Bundles Of JoySabre Airline Solutions® unveils several new capabilities of SabreSonic® Customer Sales & Service, designed to help carriers plan, execute and succeed well into the future.
By Lauren Lovelady | Ascend Staff
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In September 2008, Sabre Airline Solutions launched SabreSonic Customer Sales & Service, innovative reservations and depar-
ture control software that provides advanced revenue generation and customer knowledge capabilities that transcend those of traditional passenger reservations systems. SabreSonic CSS gives airlines the ability to know every customer better than their competitors and use this insight to optimize revenues and effectively deliver the right service at the right price to the right customer, every time.
SabreSonic CSS supports any airline business model, from low-cost carriers and full-service airlines to hybrid carriers that offer a range of services. It is robust and flexible enough to support an airline’s implementation and operation of new strategies and busi-ness models that may evolve in response to changes in the marketplace.
In addition to the base solution, there are three major bundles that directly address revenue optimization while focusing on customers: Inventory & Revenue Management,Merchandising,
Customer Centricity.It is the industry’s only customer sales
and service solution designed to deliver what airlines need to aggressively compete — now and in the future.
Backed by a multi-million-dollar invest-ment and three-year solutions roadmap, Sabre Airline Solutions is committed to delivering new SabreSonic CSS capabilities to the mar-ketplace on a regular basis. Since last year’s launch, several key capabilities have been introduced that airlines can benefit from today: the Executive Dashboard module, the custom-er value calculator, a pay-for-seats model, and advanced inventory and revenue management capabilities. In addition, significant progress has been made on a sophisticated rules engine as well as service enablement under a service-oriented architecture.
ExecutiveDashboardAirlines, by nature, have complex work
environments supported by diverse systems that continually generate large amounts of data. To obtain a holistic view of the data requires carriers pull it together in a single, easily accessible location. But even when that is possible, determining which information should receive the greatest attention at any given moment is a daunting task at best. As a result, many airlines have probably spent a great deal of time and resources attempting to interpret the information in a timely manner to generate essential performance metrics.
To assist with this challenge, Sabre Airline Solutions is deploying industry-leading analytical and business intelligence capabili-ties to the SabreSonic CSS user community and the marketplace. The newest addition,
By Lauren Lovelady | Ascend Staff
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the Executive Dashboard, is a timely and automated solution aggregating critical perfor-mance metrics and offering a succinct “at-a-glance” view of the overall health of the airline. Delivery via the Sabre® Community Portal enables global accessibility and single sign-on. The Executive Dashboard is an integrative communications tool linking high-level execu-tives with the management teams directly sup-porting them as they monitor their business from a single information source. Executives can easily view the areas of their business that require immediate attention without waiting for staff members to pull together data and generate reports.
Imagine, for example, you are the chief executive officer of Worldwide Air. Shortly after arriving at the office, you log into your computer and access the Executive Dashboard to get a quick picture of yesterday’s perfor-mance and an update on today’s operations. Your attention is drawn to the operations area of the Executive Dashboard. The majority of flights today are on time, but there are six key flights with high volumes of business travel-ers experiencing major delays. Since current weather conditions don’t appear to be a factor in the delays and there are many customers to move, you phone the vice president of flight operations to inquire about the reason for the delays, how long they are expected to be, and the number of destinations and passengers impacted. The vice president has also been monitoring flight operations on his computer using the Executive Dashboard. When the
flight delays were first posted, he contact-ed the director of systems operations who advised him that strong winds on the East Coast were resulting in air traffic control/gate hold delays on the six flights. The vice president was also advised that the winds were expected to calm down within the hour and the flights should depart shortly thereafter. With this information, the vice president is able to quickly respond to your inquiry while assuring you that important business travelers have been advised of the situation and appropriately accommo-dated. As the operational data on the Executive Dashboard is updated frequently throughout the day, you are able to follow your airline’s operation as it gets back on track.
