What will it be? What impact will it have? Until a “crystal ball” is invented with the answer to those questions, it’s all about being open, flexible and experimental. Katherine Grass, Head of Innovation & Ventures at Amadeus, discusses Amadeus’ approach to innovation and some of the latest ideas we’ve been playing looking into.

Following the acquisition in April 2015, and after great collaboration over the past two years, the time is now right to unify AirIT under the Amadeus brand. We share a common vision for the airport industry, and move forward as one unique team of approximately 400 airport and ground handling IT experts.

With our combined expertise and solution set, Amadeus is able to cover all needs for airport operations and we’re excited about the current opportunities we have in this landscape. Currently, our solutions for airport operations are used by 30 airlines, 110 airport operators and 100 ground handlers across the world – our experts are truly global with 9 offices in United States, Spain, France, Germany, UK, Dubai, India, Singapore and Australia.

Reflecting on some of the highlights of late last year and early this year, 2 US airports selected our solutions: Tampa International Airport looked to us to deliver the technology required for their terminal modernization to dramatically transform facilities and improve operational efficiency, increase capacity, and enhance the passenger experience; most recently, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport announced a partnership with us to upgrade its terminal IT with our technology.

Stay tuned for more updates on our product portfolio for our North American customers and prospects.

and symposium that brings our airport customers and their airline partners together.
The goal is to provide both constituencies an opportunity to review mutual experiences using the various elements of the Amadeus solution suite over the past year and, subsequently, to provide functional and technical briefings on upcoming product enhancements and releases scheduled for the coming year.

If you want to see into the future, you have to “connect” with the people who will be shaping it. And that’s exactly what Amadeus and Accenture did in partnership at the recent Millennial 20/20 North America summit in New York City.

As businesses of all sizes are faced with increasing complexity and evolving consumer preferences, they must embrace innovation, disruption and technology as key to their future. Millennial 20/20 brings established brands and startups together for summits held around the world to explore the future of next-generation commerce from the perspective of the digitally savvy consumer. The hundreds of attendees at the New York event gained insight from multiple speakers, panels and experiential exhibitions across industry specific tracks from travel and food to fitness and fashion.

Working in collaboration as part of the Accenture Amadeus alliance, the two companies showcased the future of the traveler experience and airline industry. The alliance was established to help lead airlines through the digital transformation of the marketplace, from evolving the way they do business to developing breakthrough solutions to improve the traveler experience.  Accenture and Amadeus partnered to present “Innovation²: The Future of Travel,” an interactive exhibit bringing the future vision of air travel to life by revealing how advances in technology, analytics and automation will power tomorrow’s flight experience.

Concepts revolved around key areas such as airlines as the next generation retailer, the unique traveler’s experience, rethinking airline operations and how airlines are reinventing themselves. Attendees – including numerous airlines from around the world – got a hands-on look at experimental air travel innovation in action: from inspirational travel search and shopping technology, to how blockchain can address lost luggage, disruption management chat bots, or even how holograms might transform aircraft maintenance training.

During a mainstage panel, “Phoenix Rising – How are Airlines going to be disrupted?” Amadeus experts and others discussed how airlines are looking to innovative approaches and technologies to manage rising customer expectations and digital disruption.

And what’s a summit about the future and innovation without startups. The Millennial 20/20 Startups Street presented a forum for travel-focused entrepreneurs to network, pitch their vision and advance their business.

One only has to look at Millennial 20/20 to know that no matter how the future actually manifests itself, what is clear is that the airline industry is poised for end-to-end innovation, from traveler experience to operations.  And working in tandem with the right technology and partners in the travel industry anything – and everything – is possible.

source : https://tinyurl.com/jromaho

Join us on Wednesday, November 30^th at 16:00 LON for a Facebook livestream of a special industry discussion in collaboration with Tnooz on LSE Consulting’s Travel distribution: the end of the world as we know it? report.

The event, taking place at The Soho Hotel in London, will feature the report’s author Dr. Graham Floater, and a select group of travel industry leaders to exchange ideas on the future of travel distribution in the next ten years.

Travel distribution is an increasingly dynamic multi-billion dollar marketplace, which according to LSE, is on the cusp of a consumer revolution that many in the industry underestimate. A range of disruptive factors that could potentially shape the market over the coming decade are highlighted in the report and will be discussed at length during the event.

 Confirmed event speakers include:

• Kevin May, Tnooz
• Graham Floater, LSE Consulting
• Bryan Dove, CTO, Skyscanner
• Rogier Van Enk, Head of Commercial Strategy, Finnair
• Thane Jackson, Vice President, BCD Travel
• Pablo Caspers, Chief Air Supply & Advertising Officer, eDreams ODIGEO

You can watch the event in its entirety live on our Facebook page. Mark your calendars and be sure to download a free copy of the Travel distribution: the end of the world as we know it? report here.

The last five years have seen an explosion of digital data.

On one hand, this can be overwhelming, but on the other, it provides the raw material for real innovation – for businesses specifically, and the travel industry generally.

Recently we launched a discussion paper, Defining the future of travel through intelligence, which examines the big data revolution and how travel players can harness the power of analytics and experimentation to seize opportunities in a rapidly-changing environment.

Pascal Clement, Head of Travel Intelligence at Amadeus, has been leading our efforts to unlock the benefits of big data, analytics, and experimentation for travel players. In this video interview, Clement comments on the pivotal role big data and analytics play as the travel industry continues to evolve with new disrupters constantly joining the fray. According to Clement, two significant trends are set to change the travel industry as a whole: the exponential rise of data and information, and the increasing power and storage capability of computers.

These trends, Clement says, are key enablers for travel players to truly understand the behaviours of their customers so they can provide better personalised services and improve their travel experience.

For more insights on the potential of travel intelligence – have a look at the full video interview and be sure to download a copy of the Defining the future of travel through intelligence report.

source : http://tinyurl.com/hjlgb9m

From the moment of inspiration, to searching and booking, at check-in, during the trip and after, online or on mobile devices – we’re always working to help our customers deliver better, more personalised travel experiences.

With this in mind, there is a significant opportunity for airlines to create a lasting, positive customer experience that could translate into growth in revenues, customer loyalty, and brand advocacy. The challenge airlines face is how to share, collect, and manage fragmented passenger data to proactively push relevant services to travellers.

This is where Amadeus can help. We can deliver a single, comprehensive customer view to provide a consistent end-to-end traveller experience. This allows airlines to expand their reach and cover all touchpoints across the traveller journey with a variety of highly personalised merchandising techniques.

Personalisation is about delivering a better experience for the traveller to guarantee loyalty and improve retention. For airlines, personalisation increases ancillary revenues and repeat sales significantly – a big reason why 97% of airlines are investing in it over the next 12 – 18 months.

Watch this video to see what this looks like in the real world and let us know what you think.