As regular readers know - I am not a huge fan of the GDSs. But occasionally they do something right.
The new Sabre ProfilePlus product which will replace the old and now very tired STAARS product (actually does it still have 2 As in it?) it has used for so many moons.
All 3 GDSs are now working on the non-TPF hosted Profile system. I cannot comment on the others because I haven't seen the Amadeus and the TravelPort products. However I think it is definitely a product type whose time has come.
Prying open the GDS to allow access to the core functionality of the GDS without necessarily changing the underlying components, would have been heresy even a few years ago. Today with products like LUTE's Open Office Platform and Travelport's new workstation product, the unbundled model is indeed becoming a reality.
It should be remembered that the GDS sits on 3 basic platform legs.
Content and access to supply e.g. Airlines Inventory and pricing
Applications e.g. Shopping tools
Customer File Management e.g. PNRs and profiles
The unbundling of the GDS model has been something that has needed to happen for a very long time.
ProfilePlus represents a good way forward. It is huge. 1600 data elements. It is however still host based. The old flat file based profiles are replaced with significant capabilities and useful tools. It is based on web services model with a GUI as the front end and interfaces using both a command line or a Graphical front end. It is also 2 way although the initial release will be the traditional unidirectional tool. it is tightly coupled to MySabre but in the future will support external services such as Merlin in Germany.
Among the new capabilities are:
1. Templates that will make profile creation a lot easier
2. Filters that enable the display of only critical data a lot easier
3. A master (Oracle based) database for the management and manipulation of profiles
4. PNR interaction via a new *PI function
5. Profile migration tool which is essential
6. A future road map of many functions
7. Interaction with both local and remote applications
There are many elements that will be familiar - A.O.N - Always, Optional and Never move components.
In the discussion with the product folks today, they described how Sabre has a vision for recreating the PNR by "flattening" the structure. This is a pretty radical departure for a GDS.
Product roll out will occur in Q2 2009 with migration complete by the end of 2010. There are already about 25-30 users on the system in test.
Frankly the power will be more than 90% of what agents will generally need. But this wont be too complicated as the standard agent in the high street never need touch the power. However for a large corporate agency this has functions that have been asked for. It is however a whole new structure and functionality that will require extensive support services (that Sabre will initially provide at no additional charge). It is of the same magnitude of effort as the introduction of scripting.
There are still challenges. Prying open the GDS requires a philosophical and commercial model that Sabre doesn't seem to be too keen to support at this point. But with tools like this the technology is not going to be the problem.
Kudos to the team at Sabre who did the work. It looks very thorough. However one should spend a lot of time with the product before deciding on its deployment profile.
It would be very interesting to see how the other 2 systems, Amadeus' new environment and the G2 based solution from Travelport stack up against Sabre's now announced offering.
Cheers
20 March 2009
From The Dept. Of Crass Headlines:
79% of US email users went on to book travel online after receiving an e-mail from a travel company.
Thank you epsilon. I enjoyed it. No further comment is necessary
Thank you epsilon. I enjoyed it. No further comment is necessary
The Ancillary Revenue Well to Run Dry?
Good piece from Reuters and published in USA Today - march 18.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-03-18-airline-fees_N.htm
There is no doubt that Ancillary Revenues have definitely saved the Airlines in 2008 and now into 2009 this is of major value and has become a mainstay of airline gross revenues. However there is a sense of foreboding that seems to be permeating the revenue managers of the airlines. Perhaps the well has run dry and the unbundling of the product has reached its logical conclusion. There is only so much that you can ask a customer to pay for separately before he suffers from wallet fatigue. There are a good number of people who firmly believe that they are being ripped off for things like taxes, service fees, surcharges and fuel fees etc.
For LCCs particularly the master of this - Ryanair - the issues are pretty straightforward, they are totally transparent about the issue. However even Ryanair may have reached the end of that limit if they proceed to force a 100% online checkin fee. At least you know where you stand with FR.
However contrast this with the Full Service Network Carriers. They are offering frills for pay and there is a lot of confusion around how these frills are offered or not as the case maybe. Further the inability to purchase some of these things through the traditional environments such as a GDS powered travel agency has become a major frustration on all sides.
Case in point. Why would you make your most frequent flyers pay for change fees at the same time opening up such previously hard won privileges such as lounge passes or priority status for fees. I urge you to go hang out in some of the frequent flyer forums if you want to see some venom being spat out on these subjects.
One thing is for certain the low hanging fruit of this ancillary revenue is done. Now the hard things have to be worked out and made to work. That is going to cost money and the issue of whether the revenue justifies the additional costs come into play.
Of course what this does to your brand proposition and your customer loyalty is a very open question.
As always - don't expect money for nothing - "and your chicks ain't for free!". For those of you running off to yet another ancillary revenue conference be careful. All that glitters is not gold.
Be warned and be careful - all of you.
Cheers
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-03-18-airline-fees_N.htm
There is no doubt that Ancillary Revenues have definitely saved the Airlines in 2008 and now into 2009 this is of major value and has become a mainstay of airline gross revenues. However there is a sense of foreboding that seems to be permeating the revenue managers of the airlines. Perhaps the well has run dry and the unbundling of the product has reached its logical conclusion. There is only so much that you can ask a customer to pay for separately before he suffers from wallet fatigue. There are a good number of people who firmly believe that they are being ripped off for things like taxes, service fees, surcharges and fuel fees etc.
For LCCs particularly the master of this - Ryanair - the issues are pretty straightforward, they are totally transparent about the issue. However even Ryanair may have reached the end of that limit if they proceed to force a 100% online checkin fee. At least you know where you stand with FR.
