Читать книгу Global Experience Industries - Jens Christensen - Страница 31

In the 1990s, Amadeus started as a mutual distribution company owned by four European airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Iberia and SAS, of which SAS gave up its ownership.⁴⁴ Gradually Amadeus expanded into a global distribution company that loosened bonds to its mother airlines. In 2005, Amadeus was taken over by the investor group WAM Acquisition. Although Amadeus expanded world wide, Europe remained its main base and market, serving primarily airlines, just like the other two large distribution systems. In 2005, Amadeus had revenues of $2.5 billion.⁴⁵

Similar to the other two leading distribution systems, Amadeus operates numerous airline reservation and booking systems, and in addition tens of thousands of travel agencies who provide travel information about tour operators, cruise lines, ferry lines, railway companies, car rental companies, hotels, insurance companies, etc. Like the other distribution companies, Amadeus meets the increasing competition from web-based travel intermediaries by upgrading its services and redefining its business model to include more and more parts of the customers’ value chain. At the same time, several online travel agencies have been acquired, including e-Travel, a leading provider of ‘hosted’ technology products for business travel, the British online Travel agency, Quest Travel, specializing in overseas travel, French Vivacances, Italian E-viaggi and Scandinavian Travellink. Furthermore, together with nine European airlines, Amadeus set up the online travel agency, Opodo.⁴⁶ Through Amadeus e-Travel Management, Amadeus provides travel solutions and information for leading European corporations and governments, too.

As a consequence of this massive offensive and strategic remodelling, Amadeus is able to meet the challenges of the Internet and consolidate its position as one of three leading global travel intermediaries. Furthermore, Amadeus is a global leader in IT and web-solutions to the same group of travel providers and is partnering with ITA, BroadVision and SAP to develop new and more advanced e-commerce solutions to the travel industry. Partnerships with Terra Lycos, the world’s third largest general web portal, and the travel portals of Spanish Rumbo and French Vivacances in cooperation with Groupe Galeries Lafayette is meant to strengthen Amadeus’ sales channels to consumers. By way of the Internet and changing strategies, Amadeus connectes more closely with travel producers and consumers, providing total solutions and also being part of a global consolidation that blurs traditional boundaries of industries.