2. Aviation Industry
Some Facts:
•2012 annual projection is 2.973 billion passengers
(Source: IATA)
•There are 1700 airlines worldwide (Source: JANE’s)
•To market and sell their services, airlines conduct
business in a fragmented, complex distribution
environment. (IATA special report 2012)
Inferences:
•On a typical day in 2012, more than 8.1 million
people worldwide will board a commercial flight.
•Distribution to reach customers in a competitive
market is a major challenge for airlines
3. Aviation Industry
1962
American Airlines
launches SABRE
1970
sIntroduction of
Travel Agents
Terminals
2013
Parts of the industry’s business processes, business models, and technology
infrastructure date back to 1950s -- and, in some cases, even earlier.
2000
Entry of web
based systems
The Future of Airline Distribution -
A Look Ahead To 2017
Majority of airlines
worldwide still use
legacy distribution
systems
Pre-Computerization Computerization Post-Computerization (Online)
4. Food for thought
• >60% of total airline distribution worldwide is still taking place over
TPF based legacy systems designed in 1960s;
• Only 10% of API based distribution worldwide (average)!
• When a passenger begins the journey by purchasing a ticket, the
passenger name is transferred through at least 17 different systems!
5. Baggage Reconciliation
Airline Systems:
Some Ground Operations System
• Check In System (DCS)
• E-Ticketing Database
APIS/ Immigration
Systems
Duty Free Systems
• Boarding
• CRS (Post Boarding Data)
• E-Ticketing Database
Weight /Balance Systems
• Baggage Systems
• World Tracer Systems
Catering Systems
Apron Support
Systems
6. Some Facts
• Predominantly airline distribution is a SaaS provider industry - Pay by
the drink
• Traditional airline distribution platforms are inter connected to
numerous systems
• Scheduling system, fare filing system, pricing system, ancillary
services, payment system, ticketing system, revenue accounting
system, etc
• Etihad airways – Migrating to Sabre distribution product from
Amadeus, both of which has technically similar integrations,
expected to take years and is reportedly a 1 billion USD project
9. Challenges
• Managing often conflicting stakeholders’ expectations
• Governance of airline is very different from one airline to airline; so does
the integration requirements
• Business is so dynamic, especially recently emerging hybrid airline model
that new integration requirements are constantly coming up
• Alliances and partnerships – a very common scenario in the industry;
Systems should be ready to integrate seamlessly for business to reap the
benefits
• No universal data model or process model to seamlessly accommodate
integrations with various third party distribution platforms
10. More Challenges
• Third party add on services – such as ancillary, third-party service
offerings and payment services – no well defined standard for integration
• B2B integrations - No well defined standard for offering distribution
services to partners and third parties
• Many heterogeneous systems to connect to – both internal as well as
external systems
• Very high inertia to change from existing legacy based system to a newer
business models
• Migrating an existing system is like repairing a moving train – business still
needs to continue smoothly while migration taking place
11. Integration Architecture – Start
Simple, but with a long term vision
• 4As - Accessibility, Affordability, Acceptability, Awareness
• Use an ESB or a MOM for implementing the integrations when
– You have many (at least 3) heterogeneous integrations to implement
– You have right resources; and the schedule and the budget permits it
• If you are starting up a new project, tight on schedule and budget, it advisable to
avoid complexities of ESB initially and to plan implementing an ESB later on
Webservices & Service Orchestration
Self Service
Web, Mobile &
Kiosk
Direct Agents
Distribution
Third Party
Touch Points
Airline
Systems
Touch Points
Third Party
Service Provider
Systems
Core Sales System
