Airlines will soon sell most tickets directly
Airline tickets sold through GDSs and online travel agents are continuing to decline and most tickets will soon be sold directly by airlines, according to a new study.
“I predict that 2011 will see them (airlines) overtake indirect distribution for the first time,” said Paul Coby, Chair, SITA, which published its 13th annual SITA/Airline Business Airline IT Trends Survey.
If the present trend continues, by 2014, more than half of tickets will be sold directly, he predicted.
Airlines also expect to increase ancillary services sold via indirect channels in the future, the study found.
According to Coby, passenger mobile service offerings from airlines are set to explode in the next three years with 91 percent of responding airlines planning to invest in mobile device-based services for passengers.
“The priority is on mobile services which support check-in, flight status notifications, electronic boarding passes and travel distribution. Airlines anticipate that by 2014, 15 percent of all passengers will use mobile phones to check-in,” he said.
He also said mobile phones are set to become a significant sales channel in the future. Almost nine out of 10 airlines are actively selling, or planning to sell, tickets on mobile phones by 2014.
By David Wilkening
David
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