Press Release: Amadeus Global Travel Distribution
November 9, 2001
MADRID, Spain -- Amadeus, a leading global distribution system (GDS) and travel industry technology provider, has
announced it has smoothly and successfully transferred British Airways' passenger management systems from Heathrow,
London, to the Amadeus Data Processing Centre in Erding, Germany.
The transition of British Airways systems from Heathrow to Erding is part of the strategic partnership between
the airline and Amadeus, announced in August 2000. Under the deal, Amadeus takes over the management of many of
British Airways' commercial and operational systems in London and transfers them to its data centre at Erding near
Munich, Germany.
The transfer of the data systems took place in the early hours of 21 October and 4 November and involved shutting
down a number of key systems for up to three hours. These included the Departure Control System used at check-in
and the reservation system BABS (British Airways Business System). The transfer was seamless and took place without
incident.
Paul Coby, Chief Information Officer for British Airways, said: ``The importance of this transition cannot be overestimated.
Technically, over the last two weeks we have performed open heart surgery on the airline's core systems. Commercially,
we have turned a large proportion of our IT fixed costs into a variable cost at a highly competitive price.''
``Strategically this is vital to British Airways and to Amadeus. Together, we are developing the world-leading
'New Generation' of airport and inventory systems and we expect other airlines to adopt our model.
Hans Jorgensen, Vice President Airline Business Group at Amadeus, added ``There can be few stronger endorsements
of our strategy and our capabilities than the confirmation that we are successfully executing each stage of this
crucial data transfer for British Airways.''
``This joint project presents Amadeus with a significant opportunity and challenge not only to meet the needs of
its airline partners but also to ensure such airlines have IT systems that remain technologically advanced.''
The first major stage of the project to transfer the operation of British Airways' passenger management systems
to Amadeus took place in June this year when the carrier successfully migrated its Fare Quote system to Amadeus
Fares.
The next stage, scheduled for early 2002, will see the main migration of all bookings, reservations and ticketing
from BABS to the Amadeus internal sales and reservation management system. The overall project also includes the
development of a new generation of world-class airline systems for departure control, inventory and related information
systems in partnership with British Airways and Qantas.
Paul Coby summarized, ``This partnership will lay the foundations for British Airways' business systems in the
years to come and delivers significant cost and service benefits. A great deal of work and planning went into the
transfer of our data systems to Amadeus and I'm delighted that it all went without a hitch, reflecting the professionalism
of the technical teams in British Airways and Amadeus.''
British Airways
British Airways is the world's biggest international airline, carrying more passengers from one country to another
than any of its competitors. It is one of the world's longest established airlines, too, and has always been regarded
as an industry-leader.
Last year, more than 41 million people chose to fly on the 538,000 flights that it operated. Some 30 million of
these passengers flew internationally -- representing around one in every 15 people flying from one country to
another worldwide.
British Airways' worldwide route network covers some 233 destinations in 96 countries. The group employs more than
58,000 people in around 100 countries worldwide. Its two main operating bases are London's two main airports, Heathrow
(the world's biggest international airport) Gatwick.
British Airways operates 337 aircraft -- one of the largest fleets in Europe. In January 2000, it unveiled 600
million pounds sterling worth of new customer services and products, to be introduced during the subsequent two
years.
More information about British Airways is available at: http://www.britishairways.com
.
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution
Amadeus is a leading global distribution system (GDS) and technology provider serving the marketing, sales and
distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive data network and database, amongst
the largest of their kind in Europe, serve over 56,000 travel agency locations and more than 8,500 airline sales
offices in some 200 markets worldwide.
Through the Amadeus System, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings with some 500 airlines,
representing more than 95 per cent of the world's scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to some
56,000 hotels, 46 car rental companies serving some 24,000 locations, as well as serving newer provider groups,
including ferry, rail, cruise, insurance and tour operators.
Amadeus is a significant provider of information technology and an enabler of e-commerce for the travel industry.
Amadeus also delivers the powerful booking engine behind the web pages to over 3,000 travel agencies, 40 corporate
sites, 14 hotel sites and 119 web sites serving 37 airlines. Additionally, it provides similar e-commerce solutions
for partners including Terra Lycos (Spain, Portugal and Latin America).
Founded in 1987, and fully operational from 1992, Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Its data centre is
in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis (near Nice), France.
The company has over 3,800 employees world-wide.
More information about Amadeus is available at: http://www.amadeus.com .
SOURCE: Amadeus Global Travel Distribution