The Executive Dashboard interfaces with other Sabre Airline Solutions tech-nology to provide a concise view of an airline’s performance. Capabilities included currently are in the areas of:
Ticketing — Includes seats sold and flown. Drill-down capabilities enable airlines to view the performance of their sales channels.Operations — Flight movement and tracking systems deliver updated flight departure, arrival and delay data fre-quently throughout the day.Reservations — Frequent flyer informa-tion and, in the future, customer value segmentation data generated by the customer value calculator.
Inventory — Forward-looking bookings as well as year-over-year and month-to-date comparisons.Revenues — Preliminary (unaudited) data as well as audited revenues from the rev-enue accounting system.
For airlines utilizing solutions from other providers in some areas of their operations, a standard, structured process for feeding data into the Executive Dashboard is available.
“When Sabre Airline Solutions approached us to be a launch partner for its new Executive Dashboard product, we were very interested as we had been looking to pro-vide our executives with an at-a-glance over-view of the airline’s operational and financial performance,” said Midwest Chief Information Officer Alex Yarmulnik. “We partnered with Sabre Airline Solutions throughout the design and deployment of the Executive Dashboard and leveraged its knowledge of airline busi-ness processes and core technology to realize a materially shortened delivery timeframe. In addition to utilizing the existing components of the SabreSonic CSS platform, we were able to integrate our internal data stores into the Executive Dashboard, thus providing execu-tives with a consistent view of the airline’s key performance indicators.”
CustomerValueCalculatorTraditionally, airlines have used loyalty or
frequent flyer tier programs to segment their customers, with qualifications for these pro-grams based on the number of flights and/or distances flown in combination with the types of tickets purchased. While these programs continue to be valuable, not all airlines utilize them, and because of enrollment require-ments, not all of an airline’s customers are program members. So how can airlines learn about their customers and their preferences? And after obtaining that information, how can they determine which types of customers best support their strategy?
Part of the Customer Centricity bundle, the customer value calculator is a robust, con-figurable tool that enables an airline to assign a value score to every customer with a profile. A profile is created when a customer logs into an airline’s Web site, makes a reservation with an agent or enrolls in a frequent flyer program. A customer’s trip information (itineraries booked, fares paid, special requests and preferences) is incorporated into the profile, which is then used to calculate a customer profile score.
The calculator is configurable via a graphical user interface, enabling an airline to determine its own unique definition of cus-tomer value based on its business strategies. And it is flexible. As the industry shifts and markets evolve, airlines can quickly change valuation rules to effectively compete.
Currently, the customer value calculator uses the basic variables of recency, frequency
and monetary value. Recency represents the number of segments flown by a customer in a time period specified by an airline — usually about 12 months — and is used to capture recent travel activity. Frequency also measures the number of segments flown, but gener-ally over a longer period of time; for instance, 36 months. Monetary value calculates the amount of money spent by a customer in a user-specified time period. The airline has complete control over the time ranges defin-ing these variables, the tiers and associated values within each variable and the relative importance of each variable in calculating a customer value score.
For example, recency may comprise 20 percent of an airline’s customers’ value scores; frequency, 30 percent; and monetary value, 50 percent. Once the variables and associated parameters are set, the airline can then calculate a value score for each customer that is stored in his profile. The distribution of customer value scores can be viewed in a bar chart or tabular format, and the tool’s what-if
capabilities enable the airline to graphically display the impact of changing the variable parameters on the entire customer base or a random sample or subset.
These value scores can then be used to generate and evaluate merchandising strate-gies and optimize revenues across all cus-tomer touch points in conjunction with the Sabre® Rules Manager. Based on the value scores, the airline may decide to differentiate service to certain subsets of customers. For example, it can set a rule that states, “if a customer value score is greater than 85, then waive bag fees.” The carrier also has the ability to manually override rules. For instance, it may determine a specified customer’s value score should never fall below 60, even if calculated otherwise. And as an individual’s flight needs and habits fluctuate over time, the calculator’s “audit trail” capability will make it possible for the airline to track changes and explore the reasons for them.
