Amadeus answers business travellers' car rental requirements in tougher economic climate

Madrid, Spain, 27 April, 2009: Amadeus, a leading global technology and distribution partner for the travel and tourism industry, today launched the latest update of its global corporate travel solution for the business traveller, Amadeus eTravel Management, unveiling a range of new features for car rentals.

Fuelled by an intensified need to ensure value for money in today’s increasingly competitive environment, the recent version looks to provide a better, more flexible service for car rentals. Corporations will benefit from greater savings and improved customer service from their preferred car rental providers through optimized billing and booking services.

New features include:
• Use of charge cards: Users will be able to guarantee and pay for rentals with the provider’s charge card, making the collection and billing processes more simple and efficient, whilst also allowing corporations to handle more complex deals.

• Improved communication with the car rental office: Travellers will be able to take advantage of a ‘free text’ comment field when booking, helping to ensure that their exact travel needs are met.

• Special equipment booking: Customers will now have an extensive choice of special equipment relevant to business travel needs when booking rentals, from new services such as GPS, to more traditional items like snow tyres.

Fabrice Quinquenel, Vice President Sales, Hertz Europe said: “Travellers in today’s market are more knowledgeable and expect technology solutions that offer far more flexibility, at a better rate. Thanks to Amadeus’ commitment to deliver at a global scale, these new functions allow us to not only give our worldwide customers an improved travel experience, but also to deliver substantial cost savings through real-time booking prices and more efficient billing.”

Commenting on the announcement, Frank Palapies, Head of Global Commercial Operations of Amadeus said: “Car suppliers tell us that Amadeus’ focus on facilitating global corporate travel programmes has been invaluable in improving relationships with their business customers. Now thanks to these new features, Amadeus offers a more sophisticated automated service through Amadeus eTravel Management that not only helps to meet travellers’ needs but also empowers corporations to enforce their car rental company policy.”

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Notes to editors:

Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories – Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consulting.

Solutions for corporations
Amadeus’ vision is to provide next generation travel technology that encourages collaboration amongst all players within the travel industry. To realise this we are investing in technology that will allow the seamless integration of content, data and systems whether they are part of Amadeus or whether they are from third party suppliers. Over the coming years, Amadeus will expand its unique approach to Corporate Travel. By providing the technology solutions that span before, during and after all travel steps, the existing Online Booking tool is evolving beyond trip booking to provide the Total Trip Experience for Corporate Travellers. The move towards mobile technology is an integral part of the vision of what the travel experience should be.

Amadeus' corporate travel solution, Amadeus e-Travel Management, helps corporations manage their global travel programmes more efficiently and cost-effectively. The solution helps business travellers plan, personalise and purchase their trip while remaining compliant with the global travel policy. Over 2,500 corporations worldwide with more than one million active users utilise Amadeus e-Travel Management to integrate all the elements of their programmes into one intuitive and easy-to-administer solution. Customers include Altría, Cemex, Daimler, Ericsson, Huntsman, Nestlé, Total and Thales. More information about Amadeus is available at: www.amadeus.com/corporations


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Oliver Williams (FD)
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