Oneworld’s digital backbone middleware hopes to extend beyond the basics in the coming year, offering its members the opportunity to also sell services, not just give them away. Is this the solution to the interline ancillary revenue problem??
Distribution
CTrip, Routehappy team for improved online shopping experience
Millions of passengers across Asia will soon have access to more and better information when shopping for flights thanks to a new partnership between CTrip and Routehappy by ATPCO.
Solving the Codeshare Conundrum: Travelport, Routehappy, alliances weigh in
Codeshare flights: Great for airlines and confusing for passengers. Multiple groups across the industry are looking to clear up that confusion, exposing better data to travelers and smoothing the marketing message.
Kiwi offers legal support for sketchy flight bookings
Do you hate following the rules? Feel like airlines need to be taught a lesson in what’s really fair when it comes to fares? Online travel site Kiwi.com wants to help out, possibly even including legal counsel.
IATA Coin: A blockchain play by and for the airline world
Airlines transferring funds via blockchain? Turns out this is not a far-fetched, future vision. It is reality today thanks to a cryptocurrency known as the IATA Coin.
United revamps Basic Economy in Transatlantic market
Just six months ago United Airlines introduced a not-quite-Basic Economy fare option for transatlantic travels. Next week the company will complete the transition, formally rebranding the offering as Basic Economy. NOt surprisingly, the new version is even more restrictive than before.
Qantas quits the startup world
Airlines want to invest in emerging technologies. They want access to the startups and to foster those relationships. This is the message delivered around the world as investment funds, incubators and accelerators sprout up. Many of these programs claim success and continue to grow. For Qantas, however, the message is different. Its dedicated venture group dissolved in recent weeks and the accelerator shuttered.
Air Canada’s blockchain play: Less than meets the eye
A major airline commits to blockchain as a distribution avenue. That’s the story being spun about Air Canada’s deal with Winding Tree. And, to some extent it is accurate. But one key point remains relatively muted in the reporting: Air Canada really is not doing anything with blockchain.
Swoop: A marketing machine that happens to fly planes
Canadian upstart Swoop, the ULCC arm of WestJet, aims to succeed as an airline mostly by not really acting like an airline. Sure, there are airplanes and pilots and such, but CEO Steven Greenway is adamant that change come quickly. And he’s keen to dramatically upset the North American aviation market along the way.
Airline stopovers: Big business or marketing malarkey?
Stopovers arguably built the Icelandic tourism economy and its position in the North Atlantic aviation market. But are such programs a guaranteed success? More and more airlines are trying, often with outsized expectations and limited success. Here are a few examples of such…