Inventory And Revenue Management
With their cost-cutting options dwindling, airlines are narrowing their focus on additional ways to generate revenue. The advanced rev-enue management solutions within SabreSonic CSS will enable airlines to offer optimal fares to capture the most passengers and the most revenue in the toughest economic conditions. Recent enhancements to the Inventory & Revenue Management bundle include improved O&D inventory control capabilities with flexible default fares that enable airlines utilizing O&D revenue management to calculate availability for policy classes without fares, such as frequent flyer redemption and staff travel, while ensur-ing adequate availability to maximize overall revenues. An upgraded simulation tool enables airlines to view an agent availability display and verify the impact of business rules and market values on availability. This helps pre-vent the implementation of erroneous rules that negatively impact revenues and reduces the time the revenue management depart-ment now spends troubleshooting availabil-ity issues. For codeshare partners hosted
in SabreSonic CSS, expanded capabilities, including true availability, permit availability requests for the marketing airline’s flights to be cascaded to the operating airline, sig-nificantly reducing overbooking and spoilage on codeshare flights. And new Web services from SabreSonic CSS provide airlines with a more reliable method for sending updated inventory controls from their third-party rev-enue management systems to SabreSonic CSS. These services replace FTP servers and other less reliable solutions now in place at most airlines.
Is an airl ine leaking revenue? Planned inventory alerts will automati-cally notify Sabre® AirVisionTM Revenue of bookings and cancellations, ensuring an airline has the most up-to-date inven-tory data around the clock to re-optimize flights based on those changes. With these advanced inventory controls, an airline won’t miss revenue opportunities that might occur in between the nightly batch processes of the revenue manage-ment solution.
While knowing its customers is crucial to an airline’s success, knowing its competition can also be profitable. A new competitive revenue management solution will enable an airline to monitor the competition and create intelligent business rules to respond to changes in its competitors’ availability of low fares. For example, if the competition offers a US$2,000 fare for a direct flight between
London and Hong Kong with a desirable departure time, the revenue management solution will compare this low fare with the airline’s US$2,250 fare for a one-stop flight and recommend increasing the availability of its lower-valued fares. By expanding revenue management prin-ciples to include an overall market view, SabreSonic CSS alerts revenue manage-ment analysts to possible revenue spoil-age and dilution.
Other planned enhancements include a redesigned consolidated graphi-cal user interface for inventory and rev-enue management that will improve effi-ciency and provide additional data to assist with decision making and increased flexibility in the generation of availability status message generation.
PayForSeatsWhile advanced revenue manage-
ment solutions have the ability to create up to a 5 percent improvement in reve-nue for a carrier, effective merchandising techniques may result in an even greater incremental revenue increase — 5 per-cent to 8 percent. The Merchandising bundle offers sophisticated products and capabilities that help airlines differenti-ate, brand, market and merchandise their fares with ancillary products and services through both direct and indirect points of sale controlled and connected by SabreSonic CSS.
Included in this bundle is a power-ful ancillary seats model that enables an airline to increase revenues by offering customers the opportunity to purchase in advance premium, or very desirable, seats via all booking channels (SabreSonic®
Check-in, SabreSonic® Web, SabreSonic® Res and the Sabre® global distribution system). With the pay-for-seats model, an airline can:
Dynamically display premium seat fees and pricing options at the point of sale,Seamlessly integrate customers’ seat selections into the point-of-sale work-flow,
Process seat fees using SSR messag-ing,
Confirm seat purchases, Dynamically adjust seat prices based on flight segment length, Add taxes to seat fees (in countries that apply taxes to premium seat charges, such as Canada),
Offer multi-currency support. By providing a wider range of choices,
customers can determine the products and services that best meet their needs, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. And an airline can optimize revenues by up selling to higher-yielding fares and cross selling ancillary products and services.
Sabre Airlines Solutions partnered with Wisconsin-based Midwest Airlines
last year to launch the pay-for-seats model with solid results.
“Our work with Sabre Airl ine Solutions was in direct answer to our customers’ desire for more choice,” said James Reichart, director of advertising and brand for Midwest Airlines. “Working with Sabre [Airline Solutions] to launch Midwest Class — a choice of seating in the same coach cabin aboard our Boeing 717s — is the first step in allow-ing customers to choose amenities that customize their flight experience. Sabre Airline Solutions has been a real asset to Midwest Airlines and has played a pivotal role in helping us meet our operational needs.”
