Amadeus Hong Kong launches e-ticketing with 13 airlines

Amadeus today announced the launch of e-ticketing for 13 major airlines in Hong Kong.

The rapid region-wide uptake of this technology is set to continue. In Hong Kong alone, the number of e-tickets issued in the past two years has grown by over 5,000%, with more than 200,000 issued in the market in the six months, May to October 2003*. This trend is supported by recent surveys indicating that more than a third of airlines in Asia Pacific expected e-tickets to represent over 50% of their sales within the next three years.**

Timothy Russell, Director, Market Management, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, "We came to Hong Kong to deliver Amadeus' world-class customer service and support and tailored solutions to agents. With the new office only recently opened, we have seen overwhelming demand, and our response has been to deliver the most comprehensive e-ticketing product available, as one element in a complete range of solutions to meet these needs."

Mr. David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, "The successful uptake of e-ticketing is contingent upon the implementation of a significant proportion of airlines operating in each market. Amadeus pioneered this "Big Bang" approach to e-ticketing in Asia Pacific in cooperation with the airlines and the travel industry. We feel our initiative will add sufficient critical mass for the effective uptake of this technology in Hong Kong."

Established in August 2003, Amadeus Hong Kong Ltd. is Amadeus Global Travel Distribution's new wholly owned National Marketing Company for Hong Kong and Macau. Amadeus Hong Kong Ltd. is part of a network of seven fully integrated offices currently serving Greater China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai in China, as well as Kaohsiung, Taichung, Taipei, and Taoyuan in Taiwan.

* IATA BSP Hong Kong, e-Ticketing Data
** Airline Business / SITA, Airline IT Trends Survey