However contrast this with the Full Service Network Carriers. They are offering frills for pay and there is a lot of confusion around how these frills are offered or not as the case maybe. Further the inability to purchase some of these things through the traditional environments such as a GDS powered travel agency has become a major frustration on all sides.
Case in point. Why would you make your most frequent flyers pay for change fees at the same time opening up such previously hard won privileges such as lounge passes or priority status for fees. I urge you to go hang out in some of the frequent flyer forums if you want to see some venom being spat out on these subjects.
One thing is for certain the low hanging fruit of this ancillary revenue is done. Now the hard things have to be worked out and made to work. That is going to cost money and the issue of whether the revenue justifies the additional costs come into play.
Of course what this does to your brand proposition and your customer loyalty is a very open question.
As always - don't expect money for nothing - "and your chicks ain't for free!". For those of you running off to yet another ancillary revenue conference be careful. All that glitters is not gold.
Be warned and be careful - all of you.
Cheers
19 March 2009
Worldwide Outbreak of Twitarrhea.
Surprising to some - it may be said - but the Professor is not always an early adopter of technology. He is however a very keen gadget hound and usually tries everything at least once. He opines (in the third person) that its a bit like sushi... how do you know if you are going to die unless you try it...
OK so back to the first person and I think I have said before that I find Twitter a little obtrusive. Now I am beginning to find it annoying in certain cases. I do find there are some very good times when Twitter Tweets are very useful. I have noted before that they are great during conferences and probably during emergency situations. But for the rest - well I just have a hard time justifying my very precious time with perhaps a lot of junk.
So my problem is that I don't have the ability to edit it or to know if the person is sending valuable information in the tweets or just describing the contents of their lunch. So it would seem that we are now beginning to suffer a worldwide viral explosion of the new disease Twitarrhea.
This new and it would seem quite pervasive disease is characterized by very often quite rational and sane people using their cellphones to engage in mindless activities and opinions of seldom any relevance. And just because it can be done in 140 characters should not be an excuse to send a stream of the effluent.
It this wasn't bad enough it seems that there is a secondary disease that affects an even greater percentage of the population called Spanish Tweettimetheftuenza. (With full apologies to the people of the Iberian peninsula). This secondary disease could be more harmful to the world than Twitarrhea in that it has now stolen many billions of minutes of people's time causing reduced productivity in the workplace and relationship strain and breakup.
For some extreme examples of Twitarrhea - I refer you to the famous Robert X Cringely.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2009/03/escape_from_the.html?source=NLC-NOTES&cgd=2009-03-16
I often admonish my readers to be careful and be warned to terrible afflictions. This is perhaps the most important warning I have given to date.
DON'T DO IT. If I may quote one of the most famous statements of all time (and butcher it just a little) from Walt Disney's Bambi:
"If you cannot Tweet something nice then don't tweet anything at all"
OK so back to the first person and I think I have said before that I find Twitter a little obtrusive. Now I am beginning to find it annoying in certain cases. I do find there are some very good times when Twitter Tweets are very useful. I have noted before that they are great during conferences and probably during emergency situations. But for the rest - well I just have a hard time justifying my very precious time with perhaps a lot of junk.
So my problem is that I don't have the ability to edit it or to know if the person is sending valuable information in the tweets or just describing the contents of their lunch. So it would seem that we are now beginning to suffer a worldwide viral explosion of the new disease Twitarrhea.
This new and it would seem quite pervasive disease is characterized by very often quite rational and sane people using their cellphones to engage in mindless activities and opinions of seldom any relevance. And just because it can be done in 140 characters should not be an excuse to send a stream of the effluent.
It this wasn't bad enough it seems that there is a secondary disease that affects an even greater percentage of the population called Spanish Tweettimetheftuenza. (With full apologies to the people of the Iberian peninsula). This secondary disease could be more harmful to the world than Twitarrhea in that it has now stolen many billions of minutes of people's time causing reduced productivity in the workplace and relationship strain and breakup.
For some extreme examples of Twitarrhea - I refer you to the famous Robert X Cringely.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2009/03/escape_from_the.html?source=NLC-NOTES&cgd=2009-03-16
I often admonish my readers to be careful and be warned to terrible afflictions. This is perhaps the most important warning I have given to date.
DON'T DO IT. If I may quote one of the most famous statements of all time (and butcher it just a little) from Walt Disney's Bambi:
"If you cannot Tweet something nice then don't tweet anything at all"
18 March 2009
Airline Seats as Razors?
Tim Hughes - whose blog I really like - writes in his column from down under today on the notion of the airline seat vs ancillary revenues as the Razor vs Razor blade discussion.
http://tims-boot.blogspot.com/2009/03/travelocity-to-remove-air-ticket-fees.html
The concept founded so many years ago by King Gillette (yes that was his real name) of selling the larger product at a loss or zero cost but making the profit of the use of the product is clearly not and not necessarily news.
However adopting this model comes at a huge price that not many may be willing to pay.
Consider this - if (heaven forbid) Ryanair was to have an accident and lives lost or serious injuries what would happen to Ryanair? probably a lot since it has little brand value other than price. Were the same thing to happen to Lufthansa - its a different proposition as LH has a much higher brand value.
if therefore you append the Razor/Blade model over airlines today many things happen. The investmant in the brand proposition changes. The value proposition changes. Most definitely what happens is that you destroy the value of your proposition compared to comparable products and services. In the case of the airline trying to make money out of the initial reservation/seat sale - then they become no better than Ryanair.
