Amadeus says it will use a €200 million loan from the European Central Bank to fund development to revolutionise the travel industry through technological development.
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Amadeus pledges to use €200m European loan to revolutionise travel
Amadeus says it will use a €200 million loan from the European Central Bank to fund development to revolutionise the travel industry through technological development.
The funding has been granted on a nine-year basis, with repayments starting after three years, and will be available to Amadeus IT Group from May 24.
The GDS said it would pay for research and development for a variety of IT projects related to airlines, airports, hotels, and rail between 2012 and 2014.
Luis Maroto, president and chief executive of Amadeus said: “We are honoured to be recognised by an institution as prestigious as the European Investment Bank.
“We feel this is further proof of our long-term commitment to developing innovative customer-focused solutions such as our airline IT platform, the Altéa Suite, which is now used by 107 of the world’s leading airlines.
“We will use this €200 million loan to continue developing world-class IT solutions that will revolutionise the travel industry.”
Amadeus said its commitment to research and development is proven by its record of investment which last year saw it spend 13.4% of revenues or €364 million.
The GDS operates 16 research and development centre globally in locations such as Nice, London, Antwerp, Aachen, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, and Warsaw.
Amadeus was ranked first in Europe in the computer services and travel and tourism sectors in the 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard compiled by the European Commission.
Philippe de Fontaine Vive Curtaz, vice-president of the European Investment Bank said: “This €200 million development loan to Amadeus achieves our objective of making long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
“Amadeus’s commitment to innovation and proven track record in developing successful IT solutions fits naturally with our commitment to promoting the European knowledge economy.”
The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union and is owned by its member states. In 2011 it provided finance totaling €61 billion. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
One goal is to promote the implementation of the knowledge economy, such as education, research & development and innovation.
