1100+ delegates, 100+ IATA member airlines, hundreds of industry executives from Distribution, Revenue Management, Finance, Passenger Experience, IT, Digital, and more… This is what the 2023 edition of the IATA WPS and WFS looked like.
The four days of intensive industry meetings and presentations provided a unique opportunity to take stock of the current status of the Modern Airline Retailing journey, as well as to pave the way forward.
Here is a quick summary of the key messages that came out of the event:
1. NDC is at the point of no return. Leading airlines are already realizing benefits: $100m+ in distribution cost reduction; 1.5 – 2% revenue increase from continuous pricing, massive growth in ancillary sales – and even value creation in payment for some.
- There is more work required to smoothen adoption across business travel.
- Servicing with NDC (& tickets) works for some TMCs; and so do interline and codeshare. However, there can be implementation challenges depending on the level of integration by intermediaries.
2. Buyers urge legacy TMCs and OBTs to move faster
3. The train to true customer centricity (a world of Offers and Orders) has left the station! Several airlines have RFPs out and technology providers are investing:
- Flyr suggested a legacy carrier will be 100% Offers and Orders by 2025.
- Amadeus announced it now has two airlines contracted for its new Retailing platform, Nevio.
4. The work of the Airline Retailing Consortium is recognized as an accelerator for the transition to 100% Offers & Orders. Over 15 technology providers shared their commitment to this journey via the Retailing Consortium's latest paper "IT Provider readiness and airline transition pathways".
5. Collaboration across the value chain is critical, including operations (DCS) and regulators; and there are many learnings to be taken from other sectors, which have been through similar transformations (e.g., banking, telecom).
6. A first POC around digital identity & verified credentials across the end-to-end journey demonstrated how important this technology is to deliver a seamless customer experience: from shopping for travel, to airport delivery and biometrics.
7. IATA and its airline members continue the implementation of the Modern Airline Retailing program which provides a framework to work with the industry towards a world of 100% Offers and Orders.
Find our 2023 WPS and WFS coverage in IATA’s Airlines magazine >>
