Issue link: https://pros.com/learn/i/1172830
3 4 Tactics to Master Airline Merchandising TIP SHEET Control All Offer Parameters to Gain Flexibility Being able to design your ancillary catalog goes hand in hand with how you manage it. In other words, you need the controls for your ancillary strategy - these multiple offer parameters that define the pricing and applicability conditions valid for your ancillary catalog. • Make sure you control the conditions of how and when you offer ancillaries. This can be a long list of parameters: like on what flights ancillaries are offered, when are they available for purchase, and to which fares. Also, specifics like the channels they are sold through (your dotcom, an online travel agency, the GDS, etc.) or the availability depending on the passenger type. • Get business rules to help you fine-tune your market strategies. With a powerful business rule engine, you can apply controls over pricing in all phases of the travel journey, regardless of the channel, i.e. as checked baggage prices go up closer to departure, favorize your mobile app to get more direct traffic or differentiate seat pricing strategy for your digital vs. your indirect channels. • Use miles (points) - they are a passenger's second wallet. Offering ancillary products in exchange for miles is something that increases the loyalty of your customers, but also their satisfaction. Travelers find cash/mile sliders very convenient to help them determine how much cash vs. miles they are willing to spend. 2 Seek Quick and Open Setup to Match Your Ancillary Market Strategy Inspire your merchandising strategy with insights from your markets and customers, not from the available parameters of your merchandising platform. Get creative with merchandising and experiment with a-la-carte ancillaries and bundles to see what resonates better with flyers. Rapidly make changes and identify revenue opportunities to get ahead of the competition. Remember to seek a deeper level of system setup that allows you to fine-tune your ancillary strategy instantly, without the need for additional development. I see carriers who look to explore promotions related to how ancillaries are purchased and offer additional discounts for specific credit card purchases. Others present special ancillary bundles to flyers with a distinctive or VIP flyer status. . 3