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