Amadeus is now in a much better position than it was at the end of 2008, according to vice president Middle East Antoine Medawar.
Speaking exclusively to ATN, Medawar said Amadeus had “decided to get closer to our customers as we need to be as local and regional as we can”.
“This means we are reinforcing our regional hubs by giving the empowerment to the people who work here — giving them full support, not only via telephone or central people, but by putting the expertise and the people in these offices,”he explained.
Medawar added that a further benefit of bolstering the regional hubs was the chance to take into account cultural, ethical and business differences that may be harder to navigate from a base outside the region.
“We don’t want to always bring people from outside of the region — we want local people to train and to integrate our brand into the local way of life,” he explained.
“This is the first time we have had a vice president based out here; before all the managers were mainly in Europe and we had to relay information from here to there.”
Furthermore, Medawar was keen to point out that it was essential to have good relationships in the region.
“You can have the best product in the world, but if you have a bad relation and a bad service you will lose that contract,” he asserted.
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“You need to have a good service and, if there is a problem, deal with it locally without having to call a centre in Europe, India or wherever — you need to show you have the expertise and demonstrate you are counting on your staff here to help the market.”
Amadeus is looking to make further strides in the GDS market with the implementation of its deal with 13 members of Arab Air Carriers Organisation (ACCO), whereby it is the exclusive distribution partner in their respective home markets.
But Medawar emphasised it was important to also look after local travel agencies and their customers.
“In order to keep your customer you need to know what their customers want; you need to also adapt your technology,” he said.
Medawar added that research undertaken by Amadeus had revealed travel agencies had improved considerably over the last three years, particularly in Qatar.
“The owners of agencies have started handing the running of the agency over to professional managers,” he said.
“It is turning into a professional setup and we are now dealing with people who report to a board, or an owner, which is great for the travel industry out here.”
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