As Saudia undergoes a massive commercial transformation to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving market and ambitious national growth goals, the airline needed a modern revenue management system that could support strategic agility, scale, and precision. Legacy tools with poor forecast accuracy, manual workarounds, and unclear analyst workflows were holding them back, until they partnered with PROS.
In this customer interview, Justin Jander, Senior Director, Product Management at PROS, sits down with Yannis Gounaris, VP of Commercial at Saudia Airlines. Yannis shares how PROS Revenue Management Essentials (RME) enabled a dramatic shift, from reactive, gut-driven decisions to a data-powered, demand-informed strategy. By aligning people, process, and technology through extensive training and system calibration, Saudia now operates with over 90% forecast accuracy (up from <20% before), double-digit gains in RASK and yield, and growing trust across every level of the team.
Watch the video to hear how PROS helped Saudia rebuild trust in their forecasting, reshape analyst behavior, and prepare for the next phase: connecting traffic, O&D optimization, and smarter group management with PROS RM and Group Sales Optimizer (GSO).
Video Highlights
- 1:14 – What revenue management system were you using prior to PROS, and what challenges led you to seek a new solution?
- 2:30 – In what ways has the PROS platform enhanced your forecasting and pricing decision-making?
- 4:37 – How important was it to get buy-in across all levels of the organization as part of your implementation strategy?
- 6:44 – How has the system helped you respond more effectively to market shifts or competitor actions?
- 11:12 – Can you share any measurable results you’ve seen since adopting RME – such as revenue uplift, improved load factors, pricing accuracy?
- 14:36 – What advice would you give to other airlines evaluating PROS RM or Groups Solution?
Full Transcript
Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining today. I am joined by, Yannis from Saudia Airlines, and he’s here today to talk to us a little bit about their journey on the revenue management solutions. So to kick things off, we’ll start with the easiest questions. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your role at Saudia, and how long you’ve been there.
Great. Thank you, Justin.
So, I’ve been two and a half years, with Saudia Airlines, and I’m the VP of commercial.
So responsible for, revenue management and pricing, on different things.
There is a great transformation that is happening right now, Saudi Airlines, and the Saudi Airlines group.
And, part of that transformation, in order to just, change the airline, to be able to, accommodate all the growth that is happening, the different demand, to for for the for for that type of growth.
And at the same time, keep the profitability and and and and make the airline successful because, you know, you cannot just lose your side of the the fundamentals, for the airline business.
Before choosing the PROS revenue management system, can you describe what you were using before and what challenges you were facing, before you were before you made the decision to go to PROS
Yes.
We had a leg revenue management system, from a different provider.
And, we had actually a number of challenges, but summarized, there were two areas.
One was actually the people, the the although they are they have, like, very good background, a lot of them many years of experience, they were not really trained in demand forecasting.
Even the roles and responsibilities were not very clear. So they were, you know, pretty much going on a gut feeling many times because they know the market, but they they, they ended up adjusting a lot of things at the inventory, not even at the system. So they were not applying, demand adjustments, price adjustments. They were not really working with the system, and that because of the second part, which was actually the system itself, had, like, very, very low forecast accuracy. Actually, it was I’ve never seen, like, so low before.
And it was a chicken egg situation because if you don’t work with the system, try to improve the system, try to influence the system, the system will never learn. And if it doesn’t learn, doesn’t have you don’t trust it and so on.
You talked a lot about forecasting and pricing decision making, as part of that.
Can you talk about how the PROS system has changed that? What’s the what are the things that you’ve been able to do inside of PROS that have helped, shift it from what you had before to where you are today?
Yeah. It’s, I mean, really flip on its head because, we address both of those issues because, our our approach was actually you can bring the best system, but, I mean, we’re still not in a position where we have some machine learning system that we can all go on vacation. The system is gonna do R and by itself. I mean, it was not that.
So we had to train the people too. And, with PROS, we worked very well together in order to approach both of them at the same time, which was actually it was very aggressive timeline, but it it it worked, without having too much data for the system. Also, we actually had to work very fast in order to just prep the system. But at the end of the day, we managed to, change, the fundamentals of how people work, how they understand the demand forecast, and how they are applying the strategy, how they translate the strategy into the demand adjustments, into the price adjustments, so how they are actually active users, of the of the system.
Also, understanding their roles. So we went through the full training with the PROS University. So from the new analyst that they were coming as price analyst, estimate analyst, and flight analyst, all the way to the managers and the managerial tasks that they have to do in order to manage and cascade down the strategy, all of that was very clear. And and took a while.
I mean, it was actually multiple sessions of training, both online and on-site, in order to do that. And, on the system side, we calibrated the system before we went live with a lot of help from from, PROS, and the power users from our side, in order to just get to a very good level. So we started, you know, already with a much better level than, you know, what we had before even from day one. So it was actually a great improvement.
