Business travellers to be tracked by SMS
Amadeus has today (June 30) unveiled a suite of mobile solutions that will allow travel managers to track employees by SMS text message.
The travel technology provider, known for its global distribution service (GDS), said the suite would give greater traveller security in times of emergency.
Amadeus' Mobile Travel Assistant (MTA), aimed at corporates, provides itinerary-based information by SMS and tracks replies.
Employee responses and their locations are then relayed to the travel manager.
Albert Pozo, Amadeus' vp business and corporate travel, said working with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) had allowed Amadeus to pinpoint business travel needs.
He said: "After initiating joint research with ACTE last year, which evaluated the mobile needs of corporations, Amadeus is now delivering a portfolio of mobile services for the business traveller, helping corporations better support their employees who are on the move."
Amadeus Mobile Partner (AMP) was also unveiled at part of suite. AMP allows a user to store itineraries and other travel information on a mobile phone without the need for a constant network connection.
"Details can be checked while abroad without incurring roaming fees," Amadeus said.
AMP can be extended for travel approvers. Employee bookings can be viewed in a queue and approved or rejected "on the go".
Amadeus said its suite will work on all major mobile operating systems such as Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry.
www.amadeus.com