Amadeus: Steady Air Booking Improvement Back on Track as Omicron Recedes

Total air bookings by travel agencies on the Amadeus platform in 2021 were down 64.4 percent compared with 2019, though that was 91.9 percent higher than 2020, and bookings showed steady improvement each quarter last year, the company reported.

In the fourth quarter, total agency bookings were just over half of fourth quarter 2019 levels, with the highest recovery in North America, where bookings were more than 80 percent of 2019 levels. Latin America and the Middle East/Africa had the next highest recovery rates, with bookings at more than 60 percent of 2019 levels. Bookings in Eastern, Central and Southern Europe were down 50 percent, in Western Europe down 58.4 percent and in Asia/Pacific down 75.1 percent.

Amadeus noted “steady month-on-month improvements” for air bookings in the third quarter until the surge in Covid-19 omicron variant cases in December, and the company said recovery began again in January.

For the full year, Amadeus’ air distribution revenue was up 66.1 percent year over year, though still down 63.9 percent compared with 2019. Total revenues at Amadeus were up 22.8 percent year over year to €2.7 billion, a decline of 52.1 percent compared with 2019.

Amadeus reported a net loss of €122.6 million for 2021, an improvement from a net loss of €505.3 million in 2020.

Michael B. Baker  www.businesstravelnews.com