MADRID & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In order to maximise profitability, airlines must sell the right seat to the right customer at the right price. The big question is – what is the right seat and the right price for each individual traveller? Wouldn’t it help airlines if travellers could name that price themselves?
With Plusgrade, travellers can do just that. Plusgrade provides technology to airlines so that passengers can bid to move to a better class or have that much-prized free seat next to them on a busy flight. After buying their ticket, passengers place their bids for these services online. They find out if their offer is accepted between 24-72 hours before the flight takes off, adding a fun element of surprise to the trip.
The benefits are big for both passengers and airlines. Passengers are empowered by being able to make an offer for a premium service at a price they are comfortable with – depending on availability. In turn, airlines can capitalise on empty seats and increased upgrades, generating significant revenue whilst also benefitting from the improved customer experience delivered to their travellers.
"Plusgrade’s mission is to help airlines generate as much revenue as possible from every flight,” says Ken Harris, Plusgrade's Chief Executive Officer. “Our partnership with Amadeus further strengthens Plusgrade’s ability to innovate, lead and build upon the meaningful revenue streams and enhanced customer experiences for which our signature up-sell solutions are known. Together with Amadeus, we will deliver powerful end-to-end ancillary revenue solutions and experiences for our common customer base in a rapid timeframe.”
“Enhancing merchandising capabilities for our airline customers is a priority for us at Amadeus,” says Julia Sattel, Senior Vice President, Airline IT, Amadeus IT Group. “We have been focusing on developing partnerships in order to deliver additional innovative solutions fast. Through this partnership, Altéa customers will be able to implement this solution much quicker than before. Airlines will be able to boost that all-important bottom line, whilst travellers will gain greatly from the increased choice and flexibility when deciding how they want their flight experience to be.”
Qantas Airways, an Altéa customer and a partner of Plusgrade, comments on the benefits of the solution: "Our partnership with Plusgrade has over-delivered on customer engagement and continues to deliver meaningful ancillary revenue," says Nick Evans, Manager Ancillary Revenue at Qantas Airways.
In an industry with an average net profit margin of only 4.6% in 20151, airlines need to manage their fixed resources as best as possible in order to stay ahead of the pack. Plusgrade meets this need, and enables airlines to take advantage of everyone’s impulse for luxury: sometimes travellers just want to treat themselves.
Notes to the editors
About Plusgrade
Plusgrade is the market leading provider of
upgrade solutions, a key segment of the fast-growing ancillary revenue
and merchandising sector in the global airline industry. With over 50
airline customers worldwide, the Company’s software solutions provide
its global base of customers with meaningful incremental revenue and
controls, allowing them to enhance and optimize revenue across classes
of service. One of the fastest and most widely adopted ancillary revenue
platforms, Plusgrade’s proprietary SaaS platform delivers a difference
to the bottom line in the fastest-possible time scale. Founded in 2009,
Plusgrade has offices in Montreal, Canada and New York. For more
information, please visit www.plusgrade.com
About Amadeus
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced
technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups
include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry
operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and
travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies).
The Amadeus group employs around 13,000 people worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations globally.
The group operates a transaction-based business model.
Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol "AMS.MC" and is a component of the IBEX 35 index.
To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com, and www.amadeus.com/blog for more on the travel industry.
1 IATA press release no. 58, 10 December 2015. http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-12-10-01.aspx