Strategic growth Cloud-based technology is key


A


madeus is moving way beyond its core global distribution system (GDS) and airline IT businesses, although these remain key to


the group. Francisco (Paco) Pérez-Lozao, Amadeus senior vice-president for Strategic Growth Businesses, explains: “Both our airline IT business and the distribution business are strong, [but] we see opportunities to diversify further.”


The unit he heads stems from a review of 2010-11 when Amadeus considered other areas in which the group saw opportunities to invest “where we thought we could bring value”. He says: “We decided on airport IT, hotel distribution and hotel IT, rail distribution and rail IT, and travel industry payments. We have recently added a digital advertising or programmatic advertising unit. “We created an umbrella organisation to


nurture these businesses and today we have a large footprint with most of them. “Ideally, we want to apply disruptive


innovation to develop these businesses. But this approach can only be successful if we bring value to our customers. “We’re involved in acquisitions where we see a fit and [the possibility of] acceleration. We try to recruit industry specialists. We have a long-term view. You don’t do what we want to do in three to four years. This is not just about technology, but a processing shift. We try to facilitate the transformation of the industry.”


Airport opportunities Pérez-Lozao describes Amadeus as “deep into airline IT”. But he says: “The IT landscape of airports tends to go its own way, yet they share the same customer, so how do we overcome the sense of isolation between airports and airlines? “Today, passengers have a relationship with the airlines and are connected, but this is not the case with the airport ecosystem.” He asks: “How can we connect these


two worlds and connect one airport with another? It is so much easier if technology is cloud-based. For example, an airline needs to certify applications [to operate] at every


Amadeus’ GDS and airline IT are only part of the technology the group is now developing. Francisco Pérez- Lozao, senior vice-president for Strategic Growth Businesses, explains


airport, so why not do certification once with every airport through the cloud? “We now have an airport customer base


and a large community of airlines buying airport solutions. “Airports are pushing to increase their passenger-related revenue. Airlines want their landing fees reduced. There is a sense of competition between airlines and airports for that. But what we are after is serving the passenger better, for example, by making the operations around airports and airlines seamless and passenger recognition and passenger-related services simpler. “There is a whole wave of innovation at airports – integrating systems, making things more interconnected.” For example, he says: “Why not pay to


upgrade a flight at an airline check-in desk? It couldn’t be done [until we did it]. We put payment and check-in together. Now Lufthansa has rolled out payment at check-in at more than 100 airports. Previously, they would send you to their reservations desk. It is a concrete example of creating value to the passenger and the airline. “There is a lot more space to integrate airports and airlines. It requires a lot of interconnection for the benefit of everybody.”


Hotel potential Similarly, Pérez-Lozao sees “a lot of potential to develop a cloud-based platform for solutions for hoteliers”. Amadeus agreed to acquire TravelClick,


FIGURE 37: EU AIR TRAFFIC:


MAJOR MARKETS 2017 Passengers (million)


UK


Germany Spain


THE UK aviation market dwarfs the rest of Europe. Spain’s position in the top-three air markets reflects its dominance as a destination. The Netherlands, at number five,


reflects the importance as a hub of Amsterdam Schiphol (Figure 37).


France Italy


Netherlands 76m 154m 134m Source: Eurostat 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Travel Weekly Europe Report 2018 | 33


212m 210m


265m


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