Indeed in my opinion this works for someone like Ryanair. It doesnt work for a premium product airline or even an association with a brand that is lesser in perception terms.
All in all its not a good idea.
Seperating the brand proposition from the product works for things like Game Consolers or Razors. It doesnt work for a premium long established airline in my view.
Cheers
Timothy
http://tims-boot.blogspot.com/2009/03/travelocity-to-remove-air-ticket-fees.html
The concept founded so many years ago by King Gillette (yes that was his real name) of selling the larger product at a loss or zero cost but making the profit of the use of the product is clearly not and not necessarily news.
However adopting this model comes at a huge price that not many may be willing to pay.
Consider this - if (heaven forbid) Ryanair was to have an accident and lives lost or serious injuries what would happen to Ryanair? probably a lot since it has little brand value other than price. Were the same thing to happen to Lufthansa - its a different proposition as LH has a much higher brand value.
if therefore you append the Razor/Blade model over airlines today many things happen. The investmant in the brand proposition changes. The value proposition changes. Most definitely what happens is that you destroy the value of your proposition compared to comparable products and services. In the case of the airline trying to make money out of the initial reservation/seat sale - then they become no better than Ryanair.
Indeed in my opinion this works for someone like Ryanair. It doesnt work for a premium product airline or even an association with a brand that is lesser in perception terms.
All in all its not a good idea.
Seperating the brand proposition from the product works for things like Game Consolers or Razors. It doesnt work for a premium long established airline in my view.
Cheers
Timothy
16 March 2009
Is Ryanair Losing Screen Scrape War?
I have to say I am conflicted on this one.
The issue of the ability of a screen scraper to "steal, misuse, misappropriate or manipulate" material off the web pages of an airline attacks one of the fundamental issues of Intellectual Property. Is the data you have yours or not? At the heart of this are two conflicting concepts.
On the open access doctrine sits the - "If you put it out, there it's public" rights.
However if you present the conditions for use of the data then the right to refuse to sell rule comes to play - yes the "no shoes, no shirt, no service" rule. As long as you don't discriminate - this has been a fundamental right of every seller.
At this stage I think that Ryanair and BA (who has similar policy) clearly state the right to use rules on their websites (as does Expedia and many others) have right in their corner. However once the booking has been accepted then the case gets murky. So if someone used subterfuge to get the booking done illegally - then the airline has the right to refuse flight but only if the consumer knowingly deployed some underhanded way of getting the booking.
This little detail seems to have been lost in the Multicom pronouncements that FR is going to lose the battle.
Since at the moment FR has said that it is not allowing ANYONE to screen scrape it means that ALL bookings are the fruit of a poison vine action. This is a fundemental legal concept.
Don't you just love the law!
Cheers
The issue of the ability of a screen scraper to "steal, misuse, misappropriate or manipulate" material off the web pages of an airline attacks one of the fundamental issues of Intellectual Property. Is the data you have yours or not? At the heart of this are two conflicting concepts.
On the open access doctrine sits the - "If you put it out, there it's public" rights.
However if you present the conditions for use of the data then the right to refuse to sell rule comes to play - yes the "no shoes, no shirt, no service" rule. As long as you don't discriminate - this has been a fundamental right of every seller.
At this stage I think that Ryanair and BA (who has similar policy) clearly state the right to use rules on their websites (as does Expedia and many others) have right in their corner. However once the booking has been accepted then the case gets murky. So if someone used subterfuge to get the booking done illegally - then the airline has the right to refuse flight but only if the consumer knowingly deployed some underhanded way of getting the booking.
This little detail seems to have been lost in the Multicom pronouncements that FR is going to lose the battle.
Since at the moment FR has said that it is not allowing ANYONE to screen scrape it means that ALL bookings are the fruit of a poison vine action. This is a fundemental legal concept.
Don't you just love the law!
Cheers
The BTC vs IATA Privacy Debate
The debate between BTC and IATA over the PAXIS information tool has boiled into a brawl. As it should.
The EU New code of conduct has many gray areas - but data privacy is not one of them. There are clear obligations for any provider of data. They must mask individual and corporate/group entity data so that performance of an individual side cannot be interpreted.
Frankly the Paxis product is somewhat clunky to use. As is all MIDT data. BIDT data cannot be used inappropriately, this is what seems to be the case.
IATA is going to have to back down or it will create a back door to data across the board. I hope they see the error of their ways. Perhaps when the boys and girls all move to Miami things will improve!
Cheers
The EU New code of conduct has many gray areas - but data privacy is not one of them. There are clear obligations for any provider of data. They must mask individual and corporate/group entity data so that performance of an individual side cannot be interpreted.
Frankly the Paxis product is somewhat clunky to use. As is all MIDT data. BIDT data cannot be used inappropriately, this is what seems to be the case.
IATA is going to have to back down or it will create a back door to data across the board. I hope they see the error of their ways. Perhaps when the boys and girls all move to Miami things will improve!
Cheers
14 March 2009
PhocusWright Sessions @ITB 2009
Sadly I could not spend as much time as I wanted to with the PCW crew. What I saw (and then cheated by watching the stream (Thanks Phil!) made it worth while. Another good show chaps. Seemed to be more subdued than last year. The whole ITB show seemed to be very busy on the first day but was dead by Friday Afternoon.
