TMC AMADEUS Project (Led by Air France) Computer Reservation system control or access card Demo. Type 1b

Gemplus 1 chip Smartcard.

In the 1980s, the "Amadeus" project in France is the creation and development of the Amadeus Global Distribution System (GDS).

The Core Project: Amadeus GDS (1987)

In 1987, Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia, and SAS jointly founded Amadeus. The project was launched as a massive European technological counterweight to dominant U.S. computer reservation systems (CRSs) like Sabre.
• The French Tech Connection: While the corporate headquarters were placed in Madrid, Spain, the core product development and engineering hub was built in Sophia Antipolis.
• The Architecture: The early 1980s infrastructure relied heavily on a mixture of computing assets. The initial price quotation engines were derived directly from a Unisys mainframe architecture provided by Air France, while the core booking software was adapted from System One (a spinout of Eastern Airlines) running on IBM technology.
• Amadeus France: In November 1988, Amadeus France was officially established on Saint Germain Island in Issy-les-Moulineaux, just outside Paris, to manage the domestic rollout of the network to French travel agencies.