Ping Me, We’re Listening

I miss travel. Don’t you? Now that we are in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, I have realized that we’d taken travel for granted and underestimated its importance. Travel connects us with family and friends. It helps nurture the development of fulfilling business relationships. Heck, it shapes every aspect of the world in which we live. I can’t wait to get to a ‘steady-state’ where travel is again making a positive impact on our lives.

Getting to a steady-state is going to need an approach which at the outset may seem a paradox – methodical flexibility. Airlines need to embrace the systematic rollout of strategies and tools to build the business. But these need to be flexible to account for the changing needs of different markets, routes, and regulations. Traditional airline technology was designed to do one thing that would last 5 – 10 years. Now airlines will likely need to shift products every few months in cost-effective ways to get to cash quickly. The obvious way to do this is to work with tech companies with agility, creativity, and flexibility that’s production-proven. Given Accelya’s acquisition of Farelogix, airlines have just that, and it spans the entire retailing lifecycle. (Keep your eye on this).

From speaking to airline executives over the last few weeks, I have come to understand that the appetite for new thinking and cost-effective flexibility is significant. Folks have already reached out to me to share their hopes and ideas. And, as the new Chief Product Officer of a ‘pro-airline’ technology partner, Accelya, I say, “keep them coming!”. I want to include the industry voice as we roll up our collective sleeves to deliver on the airline need and work together on getting to that much needed steady-state. And to long-term profitability beyond.

Ping me, we are listening.