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.
Developing standards and solutions to handle ancillary revenue items now in vogue at most airlines has been and will continue to be a challenging task that requires coordination between various industry constituents. The solution favored by ARC--the
electronic miscellaneous document--has its good, bad and ugly sides.
