Amadeus, American Express Global Business Travel and Microsoft Receive the Coveted 2011 Business Travel Award for Travel Team o

Second award win for Amadeus this year, following Best Technology Provider victory at Travel Weekly Globe Awards

Madrid, Spain, 8 February 2011: Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, along with its partners Microsoft and American Express Global Business Travel have been awarded Travel Team of the Year by the Business Travel Awards in London last week.

Amadeus, Microsoft and American Express Global Business Travel worked together to address the challenges Microsoft faced with its new online travel initiative in Europe and create a new way to deliver travel services for the Microsoft traveller. Full integration and alignment between the three parties responsible for the success was critical. The teams worked creatively to break down inherent organisational boundaries creating a seamless relationship between the business travel services provider, the client and the technology provider. This new way of working together bridged the gap between organisations, emphasized the traveller experience and delivered a 21st century solution expected for a leading technology company.

Over a period of months the team not only worked through the implementation process but continued to drive dramatic business results, for all three business partners proving the effectiveness of the hybrid model. Microsoft has to date achieved significant savings through the online booking tool and increased online adoption by 30% across EMEA.

Julia Heesterman, Head of Travel Services EMEA at Microsoft commented: ”This award is proof that a clear and shared vision can truly drive amazing results. The support of our partners and the willingness of all involved to challenge their own thinking has been critical to this success, as such I am thrilled to be able to showcase the value of a true partnership approach which triumphs over the traditional supplier client model. Simply put, this was a significant undertaking achieved by an outstanding group of true travel professionals.”

John Lyons, Vice President Business Development at American Express Global Business Travel stated: “This is one example of how American Express Global Business Travel is transforming the way our clients think about their travel programmes, and the results we can achieve when we challenge ourselves creatively. I am delighted that the work with our partners has been recognised and am looking forward to continuing to deliver outstanding results.”

As the winners collected their award, the event presenter commented, “Praise indeed! The judges said this was a fascinating exercise in co-operation that brought together different technologies and developed an innovative relationship, all underpinned by a great team charter. All together a brilliant example of how to build a new culture and working model in an effort to improve traveller experience.”

The awards, judged by leading corporate travel managers and the editorial team at Buying Business Travel, was one of the most fiercely contested in recent years.

Albert Pozo, VP Multinational Business & Corporate Travel, Amadeus comments: “Amadeus is delighted to have created strong relationships with two important players in the industry that have lead to a win-win situation for all. These types of partnerships take time to develop and require commitment from all parties, but the savings and the operational benefits speak for themselves. We look forward to extending this level of collaboration to forge new relationships with key partners in the future, and to continue to prove that by putting together the expertise and core competencies that each of us has uniquely developed, we are able to achieve results that exceed our individual possibilities and can manage improvements that result in a positive impact on the bottom line.”

This is the second industry award for Amadeus this year, after receiving the accolade of Best Technology Provider at the recent Travel Weekly Globe Awards. It was the third consecutive year Amadeus had won the award, demonstrating their continued commitment to offering the best services and products to travel agents.

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Notes to the editors

About Amadeus

Amadeus is a leading transaction processor and provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry.

Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail, ferries, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and individual travellers).

The group operates a transaction-based business model and processed more than 670 million billable travel transactions in 2009.

Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters and marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Bangkok and Dubai. At a market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations through 72 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations covering 195 countries.

Amadeus is listed on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges and trades under the symbol “AMS.MC”. For the year ended 31 December 2009, the company reported revenues of EUR 2,461 million and EBITDA of EUR 894 million. The Amadeus group employs over 10,200 employees worldwide, with 123 nationalities represented at the central offices.

To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com.

To visit the Amadeus Investor Relations centre please visit www.investors.amadeus.com.


Contact details

Amadeus
Corporate Communication
tel: +34 91 582 0160
fax : +34 91 582 0188
e-mail : mediarelations@amadeus.com