CyberSource, a Visa Inc. company, and one of the world’s leading providers of eCommerce payment management services, has formed a strategic global partnership with Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry. The agreement brings an integrated travel reservation and fraud management solution to airlines, travel agencies and other travel organisations worldwide.

European railways are often portrayed as a deeply conservative industry, so far unaffected by the disruptive competition and subsequent consolidation seen in the aviation sector. With national providers apparently safe in domestic markets there seems to be little catalyst for change. But with technology developing rapidly and start-ups taking advantage of European Union liberalisation to launch new routes the old model may well be about to break down. Breaking Travel News editor Chris O’Toole reports from the Amadeus Rail Forum 2014.

The coming-of-age of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s youthful population will reshape the travel industry in the region over the next fifteen years, as digital natives instinctively turn to mobile technologies and social media to plan, book and manage travel, according to new research from Amadeus. Today, nearly 25 per cent of the GCC population is under 15 years of age, and as this demographic becomes tomorrow’s decision makers, it will shake up traditional behaviours to become increasingly self-directed.

Germanwings and Amadeus today announce a new agreement that will enable the airline to distribute all of its published fares and the most demanded ancillary services in the travel agency channel. The Lufthansa subsidiary previously sold a limited range of its fares via Amadeus’ travel agency partners, using full e-ticketing.

Amadeus and Swiss International Air Lines, Switzerland’s flag carrier, today announce a long-term strategic agreement that will see the airline adopt the core modules of the Amadeus Altéa Suite, in order to enhance its reservation, inventory and departure control processes. By migrating to Amadeus’ fully integrated PSS solution, SWISS will also benefit from more streamlined access to accurate passenger and flight data, as other Group member carriers Lufthansa, Air Dolomiti and Austrian Airlines have already implemented Amadeus’ Altéa technology.

BeNe Rail International has agreed to enter into a long-term strategic IT partnership with Amadeus to create a new rail community IT platform as part of Amadeus’ Total Rail solution. This unique platform is based on the concept of a community model whereby a third party IT expert, Amadeus, develops and hosts applications for several rail companies to share in common and benefit from synergies.