Amadeus and Continent Express expand strategic partnership

February 4, 2021

Last updated: February 10, 2021

2 Min read

Available in other languages

DE EN

Share it!

Partnership with Amadeus for NDC and hotel reservations will enable Continent Express to provide greater choice and maintain a high level of support for corporate customers

Moscow,03February 2021:Amadeus andContinent Express , one of Russia's leading business travel agencies, announce the expansionof theirstrategicpartnership.Despite the challenging situation throughout the industry, including the business travel segment, Continent Express relies on technological innovation to maintain a consistently high level of service to its corporate customers.Amadeus willcontinueasastrategic IT partner and provideadvancedsolutionsthat enableContinent Expresstosuccessfully adapt toanew normal.

Last year Continent Expressmade historybybookingthe first NDC-connected travel agencyticketin the Russian market throughAmadeus Selling Platform Connect .This year,building on that milestone,Continent Express will be able to offer customersevenmore flightoffers, as well as criticalcustomer servicingoptions liketicketexchange, refund and cancellation. It will also be possible to book and pay for additional services such ascheckedluggage orextra-legroomseatingusing the airline's interactive service cataloguewith automatedpricing. At the same time, working with NDC content through Amadeus willenableContinent Express toavoid additionalcosts for integration, technical supportandtraining.Travel consultantswill use a familiar bookingenvironmentand receive all the benefits of Amadeus' global travel ecosystem, having more timetofocus oncustomers’needs.

StanislavKostyashkin, founder andCEOof Continent Express Group:"Faced with the challenges of COVID-19,corporate travelarrangershavehad to significantly rethinkallaspectsof theiroperations.Because there are fewer trips being made,thevalue ofindividualtripshas increaseddramatically,as has theexpectationsoftheadvice and service delivered bytravelconsultants.Thepartnership with Amadeus enables us to undertake a digital transformation,helpingour businessbecomemoreinnovativeandcater to customerdemandsusing cost-effective solutions. We have launched air tickets sales through NDCconnectivityand gained access to Booking.com, allachievedina short periodof time and without major investment or developmentno our side. Partnering with Amadeusin this wayallows us to significantly increase choiceforcorporate travelers, which ultimately helpsimprove thedoor-to-doortravelexperience,optimizecostsand diversify our revenues.”

OlegLeschenko, Head of Business Travel, Russia andCIS, Amadeus:"I’m proud of ourpartnershipwith Continent Expresslocally and internationally. We havecontinued onourjointdigitalization journeyduring the pandemictoprepare forwhen corporate travel picks up again.Continent Expresswasone of our pilotcustomersforNDC,assistingintheadoptionof the standardand helping the industrymeetthespecific requirementsforcorporatetravel. NDCremainsa strategic priority for Amadeus, with a significant investment inR&D, so that NDC benefits both airlines and travel agents, as well as the traveler.In 2021 we will continue deployingcontent viaNDCthrough Amadeus to all markets globally, including Russia.”

Access to booking.comhotel contentthrough Amadeus Selling Platform Connectis alreadyavailablefor Continent Express employees. Corporate customers willsoon gain accessviatheself-bookingtool,thanks totheintegration of Amadeus Web Services.Additionally, there areplans toaddintegratedEuropean railcontentfromAmadeus Rail.

Amadeusoffers travelagents adedicated sectiononAmadeus.comwhere important material, guidance and advice is regularly published to support operations in COVID-19 environments. An interactive map is now available in the Selling Platform Connect interface tovisualizethe extent of COVID-19 infection risksworldwide and travel restrictions by country.

TO TOP