Amadeus reported 3.3 per cent year-over-year growth in air bookings during the fourth quarter, despite some “softness” out of the US due to an uptick in flight disruptions, executives said during an earnings presentation on Friday (27 February).
The fourth-quarter growth rate was boosted by demand in Asia Pacific, where booking increased 12.2 per cent year on year, while Western Europe delivered “solid” bookings growth in the quarter, up 4.4 per cent compared to the same period a year prior.
Bookings in North America, meanwhile, dropped 0.7 per cent year on year following an increase in US flight cancellations for the three months to 31 December, according to Amadeus.
Fourth quarter bookings were also down in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe (down 3 per cent year on year), Latin America (down 2.3 per cent) and the Middle East and Africa (down 0.1 per cent).
Amadeus bookings for the full year grew by 2.8 per cent, with Asia Pacific the fastest growing region (up 12.1 per cent year on year). Europe and North America reported low single digit percentage increases for the year, while Latin America and the Middle East and Africa regions saw year-on-year booking rates decline by 3.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
Amadeus' air distribution revenue in the fourth quarter increased 3.7 per cent year on year to €742.1 million.
For the full year, air distribution revenue increased 5.9 per cent to €3.12 billion compared to 2024. Amadeus reported a 2.8 per cent increase in booking volumes for the year, while revenue per booking was up 5 per cent, primarily due to “positive pricing effects, including from renegotiations, new agreements and inflation,” the company said.
Amadeus said it signed 18 new contracts or renewals for airline distribution during the last quarter of 2025, for a total of 61 throughout the year. The company reported more than 75 New Distribution Capability agreements signed with airlines as of 31 December, including with Portuguese flag carrier TAP Air Portugal.
The company also highlighted its “strategic agreement” with Direct Travel, which it said will provide the TMC with "seamless access to the most comprehensive air, hotel and ground transportation, complemented by streamlined end-to-end workflows through the Amadeus Travel Platform”.
In its Air IT Solutions business, Amadeus reported Q4 revenue growth of 6.3 per cent year on year to €604.2 million. For the full year, revenues were up 6.4 per cent compared to 2024, reaching €2.35 billion, with the company pointing to the Lufthansa Group’s planned adoption of its Nevio platform as a highlight.
Hospitality and other solutions revenue for the fourth quarter was up 7 per cent year on year to €275.3 million. For the full year, this division reported a 6.1 per cent revenue uptick, reaching €1.05 billion.
Total group revenue for the quarter increased 5.2 per cent to €1.6 billion. However, adjusted profits were down 1.9 per cent year on year to €311.4 million due to higher adjusted income tax, the company said. Revenues for the year were up 6.1 per cent to €6.5 billion, while yearly adjusted profits increased 5.8 per cent to €1.4 billion.
Investments in AI
Amadeus president and CEO Luis Maroto during Friday’s earnings presentation said repeatedly the company is “uniquely positioned to orchestrate the AI-enabled travel ecosystem”.
According to Maroto, this advantage comes from three strategic pillars: Amadeus’ status as the trusted record system within the travel indusrty, its “deeply connected” business logic and its global reach.
He added: “For new players in the industry to become relevant channels, we believe they will need the Amadeus execution layer in travel. We therefore see AI augmenting and reinforcing our position and our core platform.” This statement comes days after the travel tech giant announced its acquisition of conversation-based AI travel platform SkyLink.
In 2025, Amadeus invested an impressive €1.4 billion in research and development – a 7.6 per cent increase over the previous year – with half of those funds directed toward expanding its portfolio and evolving its AI capabilities.
Commenting on the SkyLink acquisition, Amadeus president of travel, Decius Valmorbida said the company is looking to expand its conversational AI capabilities “across the board to [Amadeus] employees [and] to the professional travel user to make them more productive… and we want to have data to deflect a lot of requests coming from travellers that we believe can be automated.”
He argued that AI adoption will create a “more productive environment” for TMCs, which will allow them to “add a lot more value to other aspects of the business”.
“I don’t see this world of black and white. I do see opportunities for both providers and intermediaries to thrive in this new environment,” Valmorbida said.