The Definitive Guide

Retailing is fuelling a revolution in how travel is purchased. In the wider world, retailers have developed sophisticated merchandising techniques to better serve their customers. Airlines are exploring new types of travel services to add value to their customers and improve profitability, but they are selling these services with a traditional airline mind-set.

With a retailing model, airlines can flip this on its head:

‘I have this set of customers, so how do I fulfil as many of their end-to-end needs to capture the maximum share of wallet, but also to maximise the lifetime value of each customer’. By revamping their selling channels to make it easier for customers to find and buy what they like, airlines can ‘become retailers with wings’.

The primary need of an airline customer is organising a trip, not buying a flight, and armed with this understanding, an airline can begin to sell the complete range of products and services relating to a trip.