In the news: Malaysia Airlines’ new Innovation Lab, partnership between Travelport and MakeMyTrip, Expedia’s revenue management tool for hotels, Scoot’s new payment provider
AIRLINES: Malaysia Airlines on track to become a digital airline, launches first Innovation Lab
MAS iSpace is to promote an agile and modern workspace (Image credit: Malaysia Airlines)
Most airlines are turning to technology to keep with the changing times, as well as to meet the requirements of the always-on tech-savvy travellers.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is one of these airlines embracing the digital revolution, and is transforming itself into a digital airline. It recently launched its first in-house Innovation Lab, dubbed the iSpace, which marks the third phase of its digital journey.
The 770sqm facility (8,300sqf) facility is located at the KL International Airport, and has a capacity to house 100 people.
The lab is intended to promote an agile and modern workspace, equipped with the airline’s second physical Solution Cafe for helpdesk support, reading corner, gaming, recreational and scrum-free area as well as meeting rooms.
Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer, Peter Bellew, said the airline’s information technology transformation began last March, and is expected to be completed by June next year. To date it has completed almost 70% of this transformation.
“Malaysia Airlines is currently in the second phase of restructuring. The successful implementation of information technology is key to our success especially in improving the airline’s customer experience and overall operational efficiency.”
He hopes iSpace will be able to attract and nurture both internal and external talent through innovation.
The five winning teams of the MAS hackathon held in February are currently incubated in the iSPACE, and are developing a number of prototypes.
“Collaboratively, these innovative solutions will enable efficiencies at our critical touch points such as the tracking of special handling passengers, an interactive social media app that offer passengers personalized destination content, as well as an upgrade bidding app which can be used on mobile devices,” said Bellew.
The iSpace was created in collaboration with technology partners and academia such as Tata Consultancy Services, IBM Bluemix, Amadeus, Telekom Malaysia and University Malaya.
• MAS’ IT transformation, which began in March 2016, covers three main phases that include, among others, the digitisation of IT assets and processes. Phase two involves replacing and building new business solutions and capabilities to enable digitisation of all core business products and processes. The last phase, to end in June 2018, will be growing the platform for continuous innovation and differentiation to shape a new digital airline that includes hackathons and the Innovation Lab.
ONLINE TRAVEL: MakeMyTrip hops on to Travelport platform
MakeMyTrip now has access to Travelport’s travel content (Image: MakeMyTrip website screenshot)
MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel agency (OTA), will use Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform in a deal inked with InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), Travelport’s distributor for India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
Under the agreement, MakeMyTrip can expand the use of Travelport’s technology from the Ibibo Group to the OTA’s other primary distribution channels starting in the second half of this year. (In January MakeMyTrip undertook a strategic combination with Ibibo Group and acquired its 100% equity interest).
Travelport, working with ITQ, will make available to MakeMyTrip its travel content featuring real time access to about 400 airlines, including the merchandised content of over half of these carriers such as fares families and ancillary products.
According to the travel commerce company, it has pioneered the inclusion of low cost carriers on its platform for shopping and booking, going live with LCC IndiGo in November 2016.
Commenting on partnership Gordon Wilson, Travelport’s president and CEO, said: “India is a market with enormous growth potential where Travelport, working with our distributor ITQ, has grown in air booking terms by 14% in the first half of 2017 when the GDS air market has grown by 11%.
“Securing a partnership with the leading online travel agency in the market, with a high growth profile and tremendous track record, gives even further impetus to our plans in the country.”
HOSPITALITY: Hotels get help to manage revenue with new tool, Rev+
Rev+ helps hotels manage their rates
Expedia has launched a new revenue management tool Rev+ as part of the Expedia PartnerCentral (EPC), designed to help hotels manage their properties and rates.
EPC was set up by Expedia in February 2009 as an online resource for its hotel partners to have a single website to access the revenue management, marketing and operational tools.
There is no additional costs for hotel partners using the new tool, and no additional sign-up is required. Its features include:
- Price calendar – Gives a comprehensive view of a hotel’s pricing relative to their competitive set for the next 365 days.
- Market alerts – Help partners find the most recent and relevant changes in their market.
- Daily snapshot – Insights about what is happening on a specific day including forecasted demand and know events.
- Competitive price grid – Surfaces a hotel’s pricing trends relative to their competitive set over time
“Our hotel partners see value in the data we provide and have expressed a need for additional support, insights and access to greater intelligence to help them more effectively refine their revenue strategy and make informed business decisions in less time,” said Benoit Jolin, vice president of Expedia’s Global Product.
“Rev+ was created from this feedback, along with months of testing that informed the first version of the product.”
AIRLINES: New payment provider for Scoot to assist in its global expansion
More payment choices with Scoot-Worldpay collaboration (Image credit: Scoot)
Scoot Tigerair (Scoot), the low-cost longhaul subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has selected Worldpay as its exclusive payments provider to support its “aggressive growth plan” with the two airlines’ (Scoot and Tigerair) amalgamation on 25 July.
Leslie Thng, chief commercial officer at Scoot, said the partnership with the leading payments company would also reduce the airline’s time-to-market into each new region.
“Our new Singapore-Athens route launched earlier this month, and with plans to launch five more new destinations in the next 12 months we need a payments solution to support our global vision.”
The collaboration could help Scoot grows its international and longhaul business as a new integrated brand in key global markets such as Asia Pacific and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), providing an end-to-end payments solutions to the airline’s customers.
According to a media statement, “since partnering with Worldpay, the airline has seen payment acceptance rates soar to 90% across all markets.”
Worldpay will enable Scoot to accept a range of payment methods favoured by travellers across the region including Alipay and China Union Pay in China, Konbini in Japan, and POLi Payments and PayPal in Australia.
• Featured image (Malaysia Airlines Innovation Lab) cred: Malaysia Airlines
