Self booking tools new battleground for GDSs

Amadeus has claimed positive booking figures for its corporate self-booking tool, sparking retaliation from GDS rivals.

Amadeus claims online travel bookings made through e-Travel Aergo, the company’s online booking solution, increased 76% globally in 2004.

On the back of buoyant demand Amadeus says it plans to invest “tens of millions of euros” in research and development on Aergo in order to achieve the top spot globally for self-booking tools.

But Amadeus declined to give exact figures to back up the percentage growth claims, saying the data was “commercially sensitive”.

Responding to the announcement, Sabre-owned GetThere vice-president EMEA, Floyd Widener, told TravelMole: “GetThere was the first company to reveal record figures and throw some light on the growth of the European market for self-booked corporate travel. We are delighted that Amadeus has chosen to follow our lead.”

He added: “Get There’s 2005 figures are extremely strong, building on from our market leadership position established in 2004, and we are seeing triple digit growth in Europe. Rather than post percentage growth figures like Amadeus, we reveal actual number of trips booked and intend to release more detailed figures in the next few weeks to further demonstrate our leading position in this sector.”

Rival Cendant Travel Distribution Service, owner of Galileo, also commented.

Senior vice president, corporate, Jonathan Siddons told TravelMole: “From our point of view, Cendant TDS is also experiencing a very high demand as more corporates adopt online strategies. This area is a high growth segment of the market and we have seen a significant increase in both bookings and adoption rates.

“For Cendant TDS, we believe the secret to growth is our support programme behind the product that helps our customers achieve high adoption rates.”

Amadeus also used the announcement to claim “some of the highest adoption rates in the industry”, which means the percentage of corporate trips booked online rather than through other channels. It claims that one client, Oracle Corporation, introduced Aergo in 10 European countries and has seen adoption rates of up to 80%.

Amadeus added that use of its www.amadeus.net website, which gives unbiased airline schedule information, with the exception of no-frills airlines, grew 51% in 2004.

Report by Ginny McGrath

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