Bookings in Amadeus' GDS in the fourth quarter increased 6.9% year over year to 102.2 million, the company said in its earnings report Wednesday.
Bookings growth came despite a spike in cancellations related to conflict in the Middle East as well as an expansion of direct-connect airline distribution by a large North American customer, whose identity Amadeus did not disclose in its earnings report. Amadeus estimated those two occurrences cut about 6 percentage points off year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter. Air distribution revenue in the fourth quarter was up 16.9%, to 627.4 million euros.
Amadeus said it renewed or signed 13 distribution agreements in the fourth quarter and that it also has expanded the customer base for its Cytric corporate travel and expense solution. Radisson Hotel Group has signed on as a customer and Deloitte will use the technology for its offices in Spain.
For the full year, Amadeus bookings increased 13.6%, with air distribution revenue up 23.6%, to 2.66 billion euros. The average revenue per booking was up 8.8% in 2023.
The Asia-Pacific region, which had the largest lingering effects of Covid-19 shutdowns throughout 2022, had the largest year-over-year growth in bookings, up 63.7% and comprising 18% of total bookings for the year.
Western Europe, which had the largest share of Amadeus bookings in 2023 at 28%, had the second-highest growth rate of 13.3%. Bookings in North America were down 0.4% and comprised 27% of total bookings.
Source: Business Travel News