Amadeus UK Continues Expansion with 3 new appointments

London, 29 September 2003:Amadeus UK continues to go from strength-to-strength with overall market share in the UK now at 21 percent. With a growth rate of more than 7.5 per cent in the 12 months leading up to August 2003, Amadeus’ UK expansion continues to outstrip that of all the other GDSs.

In order to maintain and increase this level of growth, and to support the company’s current clients, Amadeus has recruited three new members to their UK National Marketing Centre team. Bruce Watson, who joins Amadeus UK from Garuda Indonesia, has been appointed to the company in the role of Sales Manager – Leisure. Andrew Savy, who has joined Amadeus from Nortel Networks, has been appointed Senior Project Manager together with Nigel Hughes, who joins from Worldspan.

Commenting on the new appointments to the UK team, Arnaud Debuchy, Managing Director of Amadeus UK said, “Despite the shaky start to 2003 for the industry, no-one can deny that Amadeus UK is experiencing a sustained period of growth. By continually investing in our systems, processes and people we aim to treat each new and existing customer as if they were our only customer.

“Through the hiring of Bruce, Andrew and Nigel, we are reinforcing our commitment to providing the best support and advice to our clients. They join Amadeus at an exciting time and have a key part to play in helping our existing team fulfil its ambitious growth plans.”

These latest hires for Amadeus in the UK come shortly after Monika Hoesle’s appointment as new Operations Director, responsible for all of Amadeus’ client support and operational activities in the UK.

Notes to the Editors:
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution (MAD: AMS)
Amadeus is the 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 GDS data processing centre serves 65,250 travel agency locations and more than 12,600 airline sales offices, which together total more than 290,700 points of sale located in over 200 markets worldwide.

Through the Amadeus GDS, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings with 469 airlines, representing more than 95 per cent of the world’s scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to 63,540 hotels, 48 car rental companies serving some 24,900 locations, and other provider groups including: ferry; rail; cruise; insurance and tour operators.

Amadeus is a leading application service provider (ASP) to the airline industry. 140 airlines use the Amadeus Sales System in their offices to provide passengers with superior and seamless service at optimal cost.

Amadeus’s new generation of Passenger Service Systems, which include all IT systems associated with inventory management and departure control, will be implemented by British Airways, Qantas and Finnair.

e-Travel, Amadeus’s e-commerce business unit, is global leader in online travel technology and corporate travel management solutions. It powers the Web pages of 887 travel agencies, 255 corporate sites, 18 hotel sites and 139 web sites serving 50 airlines.

Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and quoted on the Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For the year ended 31 December 2002, the company reported revenues of EUR 1856m and net income of EUR 148.6m. The Amadeus data centre is in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its principal development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis (near Nice), France. The company has some 5,100 employees worldwide.

For information, please contact:

Amadeus UK
Rob Golledge
T: 0870 990 7851
F: 0870 990 9299
E: [email protected]
W: www.uk.amadeus.com

Amadeus Press
Bridget Agnew / Anya Velzeboer
Financial Dynamics
T: 020 7269 7219/7174
F: 020 7831 8438
E: [email protected]