Amadeus IT Group#Data centre

Amadeus was originally created as a neutral global distribution system (GDS) by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS in 1987 in order to connect providers' content with travel agencies and consumers in real time. The creation of Amadeus was intended to offer a European alternative to Sabre, an American GDS. The first Amadeus system was built from core reservation system code coming from System One, an American GDS that competed with Sabre but went bankrupt, and a copy of the Air France pricing engine. These systems were respectively running under IBM TPF and Unisys. At the first, the systems were dedicated to airline reservation and centered on the PNR (Passenger Name Record), the passenger's travel file. Gradually the PNR was opened up to additional travel industries (hotels, rail, cars, cruises, ferries, insurance, etc.).

Initially a private partnership, Amadeus went public in October 1999, becoming listed on the Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid stock exchanges. The firm diversified its operations with information technologies (IT) to deliver services beyond sales and reservation functionalities, centered on streamlining the operational and distribution requirements of its customer base.

Since 2004, the company has invested €1 billion in R&D{{cite news | url=http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/amadeus-announcese-2009-financial-performance/ | title=Amadeus announces 2009 financial performance | work=Breaking Travel News | date=24 March 2010}} with its technology increasingly using open systems which provide clients with more flexibility and features. {{As of|2010}}, 85% of its software portfolio was open system based and it expects by the end of 2016 to have fully migrated away from mainframe-based TPF software.{{cite web|first=Gerry|last=Smith|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7aoG--oPkM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/P7aoG--oPkM |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Amadeus' Gerry Smith on leaving behind legacy systems|website=YouTube |date=2010-03-23 |access-date=2016-09-06}}{{cbignore}}

In 2005, Amadeus was delisted from the Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid stock exchanges when BC Partners and Cinven bought their stake from three of the four founding airlines and the rest of the capital floated from institutional and minority shareholders. The transition from distribution system to technology provider was reflected by the change in its corporate name to Amadeus IT Group in 2006. In 2009, Amadeus invested about €257 million in R&D.{{cite press release | url=https://news.cision.com/amadeus/r/amadeus-demonstrates-resilience-with-solid-2009-performance-and-strong-second-half-growth-despite-challenging-travel-industry-conditions,c479413 | title=Amadeus demonstrates resilience with solid 2009 performance and strong second half growth despite challenging travel industry conditions | publisher=Cision | date=March 23, 2010}}{{Cite web | url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/documents/en/resources/corporate-information/corporate-documents/global-reports/2018/amadeus-global-report-2018.pdf | title=Amadeus Global Report | publisher=Amadeus}} Amadeus was listed on the Spanish Stock Exchanges on 29 April 2010.{{cite web | url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/investors/share-information | title=Share Information | publisher=Amadeus}}

Amadeus has acquired:

