Amadeus Teams With Microsoft: Take That Sabre and Google
Skift Take
Battling huge losses, and ongoing travel restrictions in Europe, Amadeus' decision to team up with the technology titan could pay off — but the race is on to deliver something tangible as rival Sabre gets to work with Google.
Following in the footsteps of Sabre's tie-up with Google, it’s now over to Amadeus and Microsoft, which have formed their own strategic partnership.
The official statement, issued at the end of last month, coincided with the travel tech giant's release of its full-year 2020 financial results — a $609 million loss.
The announcement was vague: Amadeus will “harness cloud technology to innovate and explore new products and solutions and create smoother travel experiences” and with Microsoft “reimagine the travel industry going forward.”
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However, an Amadeus executive spearheading the Microsoft collaboration shared a few clues with Skift about what's in store. It's Not Just About the Money During the earnings call on February 26, analysts attempted to pin down Luis Maroto, Amadeus' president and CEO, on some of the specifics around the Microsoft deal. Sabre, for example, said it will save an incremental $75 million per year of fixed technology cost savings from 2024 once it migrates to Google’s platform. But Maroto gave nothing away, only replying that any savings would be reinvested into research and development. [caption id="attachment_421468" align="alignright" w