Amadeus to raise air fares

Amadeus, the reservation and booking dealer, announced it would jack up air fares by 1.5 to 3 percent in 2003, way over this year’s prices, though the firm warns the new fares will assume a 45 percent fall compared to next year’s projected estimates.

Amadeus says the fare raise mirrors an increase in data processing costs, “taking into account that the company’s distribution network is the largest of its kind and the one offering the best international availability to airlines.”

Over the past year, the number of terminals hooked up to the Amadeus network grew by 5.4 percent. The volume of transactions, for its part, has soared by 10 percent.

The new air fares trumpeted by Amadeus exert extra pressure on the aviation sector in a moment when this industry is coping with additional costs generated by other entities.

Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA) has anticipated a 2 percent increase on all airport taxes for the year 2003. Airlines have shown opposition to these raises and have reminded that any uplift will have short-term repercussions on ticket face values.