|
Posted Mar 8, 2010
Posted Feb 25, 2010
So far, we’ve established that there are a number of opportunities associated with flight merchandising -- new revenue streams, revitalized supplier-customer relationships, and a way for airlines to finally move beyond commoditization and truly differentiate their product. We left off our last installment, however, with an important question: “How will this rapid adoption of airline merchandising be possible, given the complexities that characterize airline and agency operational and technical supporting processes?â€
Posted Feb 22, 2010
People go to extreme lengths in order to get themselves sitting as near to the pointy bit of a plane as possible, especially on long flights. During the process, every emotion is used from grovelling to indignation, lies and sheer cunning. Sexual promise has also been tried but frankly it got me nowhere.
Posted Feb 10, 2010
When it comes to buying airlines and hotels, there are some big differences. That may not be the case in the near future. I think we're beginning to see a shift--the beginning of a shift--away from the hotel model of pricing and contracting. Let's look first at some key differences:
Posted Feb 10, 2010
Beginning May 1st American Airlines will charge coach passengers $8 for a blanket and inflatable pillow on domestic flights that last longer than two hours. You will have to bring your own warmth and headrest for flights less than two hours if you are in coach. But wait there is more. If you purchase American's pillow and blanket, American will throw in a coupon for $10 off your next purchase of $30 or more at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Goodness, Gracious!
Posted Feb 4, 2010
No more pithy intros or recaps of the last article; it's time to get right into it. Here we go: The search for truths and myths about airline merchandising. For some, the reality of developing, implementing, and distributing an effective airline merchandising product is way too complex to even imagine. This is a myth.
At a macro level, there are really only two major challenges that need to be overcome in order for merchandising to flourish. There needs to be a solid value proposition to motivate buying behavior, and there needs to be operational and technical process to allow the transaction to take place. This is a truth.
Posted Jan 29, 2010
Posted Jan 21, 2010
I have been doing a straw poll among some of our clients and friends to see what their segment incentive fees are from the GDSs. A disclaimer here is that this is from a non-representative sample of agencies. However, I don't think they are atypical. The sample size was from a mixture of major and non-major travel markets worldwide. The reason for doing the poll was because an associate quoted a number of one of his clients to me that I thought was somewhat high. Boy was I wrong.
Posted Jan 21, 2010
Last week, I introduced a blog series on merchandising. The first installment focused on the fact that there is a wide range of opinions and emotions across the travel industry regarding this new phenomenon called merchandising. I also pointed out that there is a fair amount of misinformation and misunderstanding on the topic, and this often inhibits effective discussion and debate. So, in the hopes of leading to more fruitful and informed discussions for all of us, this second installment is a short primer on merchandising lingo. The intent here is to give us all a baseline understanding about this powerful movement that is unfolding in our industry.
Posted Jan 19, 2010
|
