CONTINUED FROM BACK COVER
airlines will deal direct with the customer. It will mean they manage every individual seat. They will dynamically price seats.”
Gary Hance, operational yield director
at travel management company ATPI, warned: “There is nothing to stop a carrier increasing prices based on individual passengers.” He pointed out: “When Iata first published its resolution [on NDC], there was stuff in about [passengers’] marital status and sex. It caused a furore and was taken out. The question is, do you want anonymous shopping or do you want personalisation and prices determined partly by the [passenger’s] background? “Only a year ago, a major US carrier
was in trouble for upping fares for its top- tier frequent flyers. The logic was ‘these top-tier flyers only go to our website’.” Hance warned personalised fares
would mean “pricing could be higher”. He added: “Not all carriers will go
down the NDC route, so it is going to be difficult to check offers by NDC carriers against non-NDC carriers.” Iata NDC programme director Yanik
Hoyles insisted: “NDC is a way to allow, via a travel agent, what airlines do on their website. Personalisation is only one little bit of NDC.”
Tilstone said: “It will depend on the airline. It’s going to vary carrier by carrier. NDC presents everyone in the supply chain with an opportunity to demonstrate their value to the buyer.” Heywood said: “It’s going to be a lot easier to understand the ancillaries on a flight, so a lot easier for agents.” Farelogix, one of the technology companies developing NDC systems, announced a partnership with web analytics firm Triometric last week, highlighting its “support for airline implementation of NDC”. It suggested this would help carriers by “increasing profit margins, gaining control of pricing in distribution channels [and] taking ownership of the customer relationship”. Speaking elsewhere at the show,
Capita Travel consulting director Sam Welch warned: “All our analysis shows dynamic pricing is always 15%-25% higher than negotiated rates.”
KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF TRAVEL BY LOGGING ON TO
TRAVELWEEKLY.CO.UK
70 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 5 March 2015
travelweeklybusiness TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY EUROPE 2015: Lee Hayhurst, editor of
JFA SYSTEMS RECRUITS GREGHNI FROM DISNEY AS IT SETS SIGHTSON UK GROWTH
Reservations software developer JFA Systems is targeting growth in the UK, having brought in a new managing director from one of its customers, Disney. Adam Greghni has joined the business, which was established in 1991 by Jim Fatah. It counts some well-known travel brands as long-term clients. The company is behind Disney’s UK consumer site, as well as several of Tui's specialist businesses, and Esprit and Wings Abroad. It also supports Anatolian Sky’s reservations system. Greghni said Fatah had decided to take
more of a back-seat role in the business and had brought him in to spearhead growth and attract new customers. “What I want to do is target medium- sized tour operators that are basically controlling their own stock,” said Greghni. “I come from a commercial background and will look at how the business can grow and how to get the name out there. It’s about targeting the right customers.” At the heart of the JFA system is its web- based Diamond tour operating and booking platform, which allows firms to control their own product.
INTUITIVE TARGETS OPERATORS WITH PACKAGING TOOLS
Croydon-based dynamic packaging software specialist Intuitive is adding more traditional packaging functionality to its technology offering after winning new clients. The firm has taken on Classic Collection
Holidays and managing director Paul Nixon said it was close to signing a deal with another tailor-made operator. He said this would “open up the tour
operator space for us”, claiming addressing the technical challenges in the UK reduces the risk when expanding overseas. “We need more customers to grow,” said
Nixon. “We are a private equity-backed business and they did not get involved to see us stand still.”
Adam Greghni: ‘It’s about targeting the right customers’
The solution has an API data connection with third-party transport providers including easyJet and Rail Europe. The firm also works closely with Gold Medal. The system operates a per passenger commercial model, making it more geared to companies with large volumes. Greghni said the offering was scaleable and he wanted to speak to anyone looking to change their current platform for something more flexible. He added that JFA could offer clients a
standalone transport-aggregation product. “It feels easier to grow in the UK,
culturally. If we can overcome the technical challenges here, it takes out some of the risk factors when working in overseas markets.” Nixon said operators’ web and supplier
technologies were relatively sophisticated but Intuitive was focusing on the “glue in the middle” that sticks them together.
Paul Nixon: ‘It feels easier to grow in the UK’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76