Opinion: Airline strategies and what to expect in 2022

With Australia’s airline recovery tracking ahead of other regions in APAC, leisure travel is expected to be high on people’s agenda. Despite high inflation and other cost of living concerns, Australians are likely to dip into savings and banked holidays from lockdown restrictions. Within the leisure sector, traffic from visiting friends and relatives is poised to exceed other holiday makers as we observe the impact of pent-up demand. 

With this in mind, let’s look at what we can expect from the airline industry over the next year. 

Driving revenue 

As the market continues to rebound, and planes begin to fill up, airlines will be competing more aggressively for high yield bookings. They are continuously refining business strategies to maximise revenue and drive recovery. 

For example, Malaysia Airlines, like many other airlines, operates in a competitive environment, where evolving passenger demands and buy-down are key challenges. Malaysia Airlines recently modernised its revenue management system with digital tools, sorting through tremendous amounts of data and simplifying every-day decision making.

As a part of this modernisation, the airline also implemented PROS Willingness-to-Pay technology, which harnesses artificial intelligence to deliver a unique offering for every passenger. This means that passengers have more choice in travel offers that they book, while at the same time enhancing revenue for Malaysia Airlines. 

Tailoring airline experiences for group travel 

While group travel hasn’t historically been the main revenue driver for airlines, it will now be an important one. Anecdotal evidence suggests that travellers are looking for someone else to handle the complexities of travelling post-pandemic. This is especially true for complex group travel processes.

Now, more than ever, airlines need tailored group management and sales solutions to help drive recovery and encourage better relationships across travel agencies and passengers looking to travel again for events and tourism. Harnessing the power of AI-driven data is key to achieving exactly that. Implementing a group pricing optimisation system that offers self-service capabilities will enable airlines to manage group bookings, pricing, contracts and policies in one location with speed and accuracy. This helps boost profitability for airlines and improve the booking experience for customers. 

Providing a seamless customer experience

Today’s travellers are savvy and they’re looking for flexible, personalised booking experiences. Airlines must take control of offers across all online and mobile channels to put forward digital experiences that meet customer expectations. Providing customers with value across the entire booking journey will be integral to driving positive customer experiences as airlines look to increase revenue and outperform their competitors.  

Looking ahead

The significant uptick we’ve seen in bookings in just six weeks is a positive sign that demand will continue to grow throughout 2022. After years of volatility, it’s imperative that airlines maintain visibility in the market. Elevating the digital experience to meet the expectation of today’s travellers is key to driving higher customer satisfaction while increasing conversion and revenue. Those that don’t will be left behind.