Amadeus to Offer New Global Leisure Travel Solution Using Fourth Dimension Software Technology.Business Editors and High Tech/Travel Writers MADRID, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2000 Travel Agencies and Vacation Package Providers to Benefit From Industry's Most Advanced Web-based Leisure Distribution Network Amadeus today announced that it has entered into an agreement to license Fourth Dimension Software's CONTOUR(R) leisure travel solution. CONTOUR(R) is a fully integrated travel distribution platform developed specifically for the leisure travel industry and which automates almost every element of the vacation package business, from individual travel components (such as coach tours, theatre and concert tickets, B&Bs) to fully customized holiday packages. Over the coming months the CONTOUR(R) product will be integrated with the Amadeus system and the resulting leisure solution is to be launched in the first half of 2001. With the launch of what promises to be the industry's most technologically advanced solution, Amadeus is set to become the leading electronic distribution player for the leisure travel market. Built on an open systems architecture, the CONTOUR(R) platform, which is already used by prominent Tour Operators in Europe and US allows for a complete range of travel products to be distributed across multiple distribution channels - to traditional travel agency and to online channels alike. It supports different connectivity options (including XML XML in full Extensible Markup Language. Markup language developed to be a simplified and more structural version of SGML. It incorporates features of HTML (e.g., hypertext linking), but is designed to overcome some of HTML's limitations. ), thus allowing leisure travel service providers to distribute their products and services, locally and globally - regardless of the technology they use. "Over the last three years we have designed and built a robust, web-orientated leisure technology that is ideally suited to meet the needs of vacation package providers and the travel agency community alike." said Ilya Pavolotsky, Executive Vice President and COO (Cell Of Origin) See mobile positioning. of Fourth Dimension Software. "With this solution already in place, we are now very excited to be teaming up with a strong global player such as Amadeus and together delivering a state-of-the-art leisure platform to the travel industry around the world." Featuring an easy-to-use graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to (GUI (Graphical User Interface) A graphics-based user interface that incorporates movable windows, icons and a mouse. The ability to resize application windows and change style and size of fonts are the significant advantages of a GUI vs. a character-based interface. ), the browser-based solution dramatically simplifies the booking process for vacation packages, which is typically characterized char·ac·ter·ize tr.v. character·ized, character·iz·ing, character·iz·es 1. To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: characterized the warden as ruthless. 2. by complex multi-product offerings from a wide variety of providers. Rich multimedia content will also feature strongly in the offering, enabling leisure travel service providers and their clients to benefit from the latest technology. "Licensing the CONTOUR(R) solution fits perfectly with Amadeus's strategy of providing our travel agency customers with a 'one-stop' leisure offering to increase their productivity and service levels, using both traditional and new online channels," declared Philippe Chereque, Amadeus SVP SVP S'il Vous Plaît (French: Please) SVP Senior Vice President SVP Schweizerische Volkspartei (Swiss People~s Party) SVP Society of Vertebrate Paleontology SVP Social Venture Partners SVP St Vincent de Paul Corporate Strategy. "We will be fully integrating this platform so that they can enjoy the advanced features they expect from Amadeus, such as real-time 1. real-time - Describes an application which requires a program to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time (typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical plant is the classic example. availability displays for a complete range of travel services, powerful multi-provider search tools, rich multimedia content and PNR PNR Partner PNR Passenger Name Record (airlines) PNR Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (Cuban police) PNR Philippine National Railways PNR Point of No Return PNR Polymerase Chain Reaction integration, among others." Amadeus already has extensive experience of leisure travel distribution on a local basis through such initiatives as TOMA TOMA Top of Mind Awareness TOMA Texas Osteopathic Medical Association TOMA Training Operations Management Activity (Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff - Training; TRADOC, US Army) TOMA Technical Order Management Agency in Germany, which is today used by over 160 tour operators to sell their products via Amadeus's German subscriber base. The new Amadeus leisure platform will be compatible with all of these local solutions. With just a single investment those leisure providers currently distributing locally will soon have the option to distribute their offering on a global basis. DERDATA, the German operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. and services provider for the travel trade industry, has been chosen to integrate CONTOUR(R) with Amadeus's existing distribution solutions. Both DERDATA and Fourth Dimension Software will provide ongoing support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services to Amadeus following the launch of this global leisure travel solution in the first half of 2001. Notes to the Editors: Amadeus Global Travel Distribution Amadeus is a leading global distribution system (GDS GDS Global Distribution System GDS Google Desktop Search (Google) GDS Goodie Domain Service (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) GDS Guards ) and technology provider serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Worldwide, Amadeus is chosen by more travel agency locations, receives more billable bookings and processes more international travel reservations than any other GDS. Its comprehensive data network and database, amongst the largest of their kind in Europe, serve over 50,000 travel agency locations and more than 8,200 airline sales offices worldwide. Through the Amadeus system, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings with some 500 airlines, representing more than 95 per cent of the world's scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to over 51,000 hotels, 49 car rental companies serving some 24,000 locations, as well as serving newer provider groups, including ferry, rail, cruise, insurance and tour operators. Amadeus is a significant provider of information technology and an enabler of e-commerce for the travel industry. Amadeus also delivers the powerful booking engine behind the web pages of more than 3,800 travel agencies, and over 60 Web sites serving 28 airlines. Additionally, it provides similar e-commerce solutions for partners including BTopenworld (UK and Ireland), Gruppo L'Espresso (Italy) and Terra Networks Terra Networks, S. A., usually referred to as "Terra", is an Internet multinational company with headquarters in Spain. Part of Telefónica Group (the former Spain's public telephone monopoly and now one of the most important telecommunications companies in the world), Terra (Spain, Portugal and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. ). Founded in 1987, and fully operational from 1992, Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Its data centre is in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis Sophia Antipolis is a technology park northwest of Antibes and southwest of Nice, France. Much of the park falls within the commune of Valbonne. Created in 1970~84, it houses primarily companies in the fields of computing, electronics, pharmacology and biotechnology. (near Nice), France. The company has approximately 3,000 employees worldwide. Fourth Dimension Software Fourth Dimension Software is a software development company, based in Redwood Shores, California Redwood Shores is an upscale and desirable [1] waterfront neighborhood on the San Francisco Peninsula in California. It is located on the eastern edge of Belmont, but is actually part of incorporated Redwood City. , that offers a family of complementary solutions for travel entities such as Tour Operators, Travel Wholesalers, Large Travel Retailers, and Travel Vendors seeking to distribute their products. These solutions include CONTOUR(R), EasyCRS(TM), LoyaltyPlus(TM) and SafeDoc(TM). 4DS's long-term strategy revolves around offering advanced, traditional, and e-commerce solutions, services and distribution channels for the present and future needs of the travel marketplace. DERDATA CONTOUR(R) is distributed throughout Europe by DERDATA Informationsmanagement GmbH, Frankfurt, a service and IT-partner for the travel industry with many years of experience. Services include development and operation of mid and back-office-solutions for wholesalers and retailers as well as the provision of clearing- and tour operator systems. |
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