Skyteam: Caring More About You a Conversation with É Leo Van Wijk, Chairman, Skyteam Pg

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A MAGAZINE FOR AIRLINE EXECUTIVES 2011 Issue No. 1

Taking your airline to new heights

SkyTeam: Caring More About You A Conversation With É Leo van Wijk, Chairman, SkyTeam Pg. 10

18 Strategic commercial planning 46 Avianca-TACA merger changed Latin 63 Merchandising through GDS gives airlines increases airline revenues America aviation additional storefront

Peacock Proud

SriLankan Airlines continues making moves to prosper, such as the recent implementation of a revenue integrity system that generated more than US$11M during the ﬁ rst four full months of use. .

By Lynne Bowers-Dodson | Ascend Staff Photo: Shutterstock

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pplause! Applause! The Platinum A ward from the International Air as co-host to the ICC Cricket W orld Cup in accolades keep coming in for Transport Association as one of the first 2011, the country anticipates 750,000 visi- SriLankan Airlines Limited. airlines in the world to introduce a major tors this year . The Sri Lankan government Last December, the carrier innovation to tickets; doesn’t expect the numbers to drop and featuring a stylized peacock A Merit Award at the National Best Quality has declared a target of 2.5 million tourists inA its logo was the proud winner of the Software Awards 2010 (NBQSA). annually through 2016. United States EFFIE award for travel and The awards are remarkable considering that To prepare for the influx of tourists dur - tourism for its hot-seat marketing cam- its home country has recently emerged from a ing the next few years, the tear -dropped paign. The campaign offered Sri Lankans 26-year-long civil war that ended in 2009. Sri shaped island off the southern coast of and friends traveling to and from Sri Lanka Lanka has suffered a SARS epidemic, survived India is transforming Sri Lanka into a the best fares for travel on designated a terrorist attack at its international airline hub hub for aviation in the region. Colombo- tickets purchased in advance. and recovered from the 2004 Indian earth- Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is This latest award reaffirms SriLankan quake that produced a devastating tsunami. It the only international airport located in Sri Airlines’ reputation as a leader among claimed thousands of lives and is one of the Lanka. Asian airlines in: 10-worst earthquakes in recorded history. It’s already the finest airport in the Service, region with its modern aerobridges, plush Comfort (most seats have 18-channel seat- Paradise Prevails lounges and well-stocked duty-free collec- back televisions, 22-channel audio channels Despite these overwhelming tragedies, tion. Even so, it is presently in the middle and 16 video games), Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to grow of a major program to expand and upgrade Reliability, 9 percent this year — rates usually seen its facilities. A second international airport Punctuality. in China. The recovery can be attributed is now under construction at Mattala in the In addition to its EFFIE award, SriLankan to Sri Lanka’ s legendary beauty , fragrant southern Hambantota District. It is sched- Airlines has in recent months won a series spices, precious gems, rare pearls, sublime uled to be commissioned in 2012. of international and national awards in culture and hospitable people, all of which fields ranging from passenger transport to attract tourists from around the globe. Spanning Out marketing and Internet technology. They Sri Lanka is called the Pearl of the SriLankan Airlines, formerly known as include: Indian Ocean because of its position at the Air Lanka, was set up by the government of The Presidential Award for Airline of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Sri Lanka in July 1979 following the closure Year; For more than a thousand years, travel- of Air Ceylon in 1978. The Presidential A ward for Outbound T our ers from around the world came upon As the country’s flagship carrier, Operator of the Year; Sri Lanka or made the happy discovery SriLankan Airlines is crucial to the country’s First Runner-up in Global Breakthrough by accident. Thus, this island paradise tourism goals. Shortly after its manage- Business Intelligence Initiatives at the CIMA was also called SERENDIP , giving rise to ment changed hands, the carrier began Global Awards; the word “serendipity ,” meaning “making a re-fleeting program in April 2008. It Top Airline by Growth in South Asia from happy discoveries by accident.” acquired three Airbus A320s in 2008 and Singapore’s Changi Airport; Whether by choice or happy accident, 2009 to replace old aircraft. Foreign Carrier of the Y ear for South Asia 600,000 visitors came to Sri Lanka in 2010, SriLankan Airlines expects the delivery for the fifth consecutive time at the Kuala setting a record. Thanks to its “V isit Sri of seven new aircraft by the end of 2011. Lumpur International Airport Awards; Lanka 2011” initiative, along with its role They include five Airbus A320s and two SriLankan Airlines Photo:

EFFIE Award Winner SriLankan Airlines is a leader among Asian airlines in service, comfort, reliability and punctuality .

