Travel connection platform is helping Canada’s first Ultra-Low Cost Carrier quickly ramp up its booking and digital retailing capabilities
Air Black Box, a global travel technology company founded to help airlines address the complexities of cross-selling travel product inventory, is partnering with Flair Airlines, Canada’s first independent ultra-low cost carrier, to power its booking, retailing and ancillary revenue needs.
Air Black Box is providing Flair with a comprehensive digital booking solution and access to ancillaries and new retail channels. The revenue-generating internet booking engine (IBE) enables airline customers to easily search, book, pay for, and manage flights.
Through the Air Black Box platform, Flair will be able to market and sell high-value air-related ancillaries, including baggage fees, seat upgrades, and travel insurance, in addition to ground-based ancillaries, including car rental, parking, and hotel booking.
“It was crucial for us to find a technology partner that could develop a state-of-the-art booking and ancillary revenue solution which didn’t require complex and lengthy integrations,” said Jim Scott, president and CEO of Flair Airlines. “We needed a partner who could meet our aggressive timetable and get us up to speed quickly, keep costs low, and evolve and grow with us. Air Black Box is that partner.”
Developing New Retail Channels and Selling Opportunities
Air Black Box developed a retailing and merchandising product roadmap for Flair that goes beyond traditional ancillaries. Not only will the planned roll-out generate new revenue opportunities, the platform also enables Flair to offer customers intelligently packaged products that enhance their travel experience. Dynamic productization and pricing are also part of the roadmap as Air Black Box develops new solutions alongside Flair’s market expansion.
“Our technology allows startup airlines like Flair to scale up quickly and compete in dynamic markets,” said Ian Reyner, CEO of Air Black Box. “Since our approach is cost-effective and less complex than traditional ancillary revenue development and booking solutions, we offer the flexibility and speed to market that Flair, as Canada’s fastest growing airline, needs.”
Powering Low Cost Airlines
Air Black Box—with its deep domain knowledge and experience working with regional low-cost airlines—also provides the technology behind the Value Alliance, the world’s first low-cost carrier alliance and Asia-Pacific’s largest. The platform helps the alliance build its collective reach and revenues – and supports customers who choose multiple carriers in a single booking or have complex flight itineraries.
Connecting Key Ancillaries
The Air Black Box platform currently connects third-party suppliers of ancillaries directly into a recalibrated booking path to drive higher conversions, while allowing Flair’s customers to choose ancillaries that are right for their trip. The booking solution was deployed in January 2019, with additional ancillary products being added as the airline expands capacity and reach across the Canadian and US markets.
“Our expertise in working with LCCs and ULCCs is key to why we are ideally positioned to partner with Flair. We’ve been able to deploy our capabilities quickly, without a lengthy integration process – a benefit Flair wouldn’t get from legacy solutions providers and that is so critical at this stage of their growth,” added Reyner.
Air Black Box provides airlines, airports and travel tech companies with the technology solutions they need to seamlessly connect their inventory across other airline and travel networks, support dynamic pricing and merchandising, and expand options offered to their customers. Air Black Box’s industry-first travel connection platform uses patent-protected software to transform the cross-selling process, enabling airlines, airports and travel brands to create new cross-carrier core and ancillary revenue opportunities, and to reduce the operational complexities of fulfilling and delivering these cross-brand products to travelers.
For over a decade Flair operated as a charter carrier before transitioning to a scheduled carrier in late 2017 and becoming Canada’s first true and only independent low fare airline finally making air travel accessible to all. With an all-jet fleet that now includes Boeing 737-800s, Edmonton-based Flair affordably connects passengers from coast to coast with low fare services from Vancouver, Abbotsford, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto (YYZ) and Halifax
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