American Airlines Pioneering Airline Retailing for Enhanced Customer Centricity.

Muhammad Albakri, SVP of IATA, emphasized the need for airlines to modernize their customer experience standards, processes, and technology to achieve true customer-centricity and provide a seamless digital experience; American Airlines exemplifies this modernization effort, aiming to convert a significant portion of fares to modern retailing channels and prioritizing customer satisfaction; Collaboration and industry-wide adoption are crucial, as demonstrated by IATA EPIC, which streamlines air cargo connectivity and facilitates effective collaboration among stakeholders in the industry.

Muhammad Albakri, an industry aviation leader and SVP of IATA (International Air Transport Association), a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945, recently shared the roadmap of modern airline retailing. He highlighted the need for airlines to modernize their customer experience standards - both on the front end Direct to Consumer (.com) and their networks resellers (Travel Agents and third party resellers), as well as automating the Cargo side (e-commerce delivery), processes, and technology in order to provide a seamless digital experience and achieve true customer-centricity.

The current customer expectations for seamless transactions in airline retailing are not being met, leading to frustration and inconvenience for travellers.

The Consumer Opportunity.

Airlines are urged to update their focus and adopting best practices in online e-commerce can provide a seamless digital experience and achieve customer-centricity in their retailing practices.

The airline industry as a whole is transitioning to modern retailing to enhance the customer experience. The IATA Board of Governors has implemented a program focusing on customer identification, retailing with offers, and delivering with orders, supported by new standards, processes, and technology.

American Airlines (AA) is at the forefront of this modernization effort. Anthony Rader, Director, Airline Retailing Technology, of AA shares that they plan to convert 40% of their fares to modern retailing channels, setting an example for other airlines to follow. The adoption and implementation of the New Distribution Capability (NDC) have accelerated during the pandemic, providing airlines with the ability to offer more products and services, increasing transaction value and customer options. However, challenges remain in terms of return policies and choices for customers.

To address these challenges, airlines should focus on providing customers with what they truly need. New standards and processes are being implemented to improve transaction technologies and ensure seamless processes for returns, services, tickets, and offers. NDC retailing is also being used to negotiate with travel managers, offering personalized experiences and a wider range of product options. American Airlines emphasizes the importance of prioritizing customer satisfaction over price.

Technology plays a crucial role in this transformation. American Airlines is using technology to become more customer-centric and enhance their servicing capabilities. They have connected with all major Global Distribution System (GDS) partners, responding to feedback from customers and travel partners. Additionally, they have announced the decommissioning of legacy technology, further highlighting their commitment to modernization.

The airline industry as a whole requires collaboration and industry-wide adoption of airline retailing technology. American Airlines recognizes this need and encourages airlines globally to work together across the industry and value chain to achieve a customer-centric retailing infrastructure. They suggest reaching out to organizations like IATA and airline/alliance partners to initiate the journey towards modernization. Internal alignment across commercial, revenue accounting, and IT organizations is essential for accelerated adoption.

The Cargo Front.

IATA has introduced EPIC (Enhanced Partner Identification and Connectivity), an initiative aimed at streamlining air cargo connectivity. EPIC is a global repository that allows various stakeholders in the air cargo industry, such as airlines, freight forwarders, customs, ground handlers, GSAs, and IT service providers, to connect and engage with their cargo partners digitally. It serves as an air cargo gateway, providing electronic messaging and API capabilities, as well as technical contacts for every cargo partner within the EPIC community. By offering efficient and cost-effective setups, IATA EPIC facilitates effective collaboration and connectivity between business partners in the industry.

Hank Mulder encourages airlines to rapidly adopte digitalization of Air Cargo and emphasize its importance moving forward, as the industry seeks to enhance operations and efficiency. Despite the air cargo recovery outperforming the passenger side, recent months have seen a decline in cargo volumes. This decline can be attributed to global challenges such as conflicts, a global growth slowdown, higher inflation, higher interest rates, and an increased cost of living. Projections indicate a slowdown in global trade, with international trade growth expected to decrease from 10% in 2021 to 1% in 2023.

The key idea behind this initiative is to reduce the time, costs, and effort required to establish digital connections between partners in the air cargo industry. By streamlining partner identification, connectivity, and information distribution, IATA EPIC aims to simplify the process while ensuring compliance with government security risk assessment stipulations.

In conclusion, airlines need to modernize their standards, processes, and technology to meet customer expectations and provide a seamless digital experience. American Airlines serves as an example of an airline leveraging technology to become more customer-centric and improve their servicing capabilities.

Additionally, the importance of collaboration and industry-wide adoption of airline retailing technology is highlighted. Finally, the video introduces IATA EPIC as an initiative focused on streamlining air cargo connectivity to reduce time, costs, and effort in establishing digital connections between partners while ensuring compliance with security regulations.

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