Iberia.com averages 350,000 hits daily and some 5,000 bookings are processed every day, so this project can have an immediate impact for UNICEF.

The donation option appears at the end of the booking process. UNICEF then sends the customer an email confirming the donation has been made ​​and a certificate if required.

The funds raised with each contribution go to UNICEF's initiatives to ensure children’s primary right: survival. To achieve this, the organisation has programmes specialising in health, water, sanitation and nutrition in more than 150 developing countries.

Luis Maroto, President & CEO of Amadeus, commented: " This partnership has the potential to generate a considerable amount of donations. We believe that investing in future generations contributes to eradicating poverty around the world."

Technology saving the world

The alliance of UNICEF, Amadeus and Iberia is a powerful example of how new technologies can help the underprivileged, and reflects the companies’ social responsibility commitment.

Iberia chief Luis Gallego said that this programme “strengthens our commitment to improve society, as reflected for many years in our support of NGOs created by the company itself to help the disabled and the needy, and ship humanitarian aid wherever it is needed”.

For Leila Pakkala, Director Private Fundraising and Partnerships at UNICEF, this initiative “will enable millions of travellers to help the world’s most vulnerable children have the best possible start in life. Too many children under the age of five die every day from causes that we can and must prevent”.

According to UNICEF, some 18,000 children under five die every day due to avoidable causes. With as little as 1.20 Euro –the cost of an SMS- a child can receive potable water for three weeks. This Amadeus partnership with UNICEF and Iberia can strongly increase the options to fund these programmes.

Here'sthe video (in Spanish) where you may wish to check how this partnership works.