However I am seeing a disconnect between what I perceive as the real world and what some of the panelists were saying. Frankly I don't think its Mobile's year. Not for the way that Travel can make money out of it. Sure there are some VERY cool apps on iPhone and now even Crackberry has some interesting apps. But its not that useful. Now I need a kind of traffic cop on my iPhone view top. And even after playing with an iPhone for quite some time - I have gone back to the Crackberry - better for what I need - Email.
Where I am still very uncomfortable is in the persistence that the "cool" elements outweigh "smart" elements. Thus I still dont see a long term huge value in UGC, Mobile, Social Networks and the like. This doesn't mean that there cannot be good uses, but I find it hard to sift through the "noise". And I know customers do too.
One area I am absolutely in sync with is that Context is critical. (I just cannot quite bring myself to say its King though).
What people say on platforms and then what they say in backrooms and coffee places are once again clearly different.
What are clients and their business partners are saying are very different. Cut costs, preserve value and do way more with way less. Many projects involving UGC just quietly died. Social Networks... no time. Mobile - why?
I see a big 3 Cs emerging.
Consistent, Context and Cheap.
And you?
However I am seeing a disconnect between what I perceive as the real world and what some of the panelists were saying. Frankly I don't think its Mobile's year. Not for the way that Travel can make money out of it. Sure there are some VERY cool apps on iPhone and now even Crackberry has some interesting apps. But its not that useful. Now I need a kind of traffic cop on my iPhone view top. And even after playing with an iPhone for quite some time - I have gone back to the Crackberry - better for what I need - Email.
Where I am still very uncomfortable is in the persistence that the "cool" elements outweigh "smart" elements. Thus I still dont see a long term huge value in UGC, Mobile, Social Networks and the like. This doesn't mean that there cannot be good uses, but I find it hard to sift through the "noise". And I know customers do too.
One area I am absolutely in sync with is that Context is critical. (I just cannot quite bring myself to say its King though).
What people say on platforms and then what they say in backrooms and coffee places are once again clearly different.
What are clients and their business partners are saying are very different. Cut costs, preserve value and do way more with way less. Many projects involving UGC just quietly died. Social Networks... no time. Mobile - why?
I see a big 3 Cs emerging.
Consistent, Context and Cheap.
And you?
BA Swings A Soft Axe First (Eugene)
BA has swung its first round of cuts by sending out Voluntary Retirement Notices to all its European based staff. Much like Delta did at the end of 2008, BA's program promises little incentive to leave at the moment.
With BA's troubles mounting across the board, they need to reduce headcount even further and probably a lot faster. The drop off of premium traffic affects BA who is more vulnerable with less "cheap" seats in their inventory.
Having just flown in the back of BA and LH round trip in coach both ways - I can assure you that LH has many more cheap seats available - AND is filling them - than BA has and is not necessarily filling them.
They say perception is reality. In the case of the battle for survival, caution wins. BA's aggressive pursuit of profitability at the expense of the gross revenues is now starting to look a little thin.
Cheers
With BA's troubles mounting across the board, they need to reduce headcount even further and probably a lot faster. The drop off of premium traffic affects BA who is more vulnerable with less "cheap" seats in their inventory.
Having just flown in the back of BA and LH round trip in coach both ways - I can assure you that LH has many more cheap seats available - AND is filling them - than BA has and is not necessarily filling them.
They say perception is reality. In the case of the battle for survival, caution wins. BA's aggressive pursuit of profitability at the expense of the gross revenues is now starting to look a little thin.
Cheers
AF/KL Charges To Be Eaten By Travelport
Travelport has elected to eat the surcharges that will be imposed by AF/KL in France and NL starting this summer.
While both parties admit they are far apart - Travelport is trying to take the pressure out of the system by covering the overage at least for the short term. Just like Amadeus initially did for LH bookings in Germany.
The full impact has not yet hit Germany yet. LH is collecting its fee (4.90 Euros) for LX and LH via an ADM process. Those ADMs should be hitting people's desks in a few days. Then you will see some shift in the market.
We can be pretty sure that there are other carriers considering doing exactly the same thing. So in essence there are at least 4 airlines in Europe charging some form of GDS surcharge fee for content sold via the GDS. (The other 2 players currently doing this are Norwegian Air Shuttle and EasyJet).
Having spent the last week in Berlin at ITB, this is a hot topic for all kinds of Intermediaries, GDSs and Airlines.
With Travelport showing canned demos of its G2 developed product for Multi-Access GDS and LUTE Technologies CommandPRO already in production with several hundred agencies, there are going to be some interesting times ahead.
Cheers
While both parties admit they are far apart - Travelport is trying to take the pressure out of the system by covering the overage at least for the short term. Just like Amadeus initially did for LH bookings in Germany.
The full impact has not yet hit Germany yet. LH is collecting its fee (4.90 Euros) for LX and LH via an ADM process. Those ADMs should be hitting people's desks in a few days. Then you will see some shift in the market.
We can be pretty sure that there are other carriers considering doing exactly the same thing. So in essence there are at least 4 airlines in Europe charging some form of GDS surcharge fee for content sold via the GDS. (The other 2 players currently doing this are Norwegian Air Shuttle and EasyJet).
Having spent the last week in Berlin at ITB, this is a hot topic for all kinds of Intermediaries, GDSs and Airlines.
With Travelport showing canned demos of its G2 developed product for Multi-Access GDS and LUTE Technologies CommandPRO already in production with several hundred agencies, there are going to be some interesting times ahead.
Cheers
12 March 2009
ARC Sales - Stay down
January my friends was not a blip.
But lets be clear here - we are accounting for some aberration.
While total $ value sales were down 26% you have to really look at the number of tickets and the number of days.
