(22 April 2008) A long-running, behind-the-scenes experiment by Amadeus to reach consumers directly has made a major move with the addition of the Kayak platform to the Amadeus.net website.
Travolution has learned the technology and GDS supplier is using the Kayak meta search interface on the Amadeus.net consumer site, giving users access to the full and existing range of Kayak services such as flight and hotel search.
The Amadeus-branded homepage allows consumers to search for availability or fares, with both pieces of functionality using the Kayak interface – including Ajax-led tools – for refining search results and link to supplier sites.
The project was launched quietly on 1 February this year and sees Amadeus and Kayak share any revenues which come from upstream referrals to the meta search engine’s partners.
The Amadeus.net platform was launched in 1997 and is used primarily as a testing ground for new functionality and services in the B2C market.
Since then it has gained a significant audience of 20 million users per year across Europe.
An Amadeus spokesman said: “Right from the beginning it has been a platform for a degree of experimentation and it is fair to say we have been pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors who come to the site looking for schedules and availability information.
“Amadeus.net is the departure point for all journey planning. It is a European-wide travel planning site that allows users to organise their trip with GDS schedules & availability, timetables, hotel information and Car rental data. All the information is delivered in a quick and easy to read display.”
