Future of distribution Entering a hybrid world
A
madeus is best known for its global distribution system (GDS) and airline IT, but as Amadeus president for travel channels
Decius Valmorbida explains: “A lot of stuff has changed. “The ecosystem on the travel-selling side becomes more and more broad. We have traditional travel agencies and online travel agencies (OTAs) which are very different from travel management companies (TMCs), then there is metasearch and there are start-ups. “On the content side we added low-cost
carriers to traditional network airlines. We have multiple business models. We invest in hotels, we invest in rail, we’re expanding what we make available. We have become a very different platform. “When we looked at all the changes – the
new platform, new customers, new types of providers – we decided to call it a Live Travel Space to explain what we do. We’re creating an ecosystem with a new, very flexible technology platform, with the possibility of multiple business models. “There are many implications,” he says.
“For airlines, we have the traditional way of integrating them and we have the possibility of integration through Amadeus’ NDC-X programme.”
Amadeus is one of the first providers to
achieve dual Iata Level 3 NDC certification as an aggregator and IT provider. Valmorbida says: “Any airline can integrate via this today. We announced publicly we work with Qantas and American Airlines. We see lots of interest and have technical discussions with others.” However, NDC remains in the pilot stage
Amadeus sees its future as a ‘Live Travel Space’. Decius Valmorbida, Amadeus president for travel channels, explains
until next year. In the meantime, he says: “We’ve launched a number of initiatives with traditional content around bundling, with fare families or ancillaries available à la carte. We’ve invested in rich content to be consumed by agencies. “We have traditional connections with all the major hotel chains, but the hotel industry is much more fragmented [than the airline industry] so we also have direct connections through APIs and we’ve added partners that bring hotel inventory such as Expedia, Hotelbeds and a number of aggregators. We also have providers of taxis and transfers and tours and activities. “How do agencies consume all this
AGE IS no barrier to buying online (Figure 27). More than 80% of UK adults aged 16-54 do so, with Germany not far behind.
content? The first step will be that NDC content will be available in a pilot version to agencies through web services from October 2018. It will then be industrialised and enhanced with servicing capabilities, with the aim to have it ready for global deployment in the first quarter of 2019. “The first version will not have the same
% 100
20 40 60 80
0 83% 68% 62% 57% 34% 33% 64% 58% 48% 31% 22% 14% 5% Age 16-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 Age 65-74 Source: Eurostat 35%
FIGURE 27: % PURCHASE ONLINE BY AGE: 2017 Purchased in last 3 months
86% 86% 70% 83% 86% 80% 66% 70% 55% 52% 41% 34% 22% 26% 70% EU 55%
Germany France
UK Italy
Travel Weekly Europe Report 2018 | 21
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