Amadeus Rolls out Ancillary Services Initiatives

Amadeus has unveiled a number of initiatives as part of its commitment to deliver a comprehensive, multi-channel ancillary services solution to enable airlines to maximise revenue profitably.

Corsairfly has started to pilot Amadeus Ancillary Services, which will enable the airline to sell ancillary services on its website and via travel agencies. Additionally, on 1 June, Amadeus implemented Electronic Miscellaneous Document Server (EMD Server) for Finnair. This solution enables airlines to issue, store, manage and distribute associated and standalone Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD), the industry standard fulfillment document which is vital to the effective sale and management of ancillary services.

Amadeus Ancillary Services enables Corsairfly to offer travellers the option to book additional baggage allowance so that they can, for example, pack all they need for a two-week family holiday. Corsairfly files the fares for these services via ATPCo, which supplies fare data to all the major airfare pricing engines that reserve and ticket air travel.

Ancillary service sales are fully integrated within the travel agent workflow removing the need for travel consultants to book ancillary services across multiple interfaces.

Amadeus has developed a graphic catalogue display to enable travel agencies to easily view real time airline’s services offering. This catalogue automatically calculates the total price of all selected services and triggers the booking in one click, allowing travel agents to sell ancillary services quickly and efficiently.

“The main factors driving the implementation of ancillary services for Corsairfly are, of course revenue, but also the ability to deliver and communicate benefits in a way which our customers recognise as adding value,” said Damien Paries, Deputy Director Capacity Management Corsairfly. “In the case of the baggage allowance, we see this as a win-win. Managing the baggage allowance at the booking stage improves the airport experience for customers and means airport staff are not burdened with managing excess baggage claims.”

In another major initiative to support the airline industry in its management of ancillary services sales, Amadeus has implemented a comprehensive EMD solution with Finnair. Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) is the industry-standard fulfilment solution which allows airlines and travel agencies to sell and track the usage of all ancillary charges whether they are linked to the flight coupon, such as excess baggage and seats, or standalone charges such as lounge access and rebooking fees.

Amadeus EMD server will be fully integrated with Amadeus Altéa Customer Management Solution but is also designed to be fully compatible with third-party reservation, inventory and departure control systems to enable airlines to manage the sale and delivery of ancillary services throughout the customer lifecycle, from booking to check-in to after-sales service.

Amadeus will further extend EMD capability to include Amadeus travel agencies in September 2010 and will begin piloting with agents in the Finnish market with Finnair later in the year. A further deliverable for the end of 2010 is the extension of EMD capability to support interlining between airlines hosted on the Amadeus EMD server.

Philippe Chérèque, Executive Vice President Commercial, Amadeus said, “These pilots represent key milestones in Amadeus’ roll-out of a comprehensive set of ancillary services solutions that will enable airlines to deliver unprecedented customer value, and travel agencies to search, book and service ancillary sales quickly and efficiently.”

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