Bookings through Amadeus platforms increased by 4.2 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2022, but volumes still remained more than 20 per cent lower than volumes seen in Q2 of 2019.

The Madrid-based travel technology giant said that Q2 bookings reached 78.3 per cent of 2019 levels, which was still an improvement on the first quarter’s recovery rate of 74.9 per cent.

For the first half of the year, Amadeus’ bookings were up 17.2 per cent year-on-year – down by 23.5 per cent from 2019 levels – and revenue per booking was up 11.8 per cent compared with the first half of 2022.

Amadeus president and CEO Luis Maroto said that Western Europe was the second fastest-growing market with a 19.4 per cent rise in bookings for the first half of the year compared with 2022 – only Asia-Pacific performed better with an 89.4 per cent increase as the region opened up post-Covid.

The company’s total revenue increased 16.8 per cent year-on-year to €1.38 billion in the second quarter. Air distribution revenue was up 15.2 per cent, air IT solutions revenue rose by 18.9 per cent, and hospitality and other solutions revenue increased 17.3 per cent. 

“Each of our reported segments delivered strong operating performances during the first half of the year, supported by the continued strengthening of the travel industry through the second quarter,” said Maroto. 

“North America is performing particularly well as a region, with our passengers boarded and bookings expanding relative to 2019.”

Maroto said Amadeus’ hospitality platform would be a “key area of focus” in investment – research and development spending at Amadeus was up 20.2 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2023 – alongside other initiatives including New Distribution Capability-related solutions and its partnership with Microsoft.

Amadeus reported a profit of €278.3 million for the second quarter, up from €198.2 million in the second quarter of 2022.