Air Arabia expands distribution through Amadeus
Air Arabia is opening a broader route towards a global network of travel agencies. The new agreement with Amadeus will allow access to the carrier's content through standard GDS processes, with direct connection to the airline's reservation systems. The agreement was published on October 2nd.
For Air Arabia, this means a greater presence in indirect distribution. For agencies, however, the practical side is more important: less need to leave the existing booking environment when a client requests flights with this carrier.
Light ticketing brings low-cost content closer to the classic GDS process
The agreement is based on the Amadeus light ticketing model. Agents will thus be able to search, book and manage Air Arabia content within the Amadeus environment, in the same place where they work with other airlines.
This is particularly relevant in cases of booking changes, refunds, traffic disruptions, and rebookings. These processes are often the reason why the sales of low-cost carriers through separate channels are more operationally demanding for traditional agencies and TMCs.
Air Arabia annually carries more than 20 million passengers and has a network of more than 200 routes. The group operates from six hubs in the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan.
GDS obviously hasn't said the final word yet
The agreement comes at a time when much of the debate about air distribution is being conducted around NDC, the Offer & Order model, and direct API connections. However, Air Arabia’s choice shows that easy access to content through the existing agency workflow still has great commercial value.
This is confirmed by Amadeus’ research published a few days earlier. According to the survey among more than 750 travel sellers, 43% agents use the large GDS systems today more than in 2024. On average, they use them more than six times a day.
For agencies in Croatia and the wider CEE and SEE region, this agreement could be of interest especially in the sale of travel to the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. Instead of an additional separate channel, Air Arabia's content enters the workflow environment that a large number of agents already use on a daily basis.