So the extra day accounts for 3.6% extra activity. There are other considerations if you want to split hairs such as the number of work days. But in all we should expect that transactions are off a net 15% Y/Y. The falling off in yield is another example of the issues facing everyone. The airlines and the hotels are experiencing some pretty heft yield drops.
This is now exposing a soft underbelly of politicians. IE that the taxation model comes out pretty clearly. Taxes can make up a large chunk of the price now. We have fares across the Atlantic for nearly close to what RyanAir has been proposing. We have fares on legacy carriers between European Capitals for less than Ryanair (just have a look FRA-LON).
So still not healthy. But read between the lines.
Cheers
But lets be clear here - we are accounting for some aberration.
While total $ value sales were down 26% you have to really look at the number of tickets and the number of days.
So the extra day accounts for 3.6% extra activity. There are other considerations if you want to split hairs such as the number of work days. But in all we should expect that transactions are off a net 15% Y/Y. The falling off in yield is another example of the issues facing everyone. The airlines and the hotels are experiencing some pretty heft yield drops.
This is now exposing a soft underbelly of politicians. IE that the taxation model comes out pretty clearly. Taxes can make up a large chunk of the price now. We have fares across the Atlantic for nearly close to what RyanAir has been proposing. We have fares on legacy carriers between European Capitals for less than Ryanair (just have a look FRA-LON).
So still not healthy. But read between the lines.
Cheers
ITB2009 - What's it like?
From the Professor's perch - it looks pretty much the same.
The mad scrum to get into the building, at least this year you can print your entry badges but its still a mad dash. The halls seem just as full of carrier bag toting students and people from all countries. The organizers are saying its the biggest thus far. And it remains certainly very big.
From a Technology point of view there is clearly a lot less going on. The GDSs per se are not there. Travelport has a generic stand, Sabre is not there as a GDS and Amadeus is putting its Traveltainment best foot forward. Thus hall 6.1 is somewhat bereft of the usual players. No Tom Dillon this year to sparkle us with his Irish wit!
I attended quite a few meetings on day 1 and spoke to many people. Even made it to one party. I think I could categorize people into 2 possibly 3 groups. The possible third is the Denials. There are still a few out there. Fortunately only a very few now. So the other groups I will call the Pragmatists and the Deer.
The Pragmatists are hunkering down - chopping vere they can and making plans for the upturn. Survival is a word you hear frequently. Caution is another watchword. Adjusting to the new reality seems to be the focus. Further i think we can see that there are few who believe that this is a short term thing.
The Deer are what a good friend of mine described as those beyond denial. The are not just frozen in the headlights but actually looking for salvation in them. Unfortunately there are still quite of a lot of these.
One element I find interesting is the contrasting views from the geography of the participants. I have not spoken to many from Asia/Pacific but there is a clear contrast from Europe and the USA. More pertinent is that the USA collapse in confidence is not shared so broadly in Europe.
So for now I will keep on observing. There are some wonderful things going on that will make for a fascinating view of the new world order when confidence and the economies return from hiatus.
And what do you think?
Cheers
The mad scrum to get into the building, at least this year you can print your entry badges but its still a mad dash. The halls seem just as full of carrier bag toting students and people from all countries. The organizers are saying its the biggest thus far. And it remains certainly very big.
From a Technology point of view there is clearly a lot less going on. The GDSs per se are not there. Travelport has a generic stand, Sabre is not there as a GDS and Amadeus is putting its Traveltainment best foot forward. Thus hall 6.1 is somewhat bereft of the usual players. No Tom Dillon this year to sparkle us with his Irish wit!
I attended quite a few meetings on day 1 and spoke to many people. Even made it to one party. I think I could categorize people into 2 possibly 3 groups. The possible third is the Denials. There are still a few out there. Fortunately only a very few now. So the other groups I will call the Pragmatists and the Deer.
The Pragmatists are hunkering down - chopping vere they can and making plans for the upturn. Survival is a word you hear frequently. Caution is another watchword. Adjusting to the new reality seems to be the focus. Further i think we can see that there are few who believe that this is a short term thing.
The Deer are what a good friend of mine described as those beyond denial. The are not just frozen in the headlights but actually looking for salvation in them. Unfortunately there are still quite of a lot of these.
One element I find interesting is the contrasting views from the geography of the participants. I have not spoken to many from Asia/Pacific but there is a clear contrast from Europe and the USA. More pertinent is that the USA collapse in confidence is not shared so broadly in Europe.
So for now I will keep on observing. There are some wonderful things going on that will make for a fascinating view of the new world order when confidence and the economies return from hiatus.
And what do you think?
Cheers
09 March 2009
Use of ACH as Debt Collection Works in Reverse for SABRE
Ouch....
NW decided it didnt like getting billed by Sabre for what were interline reservations (as opposed to GDS segments). So it threatened Sabre and eventually carried through on its threat and took a cool $1.5 million from Sabre via the ACH - Airline Clearing House.
Sabre sued and has now withdrawn its lawsuit.
The issue was code share segments on the struggling Midwest Express which NW owns now a share of.
What is fascinating about this is that Sabre pushed the issue a bit too far and Northwest stamped on them hard. It sets a clear precedent that in future any GDS who tries to do this will see the airlines push back - hard.
we have all been warned on this one
Cheers
NW decided it didnt like getting billed by Sabre for what were interline reservations (as opposed to GDS segments). So it threatened Sabre and eventually carried through on its threat and took a cool $1.5 million from Sabre via the ACH - Airline Clearing House.
