Amadeus signs agreement with MSC Cruises

Madrid, 19 June, 2006 – Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, today announced an agreement with MSC Cruises, the largest independent Italian cruise line, to distribute its product via the Amadeus system. MSC Cruises has offices in the major Italian cities of Naples, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Rome, Palermo, Bari plus a further 26 MSC Cruises offices worldwide.

The cruise line will become available to North American, UK and Spanish travel agents from July 2006. Travel agents in France and Scandinavia will be able to book MSC Cruises through Amadeus from the third quarter 2006.

Domenico Pellegrino, Managing Director, MSC Cruises stated,”Our philosophy at MSC Cruises has always been to link our deep heritage at sea with innovation. So we are pleased to partner in Europe and North America with a renowned leader in the global travel technology arena. This agreement will allow us to increase our global presence and reach within the international travel agency community.”

MSC Cruises’ decision to distribute though Amadeus’ world-leading distribution system is part of an aggressive growth strategy which has seen its fleet expand from 3 ships in 2002 to eight ships today after the arrival of the newest flagship MSC MUSICA from July 1st. MSC Cruises has ordered four more ships; MSC ORCHESTRA and MSC POESIA, the twin sisters of MSC MUSICA will arrive in spring 2007 and spring 2008, and recently a new order has been announced for the construction of 134.000 tons MSC FANTASIA and MSC SERENATA . This new order will increase the fleet to a total of 12 ships.

“We are delighted to add this prestigious cruise line to the market-leading range of 16 cruise lines available in Amadeus. We will help MSC Cruises increase their sales and revenues in Europe and North America by providing access to live availability and pricing, and optimizing the way to reach travel agents," said Albert Pozo, Managing Director, Travel Services and Leisure, Amadeus. “Amadeus’ leadership and continued technology investment will bring significant efficiencies in time and productivity to MSC Cruises."

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