Madrid, Spain, 25 November 2008: Amadeus, a leading provider of technology to the travel and tourism industry, has today launched a new version of its self-booking tool for corporations which includes a feature enabling users with mobility impairments to request special assistance at airports at the time of booking their trip
Visually impaired travellers or those with reduced mobility will be able to easily request assistance, such as a wheelchair or a guide in advance of travel, for every necessary stage of their flight.
Additionally, the latest release of Amadeus e-Travel Management version 12.0 offers business travellers more choice of hotel and air fares aimed to ultimately make booking more efficient and improve the travel experience for business travellers. For travel managers and corporations, the self-booking tool enables cost-effectiveness and staff productivity.
Other new features of the award-winning corporate self-booking tool include:
* Premium Economy class on Amadeus Single View: The self-booking tool will show Premium Economy class fares within its state-of-the-art Single View display, offering employees a wider selection of fares and therefore helping travel managers balance travel cost with travel quality.
* Best Available Rate Hotel Indicator: The addition of the indicator will enable travellers to choose from some 50,000 hotels participating in the Amadeus Best Available Rate programme which guarantees access to equivalent or lower fares available from any distribution channel, including the hotel's own website. This prevents travellers from wasting time comparing fares on disparate systems.
* 'Passenger type' discounted fares: Travellers will be able to select a 'passenger type' where they qualify for a discounted fare. Amadeus e-Travel Management will then automatically apply the appropriate fare to the traveller when making a booking.
"We want to ensure a more tailored service for business travellers via our technology and the features we have added to Amadeus e-Travel Management 12.0 respond to this," said Frank Palapies, Amadeus' Head of Global Commercial Operations. "Business travellers with mobility impairments - whether temporary or permanent - should not have to spend any more time than other travellers on booking special assistance. We want the corporate self-booking tool to cater to all business travellers needs while ensuring corporations reduce expenditure, without sacrificing quality."