Amadeus returns to profit as air travel takes off

Amadeus, the world’s biggest travel reservations company, said Friday it has returned to profit in the third quarter for the first time since the start of the pandemic thanks to a gradual increase in air traffic.

The Spanish company, which runs a reservations platform for airlines, travel agencies and internet booking sites, posted an adjusted quarterly profit for the July to September period of 23.8 million euros ($27.5 million), compared to a loss 24 million euros in the previous quarter.

Around 271 million passengers flew in the third quarter on reservations made through travel agencies using Amadeus’ booking system, compared with 165 million in the second quarter of 2021, a group statement said.

The Madrid-based company said its sales jumped 76.6 percent in the third quarter over the same period last year to 739.1 million euros.

“During the third quarter, we continued to see progress in volume performance, with positive trends in both air bookings and passengers boarded, across all regions,” said Luis Maroto, president and CEO of Amadeus.

“Looking at the rest of the year, we are confident that our commercial momentum, along with the upward trend in travel volumes, will allow us to maintain this positive progression towards recovery.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts total passenger numbers of 2.3 billion in 2021, up from 1.8 billion last year but below the 4.5 billion in 2019 before the pandemic.

It sees passenger numbers climbing to 3.4 billion in 2022.

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