Airline technologies and traditional ways of working that have served the industry so well and for so long may not serve airlines’ future growth ambitions. Decades of industry evolution have supported innovation and growth, but traditional industry constructs – embodied by acronyms like PSS, PNR, ET and EMD – are not well suited to retailing concepts of the future.

The industry has historically honored complexity, but there is now an appetite to simplify.

Carol Clements, Chief Digital & Technology Officer at JetBlue

In fact, many Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) have been quick to adopt more modern and flexible ways of working. Yet even for LCCs, there are still limitations to the way offers and orders are being used, meaning that additional benefits can be unlocked as part of a broader transformation.

We believe travel retailing powered by offers and orders is a way for airlines (and agencies) to generate more revenue opportunities and satisfy the demands of modern consumers. But achieving the desired ambition of a retail-powered future for airlines goes far beyond technology. In fact, we believe that technology is only part of the equation. The other part centers on the organizational changes that will be needed. Working with a technology partner that sees the bigger picture, and has a plan for the end-to-end journey, can make a world of difference.

This partnership mindset infuses not just what we do, but also how we do it. We understand that technology is just one part of running a successful airline. It’s a facilitator that enables airlines to deliver core products and services – logistics, flights, travel experiences – to travelers. Our appreciation for the bigger picture, detailed understanding of all the moving parts within an airline operation, and our work with other links in the travel value chain is what ensures we are the right partner for major initiatives. We take on complex challenges such as those faced by airlines today as they seek to transform into travel retailers and solve them with technology, working in an open and transparent way to deliver a seamless end-to-end experience.

While others have sought to build a retailing solution on top of existing systems, Sabre is the only provider that has used first principles thinking to disassemble the problem and rebuild from the ground up. It’s why we have so many industry firsts; why we’re the ones doing what nobody has done before.

Mike Reyes, VP Product Management, Sabre

In engineering a suite of reimagined products that get airlines from where they are today to the nirvana of travel retailing, Sabre has ensured that our airline partners and their customers are central to everything we develop. Their voices echo loudly as we build towards the future. Getting started on the journey to a world of offers and orders requires a partner with a vision and experience.

With limitless stock-keeping units (SKUs) in mind, Sabre has prioritized embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities that are also available through a bring-your-own-science model if desired. This supports optimization of offer personalization, combined with a strong reporting and data-centric architecture, so that airlines can make the decisions that are right for them in real-time.

Creating and distributing a broader variety offers across channels creates opportunities for airlines and their customers. It is designed to permit a more diverse product portfolio and improved customer satisfaction, leading to higher revenue potential.

Sabre’s use of best-in-class experimentation – derived from Google’s AI/ML technology – represents a clear point of differentiation, but it’s far from the only thing we’re doing differently. We understand that knowledge (i.e., data) is power. The ability to source and process a larger volume of real-time data from a wide range of sources can be a game-changer. Sabre’s solution will make it easier to leverage this data to generate smarter offers that adapt to evolving market dynamics and traveler preferences. Our technology will also enable customers to automate this experimentation, thereby reducing costs and optimizing resource allocation.

The key tenets of our technical architecture include:

Google cloud-native infrastructure that is scalable and secure.

Microservice-enabled architecture that supports modularity.

API-first approach for an open platform.

Getting started on the journey to a retail-led future enabled by offers and orders may seem daunting for many airlines – our customers have told us as much. While some airlines have already begun their retailing journey, for others it will involve a significant departure from established ways of working across many aspects of their business. By the time the transformation is complete, much of the new organization may be operating very differently than it does today. What lies between today and the future vision is largely uncharted territory that demands no small amount of trust and commitment to navigate successfully.

We believe there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to transition and have designed our fully modular solutions with flexibility in mind. We also understand the importance of pacing the transformation process according to the specific starting point, organizational complexity, business appetite and desired goals for each individual airline, and will work collaboratively with customers to agree an efficient and effective route to their end state.

We know that for our FSC airline partners, incremental change at a pace to match their ambitions holds the key to a successful transition. There will almost certainly be an extended period during which legacy and new world systems will co-exist, and a phased transition approach will be necessary.

For our LCC airline partners, many of whom already have advanced retailing capabilities, a different approach may be needed. The focus could be on how best to transition to more scalable technology that will extend and expand their existing retailing capabilities – through partnerships and access to third-party content, for example.

For FSCs and LCCs, the transition will be challenging. But at Sabre, we’re already well on the way to identifying, mitigating and solutioning for those challenges. How airlines transition to a retail-powered future is equally as important as the end-state itself. We believe that the transition should be disruptive to your business, but not your operations. We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our airline partners throughout the process, turning unknowns into knowns along the path to our shared goal of modern travel retailing.