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Amadeus has adjusted its 2026 guidance due to the Middle East conflict, lowering group revenue growth expectation from around 4.5% to around 2%. Air distribution revenue growth is now expected at low to mid-single digit. Q2 bookings fell 7.6%, but the company cites diversification as mitigating impact.
Amadeus reported resilient H1 2026 results despite geopolitical impacts on global air traffic. Group revenue grew 5.1% at constant currency to €3,334.9 million, adjusted EBIT increased 4.9% to €1,011.5 million, and adjusted diluted EPS grew 7.3%. Air Distribution bookings declined 3.7%, but revenue per booking grew 5.1%. The company highlighted the resilience of its diversified business and continued progress on AI strategy and partnerships.
This week's travel tech briefs include: American Airlines adds Venmo and expands digital disruption tools; Spotnana introduces multiagent AI architecture; Travelport signs distribution deals with Air Zimbabwe and Aeroitalia; BCD Travel launches next-gen Tripsource; Engine Groups becomes free; Hostaway appoints executives; Wego partners with Valu for BNPL; SAS deploys Amadeus AI pricing.
IATA, Amadeus, and SITA state that digital identity technology is mature, with focus shifting to cross-border interoperability and government policy. IATA expects mass adoption within 1-2 years. India's DigiYatra has enabled around 100 million biometric journeys. Challenges remain in government adoption and cross-border trust. Europe's EES delays highlight airport capacity issues. Passenger demand is strong, with about 80% wanting smartphones to manage travel credentials.
Amadeus is deploying Amadeus Air Pricing Optimization (AAPO) across Scandinavian Airlines' (SAS) entire network. Powered by AI and real-time data, AAPO has generated an average revenue increase of more than 3% in initial markets where SAS implemented it on its website and NDC-enabled channels. It enables smoother fare adjustments in response to demand, reducing manual pricing changes while maintaining control. SAS's CRO says it strengthens customer satisfaction and commercial performance.
This week's travel tech news includes: Expedia signs exclusive distribution deal with Allegiant; BCD Travel launches AI analytics platform Tripsource Insights; Thai Aviation Industries, Edgewater, and Amadeus partner to modernize airport operations; Grapevine and Jyrney partner for text/voice ride-hailing; Klook renews MOU with Korea Tourism Organization, and more.
Thai Aviation Industries (TAI), Edgewater Solutions, and Amadeus have signed an MOU to collaborate on a roadmap for modernizing passenger journey and airport operations across six Thai international and regional airports. Areas include faster passenger processing, seamless identity and border flows, smarter airport operations, and real-time data integration. Thailand's airports serve approximately 140 million passengers annually, with volumes expected to rise.
Amadeus announced expanded availability of GOL's domestic content for all Amadeus-connected travel sellers in Brazil for the first time. Content will be available via EDIFACT on the Amadeus Travel Platform, enabling sellers to access broader GOL content through existing workflows. GOL is a leading Brazilian carrier, part of Abra Group, with over 60 codeshare and interline agreements.
Amadeus and UN Tourism released the 'Travel Insights 2026: Focus on the Americas' report. Between May 2025 and April 2026, passenger traffic across the Americas grew 0.8% year-over-year, but with significant subregional variation: Central America grew 7.5%, South America 5.5%, North America flat, and the Caribbean declined 2.5%. Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador saw strong search growth. Intra-regional travel remains the backbone of demand, with rising interest from Japan and the Philippines. Emerging destinations such as Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the Cayman Islands are gaining momentum.
Amadeus and UN Tourism released the 'Travel Insights 2026: Focus on Europe' report. Between May 2025 and April 2026, European passenger traffic grew 2.3% year-over-year, hotel occupancy rose 2%, and ADR increased 7%. Japan emerged as Europe's fastest-growing long-haul source market, with searches up 62% and bookings up 19%. Czechia and Iceland were among the fastest-growing booked destinations. Travelers aged 46-65 account for about 30% of all travel demand in Europe. Nearly half of bookings are made more than a month in advance.
Amadeus and UN Tourism released the 'Travel Insights 2026: Focus on the Americas' report. Between May 2025 and April 2026, passenger traffic across the Americas grew 0.8%, with North America essentially flat (-0.1%), while Central America and South America grew 7.5% and 5.5%, respectively. North America remains the region's connectivity hub, with 2,965 new international routes announced in the past year. Canada, Jamaica, and the Republic of Korea recorded the strongest search growth into North America. Hotel performance remained resilient, with steady occupancy and continued ADR growth.
