DERBY, England & SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 25, 2004–bmibaby, the U.K.’s fastest growing low cost airline and the largest airline in the Midlands, announced it is implementing the industry’s first revenue management solution — Sabre AirMax Low-Fares Manager — designed for the low-cost airline market. Developed by Sabre Airline Solutions, the core feature of this new technology is its ability to provide revenue management for restriction-free pricing, a standard aspect of the low-cost airline model.
Restriction-free pricing has been credited as a key reason for the migration of some travelers to discount carriers. Traditionally, travelers had to meet numerous restrictions in order to get lower fares, such as Saturday-night stays, round-trip travel and minimum advanced booking. However, with the growth of discount carriers such as bmibaby, combined with changing traveler expectations of lower fares, almost all carriers now offer some form of restriction-free pricing, particularly in locations of intense competition between carriers.
“Restriction-free pricing is one of the draws of bmibaby,” said Donna Clarkstone, head of business development for bmibaby. “However, traditional revenue management techniques do not work in the restriction-free pricing market. bmibaby required a unique solution designed for the low-cost market that ensured we met our costs and generated profit. Sabre Airline Solutions’ Low-Fares Manager offers the first revenue management technology that offers this solution and is a solid platform for our restriction-free pricing model.”
Low-Fares Manager will allow bmibaby to continue effectively managing its revenues by accepting or rejecting passenger bookings based on overall revenue contributions.
Customer buying behavior by time period can be estimated in the new system, enabling carriers to adjust inventories and prices in response to demand to generate the maximum revenue.
Available as a stand-alone system or implemented with other Sabre AirMax Revenue Management Suite products, Low-Fares Manager is offered as an in-house model or via the Sabre eMergo Web access, an application service provider delivery model. By leveraging the ASP delivery option, carriers can access the same advanced functionality without the initial implementation costs.
Offering the industry’s only origin and destination revenue management system, the AirMax suite is estimated to enhance revenue from five to seven percent. To date, the system has been successfully implemented for more than 35 carriers.
Low-Fares Manager also integrates with SabreSonic Inventory, an advanced inventory management solution that leverages open-systems technology, to provide real-time inventory controls that address the discount market. The new technology fulfills an industry need that, through Low-Fares Manager, automates a complex part of the low-cost model.
“Restriction-free pricing and revenue management is a highly complex area,” said Vinay Dube, vice president of Sabre Airline Solutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “As the first organization to design and implement a solution for a one-way pricing model, this demonstrates Sabre Airline Solutions’ expertise to solving the problems airlines face within today’s continuous and rapidly changing environment.
“Sabre Airline Solutions knows revenue management better than anyone in the industry,” Dube continued. “Changing a traditional revenue management system to incorporate unrestricted fares is fairly intuitive; however, putting the theory into practice for an airline that competes in a range of markets is highly complex. The system we have developed has a strong theoretical foundation, incorporating the practical nuances of a robust revenue management system.”
About bmibaby
bmibaby is the U.K.’s second largest low cost airline, offering over 700 flights a week on routes within the U.K., Spain, Ireland, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Established in March 2002, the airline carried in excess of 3 million passengers on its services throughout Europe in its first full year of operation. The airline has won two awards in its 31 months in operation, scooping the Telegraph award for Best No Frills airline two years running.
January 2005 sees further expansion for bmibaby with the launch of flights from Birmingham International Airport, the airline’s second Midlands base. bmibaby projects it will carry in excess of one million passengers from this airport alone in 2005. bmibaby also has bases at Nottingham East Midlands, Cardiff, Manchester, Durham Tees Valley and London Gatwick.
About Sabre Airline Solutions
Sabre Airline Solutions, a Sabre Holdings company, is the world’s largest provider of software products, reservations and departure control systems and other passenger management systems, and consulting services that help airlines simplify operations and lower costs. Sabre Airline Solutions’ proven leadership is demonstrated by the growing number of airlines that leverage the technology and services: More than 200 airlines worldwide use Sabre Airline Solutions’ broad portfolio of smart solutions for decision-support tools to increase revenues and improve operations. More than 100 airlines worldwide rely on Sabre Airline Solutions for passenger management solutions, with 15 new carriers added and nine carrier renewals for SabreSonic Res advanced reservations and departure control systems in 2003. In addition, more than 100 clients worldwide have turned to Sabre Airline Solutions consulting group for strategic, commercial and operational consulting. More than 500 contracts worldwide were signed in 2003 within Sabre Airline Solutions and nearly 400 have been signed in the first half of 2004.
Sabre Holdings Corp. (NYSE:TSG) is a world leader in travel commerce, retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com/.
Sabre Airline Solutions, the Sabre Airline Solutions logo, the Sabre AirMax Suite, Low-Fares Manager, SabreSonic Inventory and Sabre eMergo are trademarks and/or service marks of an affiliate of Sabre Holdings Corp. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. (C) 2004 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved.
CONTACT: Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake
Kathryn Hayden, 682-605-2252
kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com
or
bmibaby
Claire Allen, 01332 854919
claire.allen@bmibaby.com
SOURCE: Sabre Airline Solutions