Yeah. I think I I I’ve heard that quite a few times now that, like, you can you can get the system in place that’s the best system, but without the training and the way to use it, it’s it’s sort of lost. And and you mentioned something specifically about even the manager level and above. It’s not just about the users, but it’s that confidence in the managers and even, you know, your level and even above your level to to buy into that strategy. Is that something that that’s been part of the strategy for you?
Yeah. absolutely. And I’ll give you an example. I mean, we told them that when we’re gonna go live, we’re gonna block access to the analyst on the Altea inventory because we’re on Altea for the inventory. And they were actually going to the Altea inventory, which to me is actually is the master power switch. Right? You wanna turn on the light to, you know, the kitchen, but you go and you turn on, you know, on and off the the the master switch.
But that’s how the the the they were used to work. Right? And, with that, they were panicking because it actually this is my tool. It’s like, well, this is not supposed to be tool. But, you know, get them to understand, get them to win. It’s not it was not actually about forcing it to them.
It was actually when the day came, and they were really they already put the demand adjustments, they were really looking the the the forecast quality, and they were they were putting the special events and all of those things, then and they could see how that was affecting the output, then they say, oh, okay. Well, I can do whatever it was. Like, yes. It’s just actually you change the way you work and how, you know, you, you work with the system.
Right? And they like that because, actually, the system now start producing good results. So they could trust it. Right?
I mean, before that, we we could not trust, the demand forecast. So if somebody was asking, what’s the demand forecast or what’s their revenue forecast for the next month, we could not answer. Right? I mean, because it was it was so low that, you know, the accuracy was very low.
So right now, the analyst or the senior analyst or the manager, that doesn’t matter what level. They were used to, now, not trust the system. And now all of a sudden, they say, I can trust it. It guides me.
And based on that, I can adjust furthermore and work with that. Right? So, this yeah. It was fundamental change.
I think the word trust really is an important part of the whole discussion because ultimately, trust doesn’t just mean trusting blindly and just understanding, you know, like, it’s fine.
But their trust part also says when things are, you know, going as different from expected, you’re getting you you know how to react to the system. So that’s one of the questions I had was around, the market shifts that are happening. I think one of the things that’s happening at Saudia is a shift from the type of traffic you want to take. You wanna broaden out, make make Saudi Saudi Arabia more of a place that’s a connecting hub and that kind of thing. So with those shifts happening, how are the analysts reacting to the those types of changes that are happening in the market?
Yeah. So there are actually there there are two two steps to that. So the first step was actually when we went live with RME, which is we’re live right now. It was actually understanding better, like I said, demand influences, understand the point of sale influence, because you’re right. The with with all of this expansion and the the country has opening up, we’ve seen a lot of, demand from foreign point of sale. Traditionally, before, it was actually more the Saudi point of sale. And, in the foreign point of sale, it was primarily groups.
Right now, you have groups. You have individuals.
The Visa system is very efficient. So, you have a mix and like any DeepGalle airline. So now it’s actually about managing the mix and and and improving that mix. So, so that was the one thing that they they, they got better because, again, they could see the mix, and they can actually adjust in the influences because there’s a big seasonality, like, in in every place. And at the same time, we have, like, a big number of groups, which affects, your your inventory.
But then the the second step is actually the O and D, which we’re very fast. We’re going to that, and we’re we’re cutting over in a few months to RMA, and that was all along the plan, but we wanted to do it in a step approach. And with the the RMA, now we’re addressing the second part, which is actually, connecting passengers, and, again, improving the demand, improving the mix, understanding, the demand analyst, understanding the hub. There was no hub group to manage the hub because, connecting passengers were actually just a small minority, and that includes even the partners, the co chair, and so on. So now we have a hub structure with, well defined banks, both Jetta and Riyadh, but primarily Jetta.
And that, you know, needs to be managed, obviously, in in in a much better way. We’re getting, you know, very good at that. This is part of the training that’s happening right now for the prep of the system as part of the O and D transition. And then we have actually the I think I wanna mention is the GSO.
Right? Because, groups, it’s a big part of our business. I mean, it’s not surprising because you have the religious group, and then you have the labor groups, and now you have more and more elite group. So it’s a it’s a it’s a big part of the business.
And, there were there were problems because the the the group inventory was not flowing through the revenue management system. So it was pretty much you have now forty percent of your of your business, actually. And if you look market by market, four percent is an average, you have markets, and especially, this time of the year where you have more religious that they can be seventy or eighty. Sure.
So you have, like, seventy or eighty percent of your inventory that is not being forecasted, is not even being looked at. Right? I mean so then what are we talking about? So this is actually something that we wanted to, flow through the, obviously, through the revenue management system.
So have, like, the the groups and and revenue management and the retail revenue management system working together.
