Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, and Speedy Travel continue their successful partnership as the innovative online agency releases the latest evolution of its iSpeedy Travel application today. 

Amadeus and Speedy Travel have enjoyed a successful partnership for close to four years, with the companies sharing a focus on partnership and innovation. Speedy Travel uses the Amadeus API to connect its iSpeedy Travel App to Amadeus’ rich air content.  Additionally, Amadeus’ powerful fares search engine Amadeus Master Pricer provides the airfare shopping and availability for the iSpeedy App.

The new developments include an iSpeedy social networking function, which introduces extensive connectivity with social media allowing for increased communication between iSpeedy and its users, as well as users and their connections. A new version of the iSpeedy App for corporate travellers - iSpeedy Corporate - gives businesses the ability to approve travel and expenses claims via iSpeedy, as well as put budgets and restrictions in place for business travellers.  Speedy Travel has also developed an iSpeedy App for use on BlackBerry smartphones.

These new developments join the popular iSpeedy App for iPhone which was launched in November 2009 and was the first App of its kind to allow users to book and store air, car and hotel bookings directly from their iPhone.

Booking travel on a hand held device is fast, convenient and immediate and with iSpeedy air, car and hotel options can be searched, booked, stored and changed all within a few steps. The latest enhancements mean the iSpeedy App is even more relevant and attractive to today’s leisure and business travellers and leads the way in providing a comprehensive travel booking application for mobile technologies:

Social Media: This functionality reflects the increasing importance of social networking in travel by offering an interface to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, meaning users can share their booking and itinerary information with friends, family and colleagues. Similarly, iSpeedy is able to provide users with special deals, announcements and updates via the same social media channels.  Users can then use this information to make their own bookings using iSpeedy and also share it with their social media connections.

Companion: The Companion feature allows the iSpeedy users to link with friends, family and colleagues using either their iSpeedy profiles, Facebook or LinkedIn profiles. The iSpeedy user can then arrange travel for themselves and their connections using that information.

iSpeedy Corporate App:  Developed for corporate travellers, iSpeedy Corporate offers Travel Approval and Expenses functions that allow iSpeedy users to link their accounts with a Company User Account in to order to seek approvals and claim work-related travel expenses.  The Company Account will have an Administrator or Travel Approver appointed who is able to accept or reject such travel or expenses requests allowing the user to then proceed with their air, car and/or hotel booking or process the expenses claim. The Administrator is also able to set parameters on the Company Account such as cost limits, approved suppliers and best fare of the day restrictions. iSpeedy Corporate is available for purchase and download at the App Store and BlackBerry App World.

“Working with Amadeus and using their API and Master Pricer technologies has been an important part of iSpeedy being able to provide the best customer experience. We know that we are offering our users the depth and range of content they demand,” said Peter Biedak, Chief Executive Officer of Speedy Travel. “We have worked hard to further develop the iSpeedy App since it was first launched a year ago and we now believe we have not just a market leading, but a world-leading application that caters for all types of travellers.  We are pleased to now be able to offer iSpeedy’s ease of use, flexibility and convenience to BlackBerry users as well as iPhone users so they can enjoy the depth of new functionality this latest release delivers.”

Sari Vahakoski, Managing Director of Amadeus IT Pacific commented, “We are proud to be able to partner with industry innovators like Speedy Travel and provide them with the connectivity and content they need to offer their customers the travel booking experience they demand.”

Amadeus Master Pricer allows consumers to search fares using a range of criteria including price, schedule or airline with up to 200 of the lowest fare options being returned and, providing an optimal combination of choice and flexibility.