Azerbaijan Airlines signed a new agreement with Amadeus to deploy Network Revenue Management, Flex Pricer Premium, MetaConnect, and Instant Search solutions, aiming to optimize pricing, expand distribution, and enhance traveler experience. This will accelerate the airline's digital transformation.
AI is reshaping travel search, causing the look-to-book (L2B) ratio to explode. OAG data shows early online booking required 100-200 searches per ticket, now closer to 10,000-20,000, and potentially 200,000 in the future. This raises serving costs and threatens pricing infrastructure. Solutions discussed include caching, intelligence layers, and indicative pricing.
Industry executives discuss AI's impact on hospitality. Consensus is that AI itself is not a differentiator; data, tech stack, and customer ownership matter. Commoditization risk exists, but data quality and human execution remain key. OTAs may own customers via AI agents, so hotels must invest in data and tech to stay competitive.
At Phocuswright Europe 2026, executives from Amadeus, Etraveli, and Hopper Technology Solutions discussed build versus buy strategies in the AI era. Amadeus typically builds technology in-house, investing €1.4 billion in R&D in 2025, but also acquires companies like SkyLink with unique capabilities. Etraveli acquired Wenrix to enhance B2B predictive and agentic AI. HTS builds AI internally due to travel complexity, but advises companies lacking tech stack and talent to buy.
This week's travel tech news includes: Mindtrip partners with Meet Boston for AI trip planning; Hostaway launches AI CoHost; Pikl makes new appointments; TSA partners with Google Wallet for PreCheck Touchless ID; FlightHub adds hotel bookings; Arbitrip powers El Al's hotel booking platform; Travelport adds Air Canada Flight Pass support; Sun Group selects Amadeus loyalty solutions.
FitsAir, Sri Lanka's privately owned international airline, and Amadeus signed a global distribution agreement to make FitsAir's full content available to travel sellers worldwide through the Amadeus Travel Platform, supporting its international growth. Amadeus-connected agencies can search, book, and service FitsAir flights more easily.
Sun Group launched Sun Signature, Vietnam's first fully integrated loyalty program, powered by Amadeus Loyalty and Rewards. It brings together aviation, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare, real estate, and banking under a single loyalty account.
Amadeus released a new report, Orchestrating Success, revealing that transformative AI tools are ready, but their successful adoption depends on strong foundations of trust, security, and governance. The report finds AI is poised to fundamentally transform the role of travel managers by automating repetitive tasks such as policy queries, approvals, and disruption management, freeing them to focus on forecasting, risk management, and wellbeing. It highlights AI use cases already taking shape in Amadeus Cytric, including trip intent detection, zero-touch trips, and dynamic policy.
At HITEC 2026, several companies launched new products: Amadeus introduced AI commerce solution Amadeus Max, with pilots showing 44.7% of AI-driven visitors reaching the booking engine; Aven Hospitality launched a redesigned booking engine on SynXis with 3x faster page loads; Virdee rebranded as Virdee.ai and launched an AI platform; Oracle embedded AI suite into OPERA Cloud, adopted by Wyndham and others.
Amadeus released 'The New Rules of Travel Protection' report, surveying 3,000 travelers. 74% of global travelers purchase protection at least once a year, and 58% consider it essential for all trips. Bundling increases purchase rates from 43% to 58%. Travelers prefer coverage tailored to specific trips, such as medical, cancellation, luggage delay.
SITA has appointed Frank Jaffé as Senior Vice President of SITA Global Services, effective June 1, 2026. He will lead the team that provides operational support to over 2,500 customers worldwide, ensuring technology runs smoothly for airlines and airports. Jaffé brings over 25 years of international experience, having previously served as Vice President of Global Delivery Services at Amadeus.
Amadeus announced two major innovations in hospitality: a full-stack AI commerce solution to help hotels capture demand in AI-powered channels, and Amadeus Max, an AI assistant layer for cross-product workflows. Amadeus is also working with Google on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and introducing Performance Manager for AI search, with early pilots showing 44.7% of AI-driven visitors reaching the booking engine.
Video platforms are reshaping travelers' booking journeys, and hotels face a 'speed problem' as their technology systems struggle to keep up with changing consumer habits. A digital expert at Radisson Hotel Group highlighted that legacy operating models are ill-suited to the fast-evolving customer journey, necessitating integrated marketing, distribution, and revenue management, along with cultural change through partnerships.
Amadeus signed a global agreement with Myrealtrip, Korea's leading online travel platform, to expand cooperation in areas such as deploying AI-powered solutions, expanding non-air content (hotels and destination experiences), and exploring adoption of Amadeus Hey! traveler engagement solution. This supports Myrealtrip's growth and digital transformation.