Sabre sued and has now withdrawn its lawsuit.
The issue was code share segments on the struggling Midwest Express which NW owns now a share of.
What is fascinating about this is that Sabre pushed the issue a bit too far and Northwest stamped on them hard. It sets a clear precedent that in future any GDS who tries to do this will see the airlines push back - hard.
we have all been warned on this one
Cheers
07 March 2009
So Is Ryanair Serious About Pay Toilets? Anything Else?
Rumours, denials, counter-rumours....
Latest is the #1 story yesterday (6May2009) at the Irish Times - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0306/1224242371838.html?via
says yes.
So thanks for the sleuths Professors Stuart and Hartmut for keeping me abreast of this rather dirty and smelly situation.
Now as I understand it MOL is serious about the pin and swipe issue. A pound to spend a penny.
On some deep research we uncovered a shocking set of facts. Indeed FR has done some research into this. Amongst the ideas mooted for the still top secret FR Transatlantic service (which is according to rumour where the whole thing got started) was a series of items including the use of Safety Equipment.
The Professor was secretly been made aware of the proposed card backs that will appear in coach. There are two panels mounted on each seatback.
The image looks like the one illustrated here and then there is some additional text:
Additional charges will accrue for the use of "flotation devices”
$10 for the life vest
$5 for the seat cushion”
Plus there is additional charges as follows:
$1 for the use of the light on the life vest.
$5 to inflate the life vest – although there is no charge to blow it up yourself,
$1 to activate the light on the life vest.
You can purchase a rental bundle for $20 for a fully working life vest from the website. The token expires on arrival at your destination or 10 hours after first contact with water which ever comes first." END
As we understand it the Devices will only be enabled for Chip swipe and pin as the cost to insert a coin and collect and process the heavy money will result in additional fuel drag. Ryanair is said to have been very pleased at the amount of fuel savings that will accrue as the result of this proposed solution. Also the use of a Ryanair card guarantees the service will work. Amex cards will not be accepted.
So far the Professor has been unable to confirm if any other airline is interested in the idea.
However with fuel back at reasonable levels - there is bound to be a review of business models that had the life vests and seat bottoms removed from certain aircraft.
Cheers
05 March 2009
The Professor Will Be At ITB Next Week
Greetings good people.
Next week its that time to get good walking shoes, brush up on your German and be prepared for copious amounts of alcohol, bonhomie and drinking from the firehose. Yes its ITB2009 at the ICC in Berlin.
I have been coming regularly since 1988. So that's a long time. Apart from I think 2 years - I have not missed any others.
So I will be at the PhocusWright Bloggers' conference and also helping a client roll out their new product lines. (Yes, I know it may seem strange but I do also have a day job). So you will find me either there or stalking the Halls. Usually Hall 6.1.
I will be joining the other Twits - if you are too - then you can follow me - I will be twittering sporadically. This is a note I received from Phil Caines :
"We look forward to meeting all of you and sharing ideas of what social media's future will look like for the Travel Industry. Please keep in mind that we will be using the "#ITB09" Twitter hash tag through out the event, and please tag all videos/pics/blog posts with "PhoCusWright ITB 2009"
In reverse if you are being a voyeur then you can look on these tags and see what is going on.
So see you around. It will be interesting. I hope to get a notion of the mood. I expect it to be Somber but - I am sure that there are some great pockets of interesting stuff going on. The New World Order is coming good people - brace yourselves!
Cheers and see you there.
Next week its that time to get good walking shoes, brush up on your German and be prepared for copious amounts of alcohol, bonhomie and drinking from the firehose. Yes its ITB2009 at the ICC in Berlin.
I have been coming regularly since 1988. So that's a long time. Apart from I think 2 years - I have not missed any others.
So I will be at the PhocusWright Bloggers' conference and also helping a client roll out their new product lines. (Yes, I know it may seem strange but I do also have a day job). So you will find me either there or stalking the Halls. Usually Hall 6.1.
I will be joining the other Twits - if you are too - then you can follow me - I will be twittering sporadically. This is a note I received from Phil Caines :
"We look forward to meeting all of you and sharing ideas of what social media's future will look like for the Travel Industry. Please keep in mind that we will be using the "#ITB09" Twitter hash tag through out the event, and please tag all videos/pics/blog posts with "PhoCusWright ITB 2009"
In reverse if you are being a voyeur then you can look on these tags and see what is going on.
So see you around. It will be interesting. I hope to get a notion of the mood. I expect it to be Somber but - I am sure that there are some great pockets of interesting stuff going on. The New World Order is coming good people - brace yourselves!
Cheers and see you there.
03 March 2009
Forrester Shows Continued European Diversity in Online
Forrester has recently looked at the major markets in Europe for online.
The characteristics are predictably different. Here are the summaries taken from their website:
First the UK
"With more than one in two UK consumers shopping online today — that is about 28 million consumers — online shopping and travel booking are mainstream. UK online shoppers outspend their European and even their American counterparts. Despite the current recession, we expect online retail and travel sales in the UK to continue growing strongly over the next six years as consumers move their spending online. By 2014, 37 million UK online buyers will spend £56 billion online."
Now Germany - Europe's biggest market
"German online shopping adoption is growing at double-digit rates each year. The number of online shoppers has almost doubled since 2000, with 36 million Germans regularly buying products online today, or 44% of adults. By 2014, we expect 44 million German online buyers to spend about €44 billion via the Internet."
