Technology & Digital Transformation

Attica Holdings (Superfast and Blue Star Ferries) last month announced the sale of 9.6m shares, or 12.3% of the share capital, of Hellenic Seaways, to Amadeus Navigation in return for 21m euros, which amounts to 2.20 euros per share. These shares represent the total investment of Attica in Hellenic Seaways held since January 2005.

Amadeus last month announced the launch of a new solution to help travel management companies, travel agencies and airlines manage business and leisure call centers more efficiently.

With the biggest non-military data base in the world, with technology investments triple that of its closest competitor, and with a dedicated staff of 100-plus nationalities, Amadeus intends to conquer any and all competition.

As of late last year, Worldspan’s ‘Rate Runner’ is available within its Go! product for travel agency office managers in Greece and includes which low cost carriers are available in Rate Runner for the markets in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland an the U.K.

Through its OnBoard system, local booking engine company Forthcrs recently enriched its products with the addition of all the rooms and apartments for rent that belong to the Confederation Apartment and Rental Room Enterprises.

Strengthening their partnership, TravelCLICK recently announced an agreement to provide Amadeus with the ability to offer preferred placement to its hotel clients. The solution is called Amadeus Instant Preference.

A new global distribution system of sorts has emerged and travel agents are worried that it might be taken over by airlines. G2 SwitchWorks Corp., which has developed a reservation and management system and serves as a middleman between airlines and ticket sellers, announced last month that seven major airlines have signed on with system, as a measure to cut costs.

Amadeus executives who met in Athens last month to discuss future strategies for the company said that Greece shows a huge potential for Amadeus and it will therefore reinforce its interest in the area.

Amadeus, the travel industry technology provider and leading Global Distribution System (GDS), announced that TAROM, Romania’s national airline, has successfully moved its sales and reservations to Amadeus Altea Sell.

SkyTeam airline representatives here in Greece arranged two workshops last month – one for major corporate accounts within the Athens area and one for up-market travel agents in Thessaloniki. During both events, representatives of the member airlines explained the many advantages of the alliance. They also unveiled SkyTeam’s newest slogan: “working together to bring you seamless world travel.”