• 2000: Vacation.com, the largest US marketing network for leisure travel{{cite news | url=https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Amadeus-acquires-Vacation-com | title=Amadeus acquires Vacation.com | first=David | last=Cogswell | work=Travel Weekly | date=October 30, 2000}}{{cite news | url=https://www.cnet.com/news/short-take-amadeus-buys-vacation-com-for-57-3-million/ | title=Short Take: Amadeus buys Vacation.com for $57.3 million | first=Stefanie | last=Olsen | work=CNET}}
• 2001: E-Travel, Inc., a supplier of hosted technology products for corporate travel{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB996526159476819953 | title=Amadeus to Buy Oracle Unit e-Travel To Boost Its Presence in U.S. Market | first=Robert S. | last=Duncan | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=July 30, 2001 | url-access=subscription}}
• 2002: SMART AB, a travel distribution company in Northern Europe{{cite news | url=https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/Amadeus-buys-full-ownership-of-SMART-AB | title=Amadeus buys full ownership of SMART AB | work=Travel Weekly | date=July 7, 2002}}
• 2003: Airline Automation (AAI), a robotic PNR processing company{{cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031118005063/en/Amadeus-Acquires-Airline-Automation----Leading-U.S. | title=Amadeus Acquires Airline Automation Inc. -- Leading U.S. Airline Services Provider | publisher=Business Wire | date=November 18, 2003}} In 2006, its name was changed to Amadeus Revenue Integrity.{{cite press release | url=http://www.amadeus.com/web/amadeus/es_1A-corporate/News/2006_03_16_Airline-Automation-AAI-changes-name-to-Amadeus-Reve/1319560217161-Page-AMAD_DetailPpal?assetid=1319587044082&assettype=PressRelease_C | title=Airline Automation (AAI) changes name to Amadeus Revenue Integrity | publisher=Amadeus | date=March 16, 2006}}
• 2004-2008: Opodo, a European travel website, which it sold in February 2011 for €450 million{{cite press release | url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/amadeus-sells-opodo | title=Amadeus sells Opodo |publisher=Amadeus |date=9 February 2011}}{{cite news | url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Amadeus-sells-Opodo-for-Euro-450M-to-AXA-and-Permira | title=Amadeus sells Opodo for Euro 450M to AXA and Permira | first=Kevin | last=May | work=Phocuswire | date=February 9, 2011}}
• 2005: Optims, a European hotel software company
• 2006: TravelTainment, a leisure content provider{{cite press release | url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/amadeus-completes-acquisition-of-traveltainment | title=Amadeus completes acquisition of TravelTainment | publisher=Amadeus | date=27 September 2006}}
• 2008: Onerail, a rail IT software supplier{{cite press release | url=http://www.amadeus.com/railwaycompanies/x132856.html | title=Amadeus continues diversification with acquisition of rail IT company | publisher=Amadeus | date=10 June 2008}}
• 2013: Travel Audience GmbH, an online advertising firm{{Cite press release | url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/amadeus-increases-presence-in-online-targeted-advertising-space-with-acquisition-of-travel-audience | title=Amadeus increases presence in online targeted advertising space with acquisition of Travel Audience | publisher=Amadeus | date=6 June 2013}}
• 2014: Newmarket International, an IT provider for hotels{{cite web | url=http://www.amadeus.com/hotels/newsrepositoryarticles/amadeus-acquires-newmarket-international/ | title=Amadeus acquires Newmarket International | publisher=Amadeus.com | date=February 2014}}
• 2014: UFIS, an airport IT provider{{cite news | url=http://www.amadeus.com/web/amadeus/es_1A-corporate/Airports/Our-portfolio/2014_2_3_Amadeus-continues-its-expansion-into-the-Airport-IT-spa/1319587245902-Page-AMAD_DetailPpal?assetid=1319584698816&assettype=PressRelease_C | title=Amadeus continues its expansion into the Airport IT space with the acquisition of UFIS Airport Solutions | publisher=Amadeus | date=February 3, 2014}}
• 2014: i:FAO, a corporate travel buying software system{{cite news | url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Amadeus-to-buy-corporate-travel-IT-brand-i-FAO | title=Amadeus to buy corporate travel IT brand i:FAO | first=Kevin | last=May | work=Phocuswire | date=April 3, 2014}}
• 2015: iTesso, a Property Management System provider for hotels{{cite news | url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Amadeus-buys-property-management-system-Itesso | title=Amadeus acquires iTesso BV | first=Kevin | last=May | work=Phocuswire | date=July 21, 2015}}
• 2015: AirIT, property and revenue management software for airports{{cite press release |url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/amadeus-announces-further-expansion-of-its-airport-it-business-to-north-america-with-the-acquisition-of-air-transport-it-services-inc-airit- |title=Amadeus announces acquisition of AirIT |publisher=Amadeus |date=April 23, 2015}}
• 2017: Navitaire, a software provider for rail and low-cost airlines{{cite news | url=https://amadeus.com/en/insights/blog/amadeus-strengthens-lcc-offering-with-navitaire-acquisition-from-accenture-for-830m | title=Amadeus strengthens LCC offering with Navitaire acquisition from Accenture for $830m | date=April 8, 2017}}
• 2017: Pyton, an online booking engine supplier{{cite press release | url=https://amadeus.com/en/insights/press-release/amadeus-benelux-extends-leisure-services-offering-with-acquisition-of-pyton-travel-technology | title=Amadeus Benelux extends leisure services offering with acquisition of Pyton Travel Technology | date=April 8, 2017}}
• 2018: TravelClick, a provider of cloud-based services for the hotel industry, for $1.52 billion{{Cite web |title=Amadeus completes acquisition of TravelClick |url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/amadeus-completes-acquisition-of-travel-click |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=corporate.amadeus.com}}
• 2022: Kambr, an airline revenue management solutions{{buzzword-inline|date=September 2024}} provider{{cite press release | url=https://amadeus.com/en/insights/press-release/amadeus-acquires-kambr-expand-revenue-management-offer-airlines | title=Amadeus acquires Kambr to expand its revenue management offer for airlines | date=March 31, 2022}}
• 2024: Voxel, electronic invoice and B2B payment solutions{{buzzword-inline|date=September 2024}} provider{{Cite web |last=Nilson |first=Peter |date=2024-03-12 |title=Amadeus acquires Voxel |url=https://www.airport-technology.com/deal-news/amadeus-acquires-voxel/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Airport Technology |language=en-US}}
• 2024: Vision-box, a provider of biometric solutions for airlines, airports, and border control customers.{{Cite web |url=https://corporate.amadeus.com/en/newsroom/vision-box-biometrics-acquisition-complete |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=corporate.amadeus.com}}