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Twin Otter float planes for the re-launch of its domestic service “SriLankan Air T axi” Seats Returned By Sabre AirVision Revenue Integrity this winter. “The three brand-new aircraft are sched- 350,000 uled to be acquired from May-November 2011, and will sport the latest comforts 300,000 and entertainment systems, including audio-video on demand (AVOD) in both business and economy classes,” SriLankan 250,000 Airlines Chief Executive Officer Manoj Gunawardena told reporters. “This will 200,000 allow us to significantly enhance passenger service and give us the ability to fly 150,000 to more cities in the Subcontinent, Middle East and Southeast Asia, and to also 100,000 increase capacity to existing destinations in these regions.” 50,000 The airline is also exploring the possibil- 1,047,809 seats During the first four full months of using Sabre Revenue Integrity , SriLankan Airlines ity of obtaining at least one more long-haul, returned more0 than a million seats to sales. wide-body aircraft to launch services to August September October November December more new destinations in Europe and the Far East, Gunawardena said. In addition to increasing its fleet and Fictious Names Duplicate Booking Redundant Itinerary Ticket Firming destinations, SriLankan Airlines made significant investments in technology. Last year, the carrier contracted with Calidris 1,047,809 Seats During the first four full months of using Revenue Integrity, SriLankan Airlines returned (since acquired by Sabre Airline Solutions ) more than a million seats to sales. via a partnership with Mercator for its Jupiter product. Mercator’s Jupiter product shows as well as increases in load-factor knowing its inventory is as clean as is a hosted end-to-end passenger services percentages on their critical flights. In possible.” solution that provides a fully integrated addition, there is better discipline enforced real-time revenue integrity system. through their travel agents, and various An Iridescent Future Subsequently, Sabre®AirVisionTM Revenue costs savings are seen through reduction In 1998, SriLankan Airlines replaced the Integrity was implemented last July. in specific areas such as: name Air Lanka. The logo featuring the During the first four months, it generated GDS booking fees from unproductive book- peacock bird was redesigned to better value benefits of approximately US$11.7 ings, suit the airline’s new identity as a modern, million from the release of seats back to Denied boarding compensation, progressive carrier. sales. Mercator has worked with Calidris Push-back penalties, Due to folklore and superstition, (now Sabre® Iceland) for several years as Churn, some Sri Lankans believed that the new a vendor of the real-time revenue integrity Meal wastage, SriLankan Airlines logo — featuring the solution. Employee costs. peacock flying away from the aircraft — “The partnership ensures that Mercator However, the real value the solution would bring misfortune to the airline, as has the best revenue integrity solution for delivers is normally calculated on the opposed to the old logo that showed the our customers on the Jupiter platform,” number of seats that it returns back to peacock facing the direction of the aircraft said Mercator Vice President Duncan sales. During the first four full months in flight. Alexander. “Our airline partners work in of using Revenue Integrity, SriLankan Despite the direction in which it is fly- challenging markets, and they need the Airlines returned 1,047,809 seats to sales, ing, Feng Shui practitioners maintain that best revenue integrity solution in place to resulting in an estimated value benefit of the peacock motif signifies growth, fame handle all deliberate revenue abuse.” US$11.7 million. and abundance. If its recent successes and Revenue Integrity, a process automation This does not even take into account the awards serve as a bellwether, SriLankan system, removes bad bookings from the numbers of warnings the system sends Airlines has a future as iridescent as its carrier’s inventory to help ensure seats are that are acted on by agents or other airline mascot’s spectacular plumage. a not occupied by false or spurious bookings. staff. The solution looks at business problems “Choosing the correct partner for including: our upgraded revenue integrity solution Ticket time limits, was important for SriLankan Airlines,” Fake names, Alexander said. “Not only was the airline Duplicate bookings and duplicate segments looking for maximum value generation within a booking, from a solution, but ongoing service sup- Fake or duplicate ticket numbers. port was also something it considered to Performing this in real time ensures be very important for future success. that all new and changed bookings are “Working with the best-in-class real- pushed to Revenue Integrity at the end of time revenue integrity solution with the a transaction. Using the solution, carriers support of Mercator and Sabre Iceland Lynne Bowers-Dodson can be contacted typically see significant decreases in no gives SriLankan this peace of mind ... at [email protected].

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