Airline Management and Marketing

Airline Functions

• Two main functions of airlines: Reservation functions and Airport functions

Reservation Functions

• Three basic types of sales outlets in the airline industry: Carrier's own sales offices, Other carrier's sales offices (interline), and Travel Agencies
• Agents play a critical role in the airline marketing distribution system, influencing customer decisions on destination and carrier
• Agents' income is primarily derived from commissions paid by carriers, hotels, and others
• Computerized Reservation System (CRS) displays airline schedules and prices, stores and retrieves information, and conducts transactions related to air travel
• Global Distribution System (GDS) is a major CRS operation that books and sells tickets for multiple airlines
• Examples of major GDS include Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan, and others

Airport Functions

• Most important and critical area of airline functions, ensuring flights leave on schedule and passengers are attended to professionally
• Airport functions are divided into Non-technical and Technical activities
• Non-technical functions are performed by the Commercial or Passenger Handling Unit, including X-raying of baggage, check-in activities, and security checks
• Technical activities are performed by Engineering, Ground Handling, Operations, Inflight Services, and Catering

Air Cargo

• Air cargo refers to the total volume of freight, mail, and express traffic transported by air
• May include small-package counter services, express and priority reserved freight
• Air cargo was "born" on May 28, 1910, when Glenn Curtiss flew a sack of mail from Albany to New York City
• First commercial aircrafts were built primarily to transport mail, which was the principal source of revenue for many aircraft operators
• The arrival of DC-3 in 1935 changed the scene, with a focus shift from cargo to passenger
• Air Express refers to small packages with a higher priority of carriage than air freight, while Air Freight refers to traffic carried in all-cargo aircraft
• Air Freight Forwarders act as middlemen between shippers and airlines, consolidating individual shipments and tendering them to airlines at carriers' volume rate
• The arrival of Jumbo Jets in 1970 both helped and hindered cargo business, as they could carry over 100 tons and containers measuring 8x8x40 feet, but also accommodated most air cargo at a lower cost than dedicated freighters