Orbitz pursues its multi GDS strategy and sets a strategic partnership with Amadeus in North America

Orbitz pursues its multi GDS strategy and sets a strategic partnership with Amadeus in North America

IT is great news for the tourism industry: the recent announcement of this partnership between Orbitz and Amadeus will have tremendous consequences in terms of communication, access to various services but it will also ease a lot the process of booking for the travel agents.

Orbitz Worldwide focuses on using innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to search for, plan and book a broad range of travel products and services including airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. Their portfolio includes online consumer travel brands known worldwide, including Orbitz.com and CheapTickets.com in the Americas, ebookers.com throughout Europe and HotelClub.com, based in Asia Pacific with global operations.

Amadeus and Orbitz decided to go for a win-win situation: Orbitz gets access to the global distribution system of Amadeus, easing up its activities, being on the latest trends in terms of technology and therefore keeping an edge on its competitiors. Meanwhile, this partnership allows Amadeus to secure the investments they have been engaging in North America, by having a firmly implanted partner in this region. This should help Amadeus strengthen its newly acquired position, and allow them to develop it further in a very near future.

This agreement is a further testament to Amadeus’ significant investment and to its focus on delivering the global reach and technology services. Those are critical to the largest online travel agencies.

Amadeus is strongly focusing on its North America strategy: "Additionally in the North American market, Amadeus has built a dedicated team of experts and regionally focused technology solutions to serve the specialized needs of established and emerging online travel companies."

With the help of Orbitz' network, Amadeus will reach its new goal in North America, and be able to expand its activity.

Orbitz is pursuing a multi GDS strategy and besides Amadeus Sabre has also been selected as one of its technology partners to power orbitz.com and its other brands CheapTickets, Orbitz Partner Network and Orbitz for Business.

This agreement will have Sabre provide its technology and services, beginning in 2015.

Orbitz Worldwide Chief Operating Officer Chris Orton said: “Sabre brings global leadership, scale and the latest technology that we will incorporate into our wide choice of consumer offerings to book the perfect trip.  As more and more of our customers move to tablets and mobile devices we want to continually streamline that experience with new technology.”

Greg Webb, President, Sabre Travel Network said: “We understand online travel and the importance of providing a more seamless experience for travelers.  We look forward to working with Orbitz to help them drive greater value, revenue and efficiency from technology.”

Concerning Travelport, an Orbitz partner since 2007, the GDS agreement has been updated. It concerns a connectivity service, Travelport Universal API, that offers a large array of content accessible by customers: better descriptions of airlines products, new pricing offers and ancillary services (paid seats and other products).

"In 2014, most Orbitz GDS segments GDS will be treated through Travelport » said Kurt Ekert, Sales Director of the GDS. « After 2014 we hope to stay a major GDS provider of technologies for Orbitz »