Amadeus air bookings increase 2.8pc YoY

Singapore : Air bookings through Amadeus' global distribution system in the first quarter of 2024 increased 2.8 per cent year on year, said the company.

Amadeus President and CEO Luis Maroto called it a "solid start to 2024". First-quarter air distribution revenue for Amadeus increased 12.6 per cent year over year to EUR 764.4 million.

On top of the increase in bookings, revenue per booking increased 9.5 per cent year on year, which Amadeus attributed to a lower mix of local bookings and such pricing effects as inflation and adjustments from new air distribution agreements and agreement renewals.

Bookings in the Asia-Pacific region drove the air bookings growth in the quarter, up 31.2 per cent year on year, and bookings in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe were up 17.3 per cent. Other regions were flat to down, including a 9.5 per cent drop in North America and a 15.8 per cent drop in Latin America.

Western Europe and North America remained Amadeus' largest regions for air bookings in the quarter, though North America's share of the total dropped by more than 3 percentage points, from 28.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 to 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.

Amadeus said part of that stemmed from a "very online large travel agency," which it cited in the previous quarter's earnings report but has not publicly identified, that has established direct connects with some large North American carriers.

Bookings in the first quarter also were affected by the timing of Ramadan and Easter, which were largely in the first quarter this year as opposed to last year.