Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and technology industry, today announced the launch of the Amadeus Ticket Changer in Asia Pacific. This solution will automate the cumbersome process of re-issuing a ticket and eliminates the need for travel agents to make manual calculations, thus improving productivity and customer service.

“The ability to quickly change a travel itinerary is increasingly important to both business and leisure travellers,” said Peter Smith, Vice President, Business Solutions Group, Amadeus Asia Pacific. “Previously, travel agents performed these complex fare calculations manually. The Amadeus Ticket Changer will help save up to an impressive 25 minutes of a travel agent’s time per re-issued ticket. Plus, the accuracy of the fare is guaranteed when using Amadeus Ticket Changer, thus avoiding costly errors and Agent Debit Memos (ADMs),” Smith added.

For each specific ticket change request, the Amadeus Ticket Changer immediately calculates the exact price difference in whatever currency is needed, allowing the travel agent to instantly issue the new ticket. As a multi-carrier solution, it gives an unparalleled level of flexibility and choice, including date, flight and routing. Its multi re-issue function also allows for an unlimited number of ticket changes before departure. Agents will also be able to make changes for different passengers at the same time in a single transaction.

“With the implementation of Amadeus Ticket Changer, travel agencies will no longer have to invest in training agents to ensure their understanding of each airline’s cancellation and change policy. This new solution incorporates the myriad of airline policies into one user friendly solution,” said Smith.

Using Amadeus Ticket Changer, the risk of errors and non-collections of tickets will be reduced, and the fare/tax balance will be calculated while automatically generating the necessary reporting. Results are guaranteed on a vast range of fares – not just content received from ATPCO/SITA, but also on negotiated and private fares loaded on Amadeus.

Amadeus Ticket Changer can also be used with reservations made via other GDSs. Travel agencies will not have to bear the charges for reservations amended due to unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather. On the contrary, it presents an additional revenue opportunity for travel agents, as they can now levy a flat service fee for booking amendments.

The Amadeus Ticket Changer has been implemented by several international airlines. The solution is already deployed in Egypt, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the UK and the US. It will be rolled out in several countries in Asia Pacific including Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore in the first half of 2010.