Most of the airlines may be assured to become fully emerging retailers, but they are still far from achieving this.
UATP Airline Distribution 2025 Summit in Budapest collected a group of industrial experts to discuss whether the airlines are retailers. It has been agreed that they may try to be.
“Airlines are not retailers today. The retail dealer takes off something from the manufacturer and resales it.
“Airlines are the suppliers today in this regard. Some people may do so a little today, and some may have designs to do this in the future, but not today.”
“The majority is not [retailers]Some are trying to do so. Some of them are successful, Ryanier is successful.
“Some airlines are trying to retail not only their products. Some are successful because their commercial strategy is in line with the retail trade.
“They have a retail platform that does not come from their PSS [Passenger Service System] provider. PSS supplier is not known how to make a retail platform.
“To become retail stores, an airline must have a commercial team that is considering retail, which is the first step. Not all airlines are equipped to manage the change required.
“Retail will require a certain amount of change. Most airlines can only sell a flight ticket. Most of them are limited to selling a flight ticket.”
George Diaz, founder and CEO of Airgateway, said that the airlines are trying to become retailers. “When it comes to the BC channel, most of them have some retail support. But they are trying to achieve a full retail condition, and it is not there.”
Clark added: “There is a vision in the industry that has been discussed for many years about the One Stop – Come to my website, and come to my application and you can buy its totality from travel. It’s a vision. There is one or airline that revolves around the edges of the retailers really.”
Dumas said that many depend on clients and whether airlines are able to meet the demands of non -container products with rich content. “They understand that they become a retailer, it’s not only the price.
“You are trying to sell an experience and build the experience. As a customer you want to see the product you will buy, touch the product you will buy.
“This is the place from the point of view of the retail experience, the industry has a lot of progress. You sell the image, product and price less important than the experience.”
The traditional Dumas PNR said [Passenger name Record] The systems are not ready for this additional content, but the next generation “Super PNRS” enjoys one of the requests to make the ONE Stop store a reality.
Clark said: “The question for me is why the airline wants to become a retailer.
“Look at how the airline is organized and where it earns its money. Today, talking largely, do not earn money on the flying part of its work. They earn money in many different places, which is one is loyalty, especially in the United States.
“A real airline is needed to approach the customer. That’s what NDC is [New Distribution Capability] Trying to do it. We need, from the perspective of the airline to be closer to the customer. It reduces marketing costs.
“You can walk around GDS and reduce the cost of distribution. It is happening. They appear with real numbers that their direct reservations are rising, around the world, nearly 10 points in the past five years, in the United States 11 points.”
Dumas pointed out that the luggage that is still today is the largest additional product that has been sold by airlines with the global aid market worth one billion dollars.
He said that the compounds and technology suppliers are trying to help airlines in how to put this type of product in the flow of reservation in favor of BC, retail dealers and corporate employees in a non -connection mode. He added that the low -cost transport companies “largely” are more retailing than scheduled airlines.
Airgateway works with two the three main European LCCS LCCS to which one interface says with the Navitaire Amadeus platform that is transferred to NDC. Diaz said: “Full service and low cost carriers are likely to meet one day about NDC,” Diaz said.