In September 2014, Air France sold a 3% stake in the firm for $438 million.{{cite news | work=Reuters | date=10 September 2014| title=Air France to reap 339 million euros in cash from Amadeus shares | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amadeus-it-air-france-klm/air-france-to-reap-339-million-euros-in-cash-from-amadeus-shares-idUSKBN0H426M20140909 | first=Natalie | last=Huet}} In November 2017, Amadeus invested in global mapping tech provider AVUXI.{{Cite news | url=http://www.webintravel.com/amadeus-ventures-invests-global-mapping-tech-provider-avuxi/ | title=Amadeus Ventures invests in global mapping tech provider AVUXI | work=Northstar Travel Group | date=November 9, 2017}}

Amadeus has its own data centre in Erding, Germany, two strategic operation centres in Miami and Sydney and local competency centres in Germany, Thailand, India, Poland, Colombia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

On January 15, 2019, the hacker and activist Noam Rotem discovered a major vulnerability affecting nearly half of all airlines worldwide. While booking a flight with Israeli national carrier El Al, he came across a significant security breach that allows anyone to access and change private information on flight bookings. The same breach was then discovered to include 44% of the international carriers market, potentially affecting tens of millions of travelers.{{Cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/15/amadeus-airline-booking-vulnerability-passenger-records/ | title=Flaws in Amadeus' airline booking system made it easy to change passenger records | first=Zack | last=Whittaker | work=TechCrunch | date=January 15, 2019}}

Amadeus CRS is the largest GDS provider in the worldwide travel and tourism industry, with an estimated market share of 37% in 2009.{{cite news | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amadeus-it-holding-plans-spain-ipo-for-2010-2010-03-23 | title=Amadeus IT Holding plans Spain IPO for 2010 | first=Barbara | last=Kollmeyer | work=MarketWatch | date=March 23, 2010}} As of December 2010, over {{formatnum:90000}} travel agencies worldwide use the Amadeus system and {{formatnum:58000}} airline sales offices use it as their internal sales and reservations system. Amadeus gives access to bookable content from 435 airlines (including 60 low-cost carriers), 29 car rental companies (representing {{formatnum:36000}} car rental locations), 51 cruise lines and ferry operators, 280 hotel chains and {{formatnum:87000}} hotels, 200 tour operators, 103 rail operators and 116 travel insurance companies.{{cite web | url=https://amadeus.com/en/about | title=About Amadeus' company | publisher=Amadeus}}

Amadeus Altéa Customer Management System (CMS) is a software suite for airlines' sales and reservations, inventory management and departure control systems.{{cite press release | url=https://amadeus.com/en/insights/press-release/amadeus-processes-record-number-of-airline-passengers-through-its-altea-platform | title=Amadeus processes record number of airline passengers through its Altéa platform | publisher=Amadeus | date=4 May 2010}} Using it, airlines outsource their IT operations onto a community platform which allows them to share information with both airline alliance and codeshare agreement partners.

It consists of four main modules:{{cite web | url=https://amadeus.com/en/industries/airlines | title=Solutions for airlines | publisher=Amadeus}} Altéa Reservation, Altéa Inventory, Altéa Departure Control; and Altéa e-commerce.

In 2009, 238 million passengers were boarded by airlines using the system.{{cite web | url=https://www.travelagentcentral.com/transportation/amadeus-processes-record-airline-passengers | title=Altea CMS Air Travel Booking Platform Aids Sales | first=George | last=Dooley | work=Travel Agent Central | date=May 4, 2010}} It is developing similar systems for rail companies, hotel chains, airport operators and aircraft ground handling companies.

According to a May 2015 investigation, Amadeus has contributed to the Docker open source software project.{{cite web | url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2925484/look-whos-helping-build-docker-besides-docker-itself.html | title=Look who's helping build Docker -- besides Docker itself | first=Serdar | last=Yegulalp | work=InfoWorld | date=February 27, 2015}}

The business model of Amadeus is booking fee or transaction based, which means that a fee is taken for each confirmed net booking made in the Amadeus CRS. {{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

In late 1990s, a business division specialized in e-commerce was created.{{clarify|date=August 2016}}

In 2000, Amadeus was awarded the development of two new operational applications for British Airways and Qantas: the inventory management and the departure control systems.[http://www.blackbeard.com/tpf/tpfscoop1.htm TPF Scoop Archives] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183533/http://www.blackbeard.com/tpf/tpfscoop1.htm |date=March 3, 2016 }}. Blackbeard.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-20. These products were outside of the core expertise domain of Amadeus and were built with the expertise of the airlines.

In March 2015, Amadeus announced that Blacklane, a Berlin-based professional driver service available worldwide, would become their first fully integrated taxi and transfer service provider.{{cite press release | title=A pick-me-up for travellers thanks to Blacklane and Amadeus | url=http://www.amadeus.com/web/amadeus/ru_1A-corporate/Amadeus-Home/Newsroom/Archive/2015-03-05-Blacklane-and-Amadeus/1319658626891-Page-AMAD_DetailPpal?assetid=1319622216731&assettype=PressRelease_C&industrySegment=1259068355704 | publisher=Amadeus | date=March 5, 2015}}

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