France is growing very rapidly
French online shoppers — or cyberconsommateurs — are now surging to the Internet. Their number has roughly quintupled since 2002, with 35% of French adults projected to buy products online in 2009. Clothing is the most popular retail category that French people buy online, followed by books, music, and leisure travel like flights and hotels. Despite the current recession, we expect online retail and travel sales in France to grow strongly over the next six years as consumers move their spending online. By 2014, 30 million French online shoppers will spend roughly €28 billion via the Internet.
So percentage wise the Brits will continue to outspend their counterparts online. Despite the UK GDP dropping now to 3rd in Europe (behind Italy!) it still maintains its differences. The French have now decided that its time for their hockey stick event and are rushing headlong to the Web. The Germans restrained as ever are still warming to the web. The adoption rate curves for Europe in general have been slower and flatter than the USA. Which now accounts for such a large lag between the European adoption and that of Uncle Sam's countrymen.
Cheers
The characteristics are predictably different. Here are the summaries taken from their website:
First the UK
"With more than one in two UK consumers shopping online today — that is about 28 million consumers — online shopping and travel booking are mainstream. UK online shoppers outspend their European and even their American counterparts. Despite the current recession, we expect online retail and travel sales in the UK to continue growing strongly over the next six years as consumers move their spending online. By 2014, 37 million UK online buyers will spend £56 billion online."
Now Germany - Europe's biggest market
"German online shopping adoption is growing at double-digit rates each year. The number of online shoppers has almost doubled since 2000, with 36 million Germans regularly buying products online today, or 44% of adults. By 2014, we expect 44 million German online buyers to spend about €44 billion via the Internet."
France is growing very rapidly
French online shoppers — or cyberconsommateurs — are now surging to the Internet. Their number has roughly quintupled since 2002, with 35% of French adults projected to buy products online in 2009. Clothing is the most popular retail category that French people buy online, followed by books, music, and leisure travel like flights and hotels. Despite the current recession, we expect online retail and travel sales in France to grow strongly over the next six years as consumers move their spending online. By 2014, 30 million French online shoppers will spend roughly €28 billion via the Internet.
So percentage wise the Brits will continue to outspend their counterparts online. Despite the UK GDP dropping now to 3rd in Europe (behind Italy!) it still maintains its differences. The French have now decided that its time for their hockey stick event and are rushing headlong to the Web. The Germans restrained as ever are still warming to the web. The adoption rate curves for Europe in general have been slower and flatter than the USA. Which now accounts for such a large lag between the European adoption and that of Uncle Sam's countrymen.
Cheers
Analysts Eagerly Await Sabre's Results
Sabre is going to hold an earnings call with Analysts on Thursday 1600 CET. (I guess they really don't like the Europeans that much!!!)
The call is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
Dial In # 1 800 884 5695 International Dial In # 617 786 2960 Participant Passcode: 42626240
I shall be there... it is going to be the first call since 2006 as far as I can tell.
since Sabre has been private since March of 2007 this will be an interesting conversation. Let's see if they get to be as open as Travelport has been.
Cheers
The call is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
Dial In # 1 800 884 5695 International Dial In # 617 786 2960 Participant Passcode: 42626240
I shall be there... it is going to be the first call since 2006 as far as I can tell.
since Sabre has been private since March of 2007 this will be an interesting conversation. Let's see if they get to be as open as Travelport has been.
Cheers
New GDS Usage Patterns Emerge
From the Professor's position, I see decidedly interesting trends emerging in 2009 of how the GDS model is morphing.
As we saw from the last few weeks - GDS usage is down - WAY down. Now comes some new data that points to a real change in the profile of the GDS contracts in the USA and Europe.
To the other side of the pond first, I was looking at some numbers from Europe today - the traffic from European airports is plummeting at the same level or greater than the USA. Europe has been on a great growth spurt until 2008. Europe's emplanements now comprise over 500 million passengers which is getting closer to the USA's numbers but the days of rapid LCC fueled growth are over. That should point to an end of the significant total GDS based traffic share erosion for Europe... I said should. But it wont. Last week, KLM joined Lufthansa in pushing for a battle with its dominant home market GDS, Travelport's Galileo and Worldspan brands. The Dutch part of the AF/KL group has a slightly different program that will result in a surcharge of Euro 4.50 per segment. (LH's PFP program costs Euro 4.90).
Coming back across the Atlantic we see some new trends which should cause even more misery - particularly in Atlanta and Dallas.
ASTA's annual GDS survey points to some significant trends. Here is some of the recap from the ASTA Website synposis: http://www.asta.org/News/PRDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5122
GDS penetration among ASTA members has dropped 15% in the last 10 years. In truth the number of Agents has of course halved in that time. 40.4 percent of respondents said they have a "No-minimum" pricing plan. yes most of these are still getting paid a segment override. While these numbers are showing a negative trend, the GDSs are still paying more (percentage wise) in incentive compensation.
It seems clear that the holistic (aka non-fragmented) model is fully on the way out. But this makes travel like any other business. Other markets have seen this fragmented supply for many years - pre-and post the Internet boom. Sadly Travel may lose its "special-ness".
Welcome to the new world order.
Cheers
As we saw from the last few weeks - GDS usage is down - WAY down. Now comes some new data that points to a real change in the profile of the GDS contracts in the USA and Europe.
To the other side of the pond first, I was looking at some numbers from Europe today - the traffic from European airports is plummeting at the same level or greater than the USA. Europe has been on a great growth spurt until 2008. Europe's emplanements now comprise over 500 million passengers which is getting closer to the USA's numbers but the days of rapid LCC fueled growth are over. That should point to an end of the significant total GDS based traffic share erosion for Europe... I said should. But it wont. Last week, KLM joined Lufthansa in pushing for a battle with its dominant home market GDS, Travelport's Galileo and Worldspan brands. The Dutch part of the AF/KL group has a slightly different program that will result in a surcharge of Euro 4.50 per segment. (LH's PFP program costs Euro 4.90).
