According to a new study of airline consolidators by Amadeus, U.S. consolidators earn 66.6 percent of their revenue from mark-ups, commissions and service fees. The remaining revenue comes from airline incentives (20.2 percent) and GDS incentives (13.2 percent). In addition, the new study reveals six major opportunities for U.S. consolidators seeking to add value to their business in today’s marketplace: improving automation levels, pursuing multichannel distribution, increasing customer focus, exploring new lines of business, focusing on core business, and being prepared to negotiate.
"We commissioned this study to explore the challenges and opportunities impacting our U.S. consolidator partners,” said Michael Mabrouk, Amadeus' director for the specialty customer segment in North America. "As a technology partner to the travel industry, we want to help our customers better understand their cost structures and business processes and to help identify opportunities for future growth."
Amadeus commissioned Hermes Management Consulting to produce the study, titled "Understanding Consolidator Cost Drivers and Ways To Optimize Business in United States.” The study provides an overview of the business processes and profitability of U.S. consolidators, while also providing insight on how consolidators can more effectively meet the needs of their customers.
Mabrouk said Amadeus was the first distribution and technology provider in the travel industry to specifically focus on developing solutions and services for consolidators. In 2001, Amadeus launched Amadeus Consolidator Shopper, the industry's first and most comprehensive booking tool application that enables travel agents to search for, compare and book the fares of multiple consolidators in real-time.
The Hermes study was conducted from May through July 2008 among five U.S. consolidators who were selected based on a balanced mix of size, location, and level of automation to produce results which can be extrapolated to the industry as a whole.
To view or download the complete U.S. consolidator study, visit www.amadeus.com/us/x123479.html.
To view or download additional Amadeus-commissioned studies on various topics, visit www.amadeus.com/showmethevalue.