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.