And and then, of course, improving the groups itself, the pricing, the forecasting, the materialization rates, the key, attributes that they drive the decision for the groups, which that, you know, helps. So a lot of things happening together, which is obviously just by listing them quickly here, you understand there was a lot of good cooperation that needed because, you can go crazy and overwhelm, the analyst. You can disrupt your business, and that’s not obviously something that you want because you’re running a business and and and the world doesn’t stop. So we have issues and affecting demand and prices and so on, and we have to to do to do that, while we’re calibrating, rolling out, and all of those nice things and training that we discussed.
So I think a nice segue is, benefits. Right? So Yep. I know it’s it’s pretty early on in the since the system’s been live, you know, six months or so roughly. Right?
A little a little more, actually. The RME went live, last, August. August. Okay. So it was August, twenty twenty four.
So almost a year now. Almost a year. What what sort of benefits are you seeing so far from the from the the system?
Well, the demand forecast and revenue forecast. So, we’re talking about, over ninety percent accuracy, which is, I mean, we we were talking about less than twenty percent. I’ve I’ve, you know, I haven’t seen that low, and then this is actually, you know, great improvement.
And we did that, mind you, by warming up the system with less than a year of data. So, actually, the army went live with, I would say, like, five months. So we had to do a lot of work, to count a lot on your algorithms and, you know, the, you know, the the logic that you have on the top of us working together in order to just prep the system, because, obviously, you don’t go live, I mean, with for five months. You have to really build it up to the point that the system can be trained.
And, still, I mean, we’re we’re reaching that level of forecast accuracy.
At the same time and the system, again, is not the only thing, obviously, because we’re talking about a lot of training and and and much better ways of working and managing the demand.
We’ve had a tremendous increase, on all the traditional KPIs. So we’re talking about RASK and Yield that we have actually double digit increase year over year, and, you know, in a in a challenging environment, because, actually, it it it’s not actually that everything is rosy out there. I mean, as because we know that things that are happening in in in especially in the region.
But, we had actually double digit improvement, connecting passengers, for endpoint of sale, increase. So every every aspect that we had for the hub improvement, for, the, brassica yield, for the the effectiveness of, the the the the price point. So everything we looked at, it has been improving. And and, again, it’s it’s not just the system. To me, actually, a lot of work happened of retraining, those great analysts we had. Those guys, they were coming with a lot of passion. You have a lot of young guys, with a lot of good education, experience, and love for the company, for the country.
So they really want it. I mean, you could see them, how happy. I mean, it’s, I think the the accounting is my ninth cut over in revenue management system, and different countries, different environments.
Usually, people are just more reluctant because they change no matter what. These guys were happy because the moment they start seeing the results, they could see that they have a tool that they can trust and they can work, and that tool produced something that they are proud. So they were proud for their work.
And they’re the best ambassadors, on the side.
That’s that’s really great. I mean, to to have that connection to, like, the system is one part of it, but just the interest and the passion for being successful, that makes a huge difference. So that’s that’s really great. So, the last question we kinda wrap up on is, what would what advice would you give to other airlines that are considering, new new PROS RM system, new group system? What would you what advice would you give them when making that decision?
Well, first of all, it’s not just the system because, you know, there is this argument out there. Okay. How much you can improve, the algorithm? How much the math, you know, improve? I mean, I don’t see so many papers there just come up with something crazy out there that nobody has thought. Alright?
So at the end of the day, it’s not actually that the system has such a different algorithm, than the other one. It’s how everything comes together. Right? So, the so the advice for me was actually just to look, how the ecosystem is gonna work, because revenue management is part of a commercial ecosystem. So you have to see how that works and how that is gonna align with your strategies.
If you are a major carrier in in a joint venture and you’re doing big brass exchange, it’s very different than if you’re original carrier and you’re doing point, you know, point to point. Right? And if it was subsystem is very successful in one, doesn’t mean it’s gonna be in the other one. It’s it’s not one size fits all.
That’s the the one thing, so to understand, you know, that ecosystem. The second one is actually look the support. I mean, I I was happy to find that with PROS, but, even if you’re a very experienced leader, even if you have a very experienced team, it’s still a cutover is a cutover. Right?
And you may have issues. And, actually, it’s not a cutover. It’s actually the day after the cutover, because even if the cutover goes seamless and great, you may have a problem a week later or two weeks later, and then this is about support. This is about the continued support, so you know you have a trusted partner.
And it’s not about the blame game or whatever. It’s actually we work together in order to just figure out the goods and the bads. And then, and if there’s something different, some adjustment, then we work on that adjustment. It’s not actually, oh, I’m sorry.
Now we cut over. Oh, this is actually something very specific to the airlines, and nobody’s asking about it, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. So this actually every airline is different. Every environment is different.
So I have to look to really pay attention to that support because it’s gonna come back and bite you. I mean, it doesn’t matter, like I said, your your experience.
So Well, I really appreciate the insights that you’ve been able to provide today. This is really great, and and definitely thank you for, the support and and and all of the insights that you were able to provide.
Great. Thank you so much.