Rise of social loyalty programmes – BalticMiles Brainstorm recognised for innovation

Multi-partner loyalty programme BalticMiles, owned by the Latvian airline airBaltic, has been recognised as one of the best loyalty programmes worldwide, winning the Loyalty 2013 award alongside Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

BalticMiles was honoured in the Technology and Innovation category for the launch of its crowdsourcing platform, BalticMiles Brainstorm, which enabled the best customer-created ideas to be implemented.

It is also the world’s first loyalty programme to allow its members to determine their own rewards, many of which have been rolled out in a personalisation initiative via targeted video messages.

The BalticMiles Brainstorm programme has been conceptualised under the guidance of SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing strategy firm that has advised over 30 airlines and airports on customer engagement strategy, and actualised on Facebook in June 2012 through an application developed by NapkinLabs.

The trend of “social’ loyalty” is set to grow as most travellers carry gadgets that allow them to engage in online advocacy in return for incentives, often linked to loyalty programmes.

“The BalticMiles award is testimony to the fact that in this age of the connected traveller, airlines must transform their social media relationships into real-world loyalty in order to stay relevant to the consumers,” said Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying.

Walk the Red Carpet with AirAsia X

AirAsia X, the longhaul, low fare affiliate of the AirAsia group, is offering the special Red Carpet Service to its longhaul guests departing from Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). Launched by budget carrier, AirAsia, in March last year it offers a more personalised check-in experience.

Guests of AirAsia X using this service have access to a dedicated check-in counter, priority baggage tagging and loading, usage of the Plaza Premium lounge at LCCT, fast track immigration, security clearance and priority boarding with buggy service to the bay (subject to aircraft parking bay distance). It also includes priority baggage delivery on arrival at destination.

They can either pre-book the service online for a RM100 (US$32), or at the airport for a walk-in rate of RM125. In the event of flight cancellation or delay guests are entitled to a full refund, or they may transfer the Red Carpet Service for their next available flight.

AirAsia X’s CEO Azran Osman-Rani (pictured left) said the service option was an ancillary value to its longhaul and low fare service offerings.

Bangkok Airways implements Amadeus Dynamic Availability

Bangkok Airways, Thailand’s second largest airline, has successfully implemented Amadeus Dynamic Availability, a solution from Amadeus, that provides travel agents worldwide access to real-time flight availability information and accurate postings from the airline’s inventory system.

Amadeus Dynamic Availability is a revenue maximisation distribution service that works in conjunction with the airline’s inventory and revenue management systems. It enables Bangkok Airways to individually process availability requests from the Amadeus travel agency channel ,ensuring that appropriate inventory decisions are enabled, optimising revenue and anticipating booking patterns more effectively.

The solution offers a number of advanced features aimed at improving efficiency, such as letting an airline customise availability based on booking value using origin and destination (O&D) information, and target its offer based on customer and market segmentation using point-of-sale information.

Medan’s new airport set to be Western Indonesia’s international transit centre

The popular tourist destination of Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia will have a new airport – Kuala Namu International Airport (KNIA) – by the second quarter of 2013 when the first phase of its construction is completed, replacing the existing Polonia International Airport.

Located on a 1,365ha land area in Kuala Namu, 20km northeast of the current airport, KNIA is expected to become the new international transit centre in Sumatra and the western part of Indonesia. The project is part of Indonesia’s central government programme under its Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economic Development, and one of the strategies for the ASEAN Open Sky Policy in 2015.

KNIA will be Indonesia’s second largest after Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, with a 224,298sqm passengers terminal that will have a capacity for 50 million passengers. It is also the first in the country with a publicly accessible check-in area (current Indonesian airports restrict access to ticket holders with security at the gate).

The airport’s 3,750m by 60m runway and 53 aprons can accommodate wide-body aircraft including the Airbus A380 aircraft, while the 13,000sqm cargo area is able to handle three carriers with 65,000 tones/annum. The 50,820sqm parking area can accommodate 405 taxis, 55 busses and 908 cars. In the pipeline to increase accessibility to the airport are another highway (non-toll road), a toll road and non-stop rail link to Medan.

Phase 1 of the new airport, which will have a capacity for nine million passengers annually, is scheduled to be operational by second quarter of 2013. Phase 2, when completed by 2025, will see the airport servicing 14 million passengers.