Coming back across the Atlantic we see some new trends which should cause even more misery - particularly in Atlanta and Dallas.
ASTA's annual GDS survey points to some significant trends. Here is some of the recap from the ASTA Website synposis: http://www.asta.org/News/PRDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5122
GDS penetration among ASTA members has dropped 15% in the last 10 years. In truth the number of Agents has of course halved in that time. 40.4 percent of respondents said they have a "No-minimum" pricing plan. yes most of these are still getting paid a segment override. While these numbers are showing a negative trend, the GDSs are still paying more (percentage wise) in incentive compensation.
It seems clear that the holistic (aka non-fragmented) model is fully on the way out. But this makes travel like any other business. Other markets have seen this fragmented supply for many years - pre-and post the Internet boom. Sadly Travel may lose its "special-ness".
Welcome to the new world order.
Cheers
28 February 2009
Are Bloggers Journalists?
In truth - I have always thought the answer was NO!
However the definition is a hard one to nail down. Many journalists are not full time, many are not classically trained. Most have good ethics.
But as we all know the law can be an ass in trying to define things.
So it is with much interest that I see that the US Congress has decided to take the matter into its own hands. And thanks to the folks at WebProNews for showing us this little one.
It seems that the two versions of the Bill set out to achieve the same goal - defining what is a journalist and then seeking to protect that definition and the attendant rights, as such both the Senate and House agree on what a journalist’s duties are and what journalism entails:
"the regular gathering, preparing, collecting, photography, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public."
But the House version which has more people, defines further by adding:
"for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person."
So, in effect, if journalism is a hobby or passion you do as a public service, or if you are a freelancer without a boss--both of which easily describe a blogger--then the government reserves the right to force you to tell them who told you something, much like the government tried to do with New York Times journalist Judy Miller under the Bush Administration. Of course if you are a blogger anyway - you should not have the same rights.
Oh boy - this means that all you Bloggers and Twits out there are going to have to be careful how you do - what you do and about whom.
And that includes me.
Cheers
However the definition is a hard one to nail down. Many journalists are not full time, many are not classically trained. Most have good ethics.
But as we all know the law can be an ass in trying to define things.
So it is with much interest that I see that the US Congress has decided to take the matter into its own hands. And thanks to the folks at WebProNews for showing us this little one.
It seems that the two versions of the Bill set out to achieve the same goal - defining what is a journalist and then seeking to protect that definition and the attendant rights, as such both the Senate and House agree on what a journalist’s duties are and what journalism entails:
"the regular gathering, preparing, collecting, photography, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public."
But the House version which has more people, defines further by adding:
"for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person."
So, in effect, if journalism is a hobby or passion you do as a public service, or if you are a freelancer without a boss--both of which easily describe a blogger--then the government reserves the right to force you to tell them who told you something, much like the government tried to do with New York Times journalist Judy Miller under the Bush Administration. Of course if you are a blogger anyway - you should not have the same rights.
Oh boy - this means that all you Bloggers and Twits out there are going to have to be careful how you do - what you do and about whom.
And that includes me.
Cheers
27 February 2009
Brits Return to Butlins
Ah sweet nostalgia.
When I was a wee nipper - I badgered my parents to take me to Butlins. The haven of wonder, all inclusive all the fun you can consume.
And yes there is a Wikipedia article on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butlins
Butlins itself somewhat lost its glamour when the Brits discovered the fleshpots of Europe and then learned that contrary to (then) popular lore the Wiley Oriental Gentlemen didn't really patrol the harbour of Calais.
Fast forward to today's sobering economic crisis and the lack of affordable holidays, and we see that the Brits wont be leaving their shores in such droves this year. Many of them will simply stay home - Staycation will creep into the vocabulary again. But for many the second year without a holiday away somewhere is just not tolerable. So they are packing their sandwiches and heading to Butlins.
And this isn't your grandfather's Butlins (or its arch competitor Pontins) either. Sure there are the Redcoats. But the ghost of Sir Billy and his son (also sadly deceased) do not haunt the remaining 3 "villages". Mother-in-law jokes have been banned but the nobbly knee contests remain. And the venerable Chalets are still there in some cases.
Ah sweet nostalgia....
When I was a wee nipper - I badgered my parents to take me to Butlins. The haven of wonder, all inclusive all the fun you can consume.
And yes there is a Wikipedia article on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butlins
Butlins itself somewhat lost its glamour when the Brits discovered the fleshpots of Europe and then learned that contrary to (then) popular lore the Wiley Oriental Gentlemen didn't really patrol the harbour of Calais.
Fast forward to today's sobering economic crisis and the lack of affordable holidays, and we see that the Brits wont be leaving their shores in such droves this year. Many of them will simply stay home - Staycation will creep into the vocabulary again. But for many the second year without a holiday away somewhere is just not tolerable. So they are packing their sandwiches and heading to Butlins.
And this isn't your grandfather's Butlins (or its arch competitor Pontins) either. Sure there are the Redcoats. But the ghost of Sir Billy and his son (also sadly deceased) do not haunt the remaining 3 "villages". Mother-in-law jokes have been banned but the nobbly knee contests remain. And the venerable Chalets are still there in some cases.
Ah sweet nostalgia....
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