Amadeus rolls-out major ancillary services initiatives

• Amadeus will enable airlines to maximise revenues profitably and deliver unmatched levels of customer service with a comprehensive and multi-channel Ancillary Services solution
• Corsairfly has begun an extensive pilot programme covering both direct and indirect distribution of ancillary services with Amadeus.
• Amadeus successfully launched its comprehensive EMD solution with Finnair on 1 June 2010 enabling the airline to issue, store, manage and distribute the industry-standard fulfillment solution for ancillary services

Madrid, Spain, 06 July, 2010: Amadeus, the leading transaction processor and provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry, today announces a number of initiatives as part of its commitment to deliver a comprehensive, multi-channel ancillary services solution to enable airlines to maximise revenue profitably and deliver unmatched levels of customer service.

Corsairfly has started to pilot Amadeus Ancillary Services, which will enable the airline to sell ancillary services on its website and via travel agencies. Additionally, on 1 June, Amadeus implemented Electronic Miscellaneous Document Server (EMD Server) for Finnair. This solution enables airlines to issue, store, manage and distribute associated and standalone Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD), the industry standard fulfillment document which is vital to the effective sale and management of ancillary services.

Amadeus Ancillary Services enables Corsairfly to offer travellers the option to book additional baggage allowance so that they can, for example, pack all they need for a two-week family holiday. Corsairfly files the fares for these services via ATPCo, which supplies fare data to all the major airfare pricing engines that reserve and ticket air travel.

Ancillary service sales are fully integrated within the travel agent workflow removing the need for travel consultants to book ancillary services across multiple interfaces.

Amadeus has developed a unique graphic catalogue display to enable travel agencies to easily view real time airline’s services offering. This catalogue automatically calculates the total price of all selected services and triggers the booking in 1 click, allowing travel agents to sell ancillary services quickly and efficiently.

“The main factors driving the implementation of ancillary services for Corsairfly are, of course revenue, but also the ability to deliver and communicate benefits in a way which our customers recognise as adding value,” said Damien Paries, Deputy Director Capacity Management Corsairfly. “In the case of the baggage allowance, we see this as a win-win. Managing the baggage allowance at the booking stage improves the airport experience for customers and means airport staff are not burdened with managing excess baggage claims.”

In another major initiative to support the airline industry in its management of ancillary services sales, Amadeus has implemented a comprehensive EMD solution with Finnair. Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) is the industry-standard fulfilment solution which allows airlines and travel agencies to sell and track the usage of all ancillary charges whether they are linked to the flight coupon, such as excess baggage and seats, or standalone charges such as lounge access and rebooking fees.

Amadeus EMD server will be fully integrated with Amadeus Altéa Customer Management Solution but is also designed to be fully compatible with third-party reservation, inventory and departure control systems to enable airlines to manage the sale and delivery of ancillary services throughout the customer lifecycle, from booking to check-in to after-sales service.

Amadeus will further extend EMD capability to include Amadeus travel agencies in September 2010 and will begin piloting with agents in the Finnish market with Finnair later in the year. A further deliverable for the end of 2010 is the extension of EMD capability to support interlining between airlines hosted on the Amadeus EMD server.

Philippe Chérèque, Executive Vice President Commercial, Amadeus commented: “These pilots represent key milestones in Amadeus’ roll-out of a comprehensive set of ancillary services solutions that will enable airlines to deliver unprecedented customer value, and travel agencies to search, book and service ancillary sales quickly and efficiently”.
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Notes to the editors

Amadeus is the 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 9,300 employees worldwide, with 123 nationalities represented at the central offices.

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Contact details

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