Amadeus has maintained its top sector ranking as one of the leading companies in Europe for investment in Research & Development, according to the European Commission.

The 2012 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, an annual report published by the EC, examines the largest 1,000 European companies investing in R&D during 2011 and ranks them according to the total amount invested.

Amadeus invested €347.5 million during 2011, an increase of 6.7 per cent on 2010, to research and develop technologies for use in the travel sector.

This investment represented 12.7 per cent of revenues and helped the company maintain it number one position in Europe by total R&D investment in the area of travel and tourism.

Hervé Couturier, executive vice president, R&D at Amadeus said: “Naturally we are very pleased to see that our investment in R&D has been highlighted again by this important European Commission study.

“Equally we are very proud to be ranked again as a leader in the travel and tourism area.

“This further emphasises our reputation for innovation, with many years of experience in pioneering travel industry products and initiatives such as Altéa and, more recently, Amadeus Featured Results.

“Nonetheless, our desire for innovation has not yet been satisfied and R&D will continue to inspire our evolution as a large-scale technology pioneer.”

This news follows the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s long-term financing institution, in May 2012 granting a €200 million loan to Amadeus to finance the research & development of a variety of projects in the area of IT for airlines, airports, hotels, and rail between 2012 and 2014.

Innovation is one of the drivers behind Amadeus’ progress and growth, which has allowed the company’s technology to achieve an outstandingly competitive position within the market. 

Total investment between the years 2004 and 2011 was more than €2 billion.