Ryanair has signed a deal with Amadeus to distribute its flights via the GDS.
The announcement was made during a press briefing today by the low-cost airline’s chief executive Michael O’Leary.
The carrier said it was making its content available through Amadeus, having signed a similar GDS deal with Travelport back in March. It was also reported in March that Ryanair was in talks with Amadeus and Sabre and at the time O’Leary admitted he expected Travelport to be only the first GDS.
O’Leary said the agreement marked a significant milestone for Ryanair in its journey to appeal to a wider cross-section of travellers.
“Ryanair is pleased to partner with Amadeus whose technology represents a significant opportunity for us to reach a wider range of business and corporate customers.
“With more than 27% of our customers already travelling on business, we are continuing to improve Europe’s best business service, with the lowest fares, most on-time flights and our tailored Business Plus service. For business travellers, corporations and TMCs, this agreement will mean greater access to our low fares and Europe’s largest route network.”
Last month Ryanair said it was looking to recruit a head of corporate travel and groups from the travel trade following the departure of Lesley Kane. Kane, who has worked at the airline for 18 years, had been a key figure in moving Ryanair from solely selling direct to working with GDSs and tour operators.
Amadeus said it was seeing a positive trend that “indirect distribution” (or agencies) were becoming a key strategy for low-cost carriers, adding that agents would experience no surcharges when making a Ryanair booking.