The air travel distribution landscape is undergoing a revolution, and Trip Advisor is in the midst of it. With so many options for travelers to plan and book flights on so many platforms, like seat selection and bag screening, it’s important for the industry to provide a solution that provides a streamlined and seamless experience. , said his Shelly Younger, Director of Aviation Retail. For Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).
In an interview with TravelPulse, Younger said an omnichannel retail solution that enables customers to buy anywhere and get service anywhere will help create a more personalized employee experience by connecting airlines, travel agents and travelers. , he said, addresses this issue by creating a , ultimately leading to improved customer retention and overall satisfaction. .
advertisement
According to Younger, ARC plays two main roles in air travel purchases. First, he is responsible for accrediting agents, enabling agents to issue air transactions that are reported to ARC for credit billing or cash settlement. As a result of the company’s role in accreditation, ARC has a wide variety of data and analytics products that reflect airline transactions. This includes tickets and accessories such as seats, baggage and priority boarding. ARC can also provide global airline data through its partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The challenge in this more complex situation, says Younger, is getting the right product to the right customer at the right time. Now that ticket purchases include options such as seat selection, baggage inspection, and lounge pass, each traveler will buy a different “bundle,” making the deal more personalized. It is ideal to become a thing.
We equate newer omnichannel solutions, including direct connections with NDC, to the Amazon experience to understand what customers want to buy and what they have purchased in the past. ARC provides solutions to enable such customer insights and better experiences, she said.
Part of the evolution of distribution networks is the emergence of direct connect. In addition to accessing fares and content via traditional Global Distribution Systems (GDS), agencies can now connect directly to airline content via 1:1 connections or aggregators . GDS was the first aggregator of airline sales, but other aggregators are doing the same with direct content as well as his GDS.
According to Younger, in the GDS world, the GDS compiles prices, fare rules and schedules, and tells airlines whether a particular seat is available at that price. With Direct Connect, the airline itself compiles and distributes the information. According to Younger, his 7% of ARC volume is now direct connect transactions and is growing rapidly. GDS is also moving to direct content offerings.
Advantages of Direct Connect
— A direct connection allows the provider to know who is shopping. The new technology supported by Direct Connect makes the use of airline product photos, other graphics and details not available in the GDS, as well as bundling and corporate deals to be “more engaging”. enables personalized content. A direct connection allows the airline to know the buyer, but allows the consumer to shop anonymously as a guest.
— New Distribution Capability (NDC) enables an enhanced customer experience through Direct Connect by providing details on available airline products and additional airline accessories through this upgraded communication A set of XML standards. Buyers have access to unique fares not available in traditional GDS.
Personalized content has many benefits, says Younger. ARC can also help provide a centralized reporting and payment platform for the airline to submit his ARC Direct Connect transactions. ARC brings together Direct Connect and GDS transactions to create a more efficient reconciliation and payment experience for travel merchants.
Naturally, all these changes come with a lot of growing pains. If the travel agency is small and does not have all the technical knowledge that a large travel agency might have, the advisor will likely rely on her GDS for access to Direct Connect content. will continue to If the agency is larger and able to support these changes, they are more likely to work directly with the airline on accessing direct connect content. In any case, GDS will continue to play an important role as travel operators adapt to change and continue to update their technology themselves.
ARC’s big focus is data from the millions of airline tickets it handles. Many customers want that information. For example, a destination management organization (DMO) wants to be able to see flight trends and patterns to help with marketing.
One of the key changes Younger sees is that more advisors are taking an active role in the distribution. So direct he connects and he learns about NDC, understands where content is coming from, what changes there are in content, and works directly for better content. Work with airlines or aggregators to better understand your data. All of this allows us to offer more value to our customers.
ARC is considering various ways to connect all channel dots and is in discussions with advisors and airlines to optimize all connections. According to her, the current call to action is that the industry as a whole needs to take the omnichannel aspect very seriously. Travelers not only want to shop on every channel, they want to be served on every channel. According to Younger, the motto is “Buy anywhere, get service anywhere.”
Advisors should take an active role with airlines or aggregator partners to ask questions about how they can help travel agents meet their omnichannel needs. Combining her GDS channel with her content director, she said, can be more complex, but also provides many opportunities to deliver value to her end customers.
Ultimately, Younger says the goal is to improve the customer experience by optimizing omnichannel delivery. Everyone in the industry has an interest in reducing friction in buying and selling airline tickets, she concluded.
