Page 19 - AAA JULY - AUGUST 2015 Online Magazine

INTERVIEW GUESTLOGIX

related services such as seats and meals, readily embraced dynamic packages
along with non-air products such as hotel because of the flexibility and control that
and insurance in the booking path.” it offers them. The adoption of these types
Kieron Branagan, Managing Director of service offerings is comparable to the
at OpenJaw in a recent interview initial response British Airways received
to Jay Menon of Asian Airlines and from their customers in their introduction
Airports says, travellers will now have of these same dynamic packages.
access to thousands of hotel reviews By incorporating dynamic packaging,
and ratings provided via integration Cathay Pacific is now able to offer customers
with TripAdvisor. Customers can also more compelling fanfares and promotions
earn rewards on the Marco Polo Club through fully formed package holidays via
frequent flyer program and Asia Miles their mailshots - while offering the flexibility
travel reward program. “OpenJaw and convenience of the customer choosing
has a strong history of delivering their own flight times and tailoring the hotel
innovation in travel redemption and we to their needs.
are delighted to extend our expertise
to Asia Miles and to add a market- AAA: Are the launches with Cathay
leading reward programme in Asia to our and Hainan replacing other retailing
portfolio,” he says. strategy or is it in complement to other
retailing offerings like duty-free?
Excerpts from the interview: seats, in an effort to counteract greatly Branagan: Travel retailing dramatically
reduced margins. extends and enhances existing strategy.
AAA: How have APAC carriers The difference between this approach In the case of Hainan, aside from
embraced travel retailing to date? and travel retailing is strategy. Travel being able to fully retail and service
Branagan: When considering the history retailers look to address more of a flight products, the t-Retail platform
of flight distribution, travel retailing is customer’s need by retailing a larger also enables Hainan to offer other travel
a relatively new concept. We consider range of travel products (e.g. air products - such as hotels, cars, events,
its initial adoption by carriers in Europe ancillaries, on-board products and ground air ancillaries and packaged products -
to have begun with British Airways - products) across the entire customer through multiple channels. The platform
leading the way with the introduction of journey. Successful travel retailers also also offers them the ability to control their
the dynamic packaging of hotel and car think about getting these products to products, channels, and business model
products through a passenger’s flight the right customers at the right time, in in real-time.
ticket. The significant success of airlines order to carve out a greater share of the For example, at the core of the t-Retail
such as British Airways has inspired other customer wallet. platform lies a powerful merchandising
carriers to follow suit and adopt a travel We are seeing an increased level of rules engine that enables Hainan business
retailing mind set which looks beyond interest in travel retailing in China for two users to author and deploy practices
the flight ticket to serving more of the main reasons. First is the consumer trend in order to follow a specific business
customers’ total travel needs. that is straying away from packaged tours model– as many times a day as needed.
As APAC boasts some of the worlds and towards adopting a more independent With these rules, Hainan is now able to
most admired airlines in terms of brand and style of travel. This has led to consumers independently manage its own product
passion for innovation, it is of no surprise looking to create their own itineraries. propositions (e.g. inventory, availability,
that there is a significant level of interest in Secondly, many of the traditional Chinese price, product biasing etc.) according to
travel retailing coming from the Asia and carriers are facing enormous competitive market demands and opportunities.
Pacific region. Testament to this significant pressures from Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) In the case of Cathay Pacific, the t-Retail
level of interest, are our recent ‘go live’ with - due to Chinese Government regulations Platform has introduced ground ancillary
Cathay Pacific and Hainan Airlines. in favour of such carriers. Such pressure (e.g. hotels) merchandising and dynamic
is leading traditional carriers to look packaging for Cathay Pacific Airways and
AAA: Is the shift in interest to for additional streams of revenue and Dragonair. The t-Retail Platform enables
offering more retail options at is fuelling a growing appetite for travel Cathay Pacific passengers to access
the point of booking stronger in retailing technology in China. hundreds of thousands of hotel choices,
some countries than others? with reviews and ratings provided via
Branagan: Today, most airlines retail AAA: How are APAC consumers integration with TripAdvisor. It provides
more options at the time of booking, for responding to dynamic packaging? the ability to dynamically package the best
example carry-on bags and premium Branagan: Consumers in APAC have available airfares and hotels.
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