Amadeus CFO forecasts air travel bookings to decline

Amadeus It SA

08/05/2026 14:27

By Javi West Larrañaga

May 8 (Reuters) - Spanish travel technology group Amadeus AMA.MC expects air travel bookings to decline in the second quarter as the war in the Middle East and airline strikes in Western Europe hit demand, its finance chief said on Friday.

"We believe that we will still continue to have negative growth in second-quarter bookings," Carol Borg said in a post-earnings call with analysts. "April was better than March, but still in negative territory".

The improvement was due to a moderation in the cancellation rates, reopening of the airspace in the region and airlines commenting very positively on demand profiles, she added.

Amadeus delivered stronger-than-expected results on Friday and maintained its full-year guidance despite cancellations and concerns about jet fuel shortages, although Borg said revenue growth in the high single digits would be at the lower end of that range.

The company has implemented cost-cutting measures to better withstand the impact of the war in the Middle East and will continue to do so until the situation eases, Borg said.

She cited last year's results as an example of the company's resilience and cost discipline, as earnings before interest and taxes outgrew revenues.

"We have some flexibility in our resourcing, particularly in our R&D area, where we can flex up and down to continue to maintain our momentum on investing in the right places at the right time".

 (Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

 ((Javier.West@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 61 12;))