Live Travel Space: Creating mutual benefit for airlines and travel sellers

NDC  is finally taking off with the potential to revolutionize how travel is bought and sold. New competitors are entering the arena and new business models are being explored.  Of course every action has a reaction and as a partner to both airlines and travels sellers, Amadeus wants to create value to both sides.

In the middle of this maelstrom is the new Travel Content Sourcing team. 

I often use Netflix to describe what our team wants to achieve and deliver. First you need to have the content - all the classics, all the latest ‘must sees’, some documentaries, comedy, drama, and the list goes on. Then you need to personalize it. I love that Netflix organizes content nicely for me, giving me fast access to what interests me most. And finally, if the data tells them that there is content that customers would love to watch, but doesn’t exist, like ‘House of Cards’ – then Netflix will create it.

We are already on a similar path. We’re understanding what content our customers really want and then offering it via any technology source (traditional EDIFACT-based GDS, NDC, APIs or aggregators) on the Amadeus Travel Platform . We can personalize the content with fare families and ancillaries. We are increasingly making it accessible where and how they want it – whatever channel, whatever device. And when it comes to creating content, we’re already doing it with what we call ‘virtual interlining’ which allows travel sellers to provide a combination of a low cost carrier with a full service carrier to achieve more content, choice and fares

So, we’re evolving because we want and we need to understand and serve our customers better. For our travel sellers, this means being able to access the right content, so they can offer unique, personalized experiences to travelers. Our mission in the Travel Content Sourcing team is to make this a reality. We want to solve the issue of content fragmentation and be the industry’s preferred travel platform, enabling travel companies to access all relevant content from any provider via multiple technologies.

A key to Netflix’ success is adoption. Whether I am in Boston, Tokyo, London or Buenos Aires, I am always impressed by how many around the world use Netflix and click ‘Watch now’, episode after episode. At Amadeus we want to ensure our travel sellers get travelers to click ‘book’ or say ‘buy’ more often around the world.

This is why we are evolving from a Global Distribution System (GDS) to a Live Travel Space.  We are building an open, dynamic, and connected space where all industry players can join and collaborate to deliver memorable journeys. It’s a space for our customers to grow with solutions that are tailored to the way they do business and serve travelers.

Stay tuned for updates from our Travel Content Sourcing team on how we’re working with all of our customers to shape the future of travel. 

This is part of our Live Travel Space series, where we’ll talk in detail about all the changes we’re making to bring us closer than ever to our customers, and become more open, dynamic, and connected by evolving from a Global Distribution System (GDS) to a Live Travel Space.