Amadeus Teams With Plusgrade

Amadeus has unveiled a new partnership with Plusgrade, which will allow airline passengers to bid for upgrades or “neighbour-free” seats.

It’s a ‘win-win’ for airlines and passengers as airlines generate revenue from otherwise unused services and passengers benefit by improving their travel experience.

In order to maximize 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 capitalize on empty seats and increased upgrades, generating significant revenue whilst also benefitting from the improved customer experience delivered to their travellers.

Ken Harris, Plusgrade’s CEO, said: “Plusgrade’s mission is to help airlines generate as much revenue as possible from every flight. 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.”

Julia Sattel, senior vice-president, Airline IT, Amadeus IT Group, noted that: “Enhancing merchandising capabilities for our airline customers is a priority for us at Amadeus. 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 2015, airlines need to manage their fixed resources as best as possible in order to stay ahead of the pack.

For more, go to http://www.amadeus.com .