Amadeus and Northwest Airlines Reach Provisional Agreement for Full Content for Amadeus Agencies
As companies move to finalize a long-term agreement, Amadeus will be a preferred distribution channel, allowing its U.S. agencies to book full content without airline content surcharges
MIAMI, September 25, 2006: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, today announced it has reached an agreement in principle with Northwest Airlines that will allow Amadeus travel agents in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to continue to access and book full content from Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines without being subject to airline content surcharges.
“As our travel agency customers have made it clear that content is critical for their business, we are very pleased to reach this agreement with Northwest Airlines," said Peter von Moltke, Senior Vice President of the Airline Business Group for Amadeus North America.
Retroactive to September 1st, the agreement designates Amadeus as a preferred distribution channel for Northwest Airlines, as the two organizations continue to finalize a long-term agreement for full content. Amadeus agents in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to have integrated access to all publicly available fares and inventory offered by Northwest and KLM, without being subject to an airline content surcharge.
Additionally, as a result, Amadeus and Northwest have agreed to postpone any pending legal proceedings while both organizations work to finalize a definitive, longer-term agreement.
Von Moltke said Amadeus will continue to work diligently and responsibly with Northwest to finalize a long-term agreement for full content that will create a solid, long-term business foundation for the carrier, for Amadeus, as well as for its travel agency customers in the U.S.
“This agreement is another example of our ongoing commitment to make our product widely, easily and affordably available to consumers in ways that provide Northwest with competitive distribution cost economics, said Al Lenza, Vice President of Distribution and E-Commerce at Northwest Airlines. "It also ensures our travel agency partners of both full content and protection from having to pay segment surcharges."
The duration and other terms of the interim agreement were not disclosed.
Notes to the editors
About Amadeus
Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travelers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories -- Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consultancy.
Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters & marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations --data processing centre) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Bangkok. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations in 76 countries covering more than 215 markets.
The company is owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs nearly 6,700 employees worldwide, representing 95 nationalities. Amadeus’ revenue for the six months year ended 30 June was €1,381.6m.
More information about Amadeus is available at: www.amadeus.com