SabreSonic CSS will continue to develop and enhance the pay-for-seats model to include the option to charge for any pre-reserved seat, not just premium seats, and support for taxes on seat fees will be expanded to include other countries, in addition to Canada. To assist with seating issues encountered during irregular operations and subsequent pas-senger reaccommodations, the model will automate the tracking of passengers, alerting airlines when passengers who are entitled to preferred seats do not receive them and issue credit vouchers as compensation.
Rules EngineThe backbone of SabreSonic CSS
is a sophisticated rules engine, which serves as the key driver for the Inventory & Revenue Management, Merchandising, and Customer Centricity bundles. The rules engine utilizes a business rules management system with a common interface for inputting, viewing and modi-fying the rules that govern airlines’ busi-ness strategies. Many of the rules that were once imbedded in applications and required extensive code modifications to update can now be readily adjusted by airlines using natural-language rules, providing greater control over inventory, revenue management and merchandising efforts.
The rules engine combines revenue management and merchandising in a revolutionary new approach. An airline may realize, for example, that many of its customers prefer exit row seats because of the additional legroom. Using the pay-for-seats model, it can decide to charge an additional US$30 fee for exit row seats because customers are will-ing to pay for the extra legroom. That’s merchandising. Now incorporate revenue management. One of the carrier’s aircraft types has two exit rows with a total of 12 seats. Initially, the exit row seats are
an extra US$30, but when only four are still available for booking, they become an extra US$40 each. When only two exit row seats remain, it’s an extra US$50. However, one of the seats is a center seat so instead of US$50, it is only an additional US$35.
Imagine the time and manpower needed to process this type of data using traditional systems. With SabreSonic CSS, the airline can input these rules into the engine’s business-rules manage-ment system and easily adjust them as necessary.
Service EnablementSabreSonic CSS is supported by
robust and scalable service-oriented architecture, an open standard that sup-ports the seamless exchange of data across the suite and enables the com-
plete infrastructure to work as a single, high-performing unit. Airlines can choose the tools and technology that best meet their needs from suppliers such as IBM, Microsoft or other open-source alterna-tives, giving them control over their work-flows and presentation of information.
As new functionality and compo-nents are introduced and integrated with existing solutions, SabreSonic CSS will continue to expand its services in sup-port of the base solution as well as the Inventory & Revenue Management,
Merchandising and Customer Centricity bundles. The Sabre® AirVisionTM Revenue Manager, for example, communicates with SabreSonic® Inventory via Web ser-vices. These services are available to air-lines desiring to integrate their traditional or legacy revenue management systems with SabreSonic Inventory.
In the near future, sophisticated services will be provided for backend systems for the automated exchange and refund of tickets as well as ser-vices that support and/or interface with the customer value calculator, Sabre®
Reaccommodation Manager, ticketing (excess baggage and other fees) and new shopping functions. In addition, other ser-vices will enable airlines to use the com-ponents and functionality of SabreSonic Check-in in flexible new ways.
When SabreSonic CSS was launched last year, it carried with it enormous expectations of delivering capabilities that would make a real difference for airline performance worldwide. From the start, the team tasked with making the SabreSonic CSS vision a reality has fol-lowed the philosophy that capabilities should be brought to market as soon as they are certified ready for use rather than waiting for artificial milestones.
Accordingly, today airlines in every segment are able to take advantage of advanced functionality that helps them better manage their business: the Executive Dashboard, the customer value calculator, advanced inventory and reve-nue management, and pay-for-seats capa-bilities, all supported by a sophisticated rules engine and service enablement of key business logic. With these advances and investments in SabreSonic CSS, Sabre Airline Solutions continues its more than 40-year commitment to providing industry-leading capabilities that enable airlines to plan, execute and succeed at its business strategies well into the future. a
A new competitive revenue manage-ment solution will enable an airline to monitor the com-petition and create intelligent business rules to respond to changes in its com-petitors’ availability of low fares.
