Very soon, you will be able to book your tickets not just on the basis of the fare in a particular class of travel, but on the basis of other features too. These features include leg space for a particular seat, type and age of aircraft, historical load factor of the flight besides others.
The Civil Aviation Ministry is already working on a proposal to facilitate booking on the basis of historical data on time performance of flights by a particular operator. This will be in addition to the new features.
Mr Eric Leopald, Director (Passenger) of IATA, said, “We will deliver the first set of standards during the next annual meeting in October next year, so that the new distribution capability becomes a reality in 2013.” Any member airline can provide the new system from October, 2012 onwards, he added.
The new standards aim to provide more choices to customers and make their experience simpler. The global body is working with airlines, travel agents, global distribution systems and all other stake holders to introduce the new system. “The common interface will enable airlines to identify customers and provide offers that can be tailored. This is similar to what you would get on other Web sites, such as Amazon.com,” Mr Leopald added.
Currently, one can buy air tickets directly from airline Web sites or from indirect channels such as travel agents or travel portals. These channels have very limited space to show and sell product innovations. Mr Leopald felt that the current system of distribution cannot support innovative products such as a la carte services, meals/entertainment preference, upgrade, seat selection or priority lanes.
Air New Zealand has a unique product called “Sky Couch.” Customers can purchase this only through the airline's Web site. “If we look across the entire airline industry, there will be many more examples of such lost opportunities,” Mr Leopald added.
The backbones for the existing reservation systems were created in the 1960s when the air fares were regulated. IATA feels that this legacy infrastructure is now a barrier to airline innovation and impacting airline profitability.