Scaling with FLX ONE Order Accounting: A Solution for LCCs

When we launched FLX ONE Order Accounting, a common question we heard from the low-cost carriers (LCCs) was, “Can your solution handle all business models? What if we scale, or our business models evolve?” The answer is simple: yes. FLX ONE Order Accounting is built to adapt seamlessly, whether you’re a legacy carrier or a low-cost pioneer, and regardless of your retail transformation journey.

Today, I want to speak directly to my friends in the LCC space. You’ve redefined air travel by making it more accessible and affordable, paving the way for millions to fly. But the modern passenger expects more than affordability—they demand personalized, seamless experiences. Meeting these expectations requires not only front-end innovation but also robust back-end systems that enable accounting precision, flexibility, and efficiency.

Evolving for the Retailing Era

During the Accelya Financial Summit 2024, Chris Haggard, Director of Revenue Accounting at WestJet Airlines, captured the industry’s transformation:

“The ability to offer that personalized product to the full gamut of our guests will really open up doors for us.”

As airlines move toward richer, more personalized offers, back-office systems must evolve to match. This means handling complex transactions with transparency and efficiency—ensuring every payment, whether for a ticket, baggage fee, or ancillary service, is tracked and reconciled with precision. For LCCs, this shift to a retailing model is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Why Order Accounting Is Essential for LCCs

An executive from a global airline underscored the importance of integrating front-end processes with back-end accounting:

“You can’t do something at the front and expect a different result at the end. They’re all linked.”

Already operating in a very competitive landscape with very low margins, LCCs face unique challenges, including high reliance on ancillary revenues for profitability, managing ticketless transactions and complex bundles, and adhering to strict regulatory requirements. Legacy accounting systems are not well equipped to support these needs, often leading to inefficiencies, revenue leakage, and compliance risks. A purpose-built system such as Accelya’s FLX ONE Order Accounting can bridge this gap, empowering LCCs to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Efficiently Manage High Volumes and Margins

LCCs rely heavily on ancillary revenues—baggage fees, seat selections, priority boarding, and more. According to IdeaWorks and CarTrawler, global airline ancillary revenues reached $102.8 billion in 2022, and the trend continues to grow. As we move to offers and orders, there will be more personalization, more upselling opportunities, and higher volumes of ancillaries. Managing these higher transaction volumes efficiently is crucial to maintaining profitability, especially for LCCs.

FLX ONE Order Accounting consolidates these transactions—flights, ancillaries, and services—into a single order, streamlining processes, reducing errors, and enabling seamless scalability.

Gain Visibility Across Systems

Operating without traditional tickets creates unique challenges in tracking and reconciling revenue. FLX ONE Order Accounting bridges this gap by mapping Passenger Name Records (PNRs) to orders, providing a clear, end-to-end view of every transaction. If there’s one thing Accelya can be proud of, it’s our modularity. Accelya has been API-driven since 1998, giving us unparalleled expertise in open, modular systems, it’s embedded in the DNA of FLX ONE.

Get Compliant with Confidence

Expanding into new markets brings increased regulatory demands. Whether it’s IFRS, PCI-DSS, or GDPR, staying compliant is essential and requires deep expertise—particularly tailored to each market and resources. With built-in compliance features, Accelya’s solution simplifies audits and ensures financial transparency. This not only satisfies regulators but also paves the way for smoother funding and potential public listings.

Support Lean Operations

For LCCs, where cost control is paramount, FLX ONE Order Accounting ensures efficiency without compromising precision. Real-time reporting and reconciliation capabilities prevent revenue leakage, enable better cash flow management, and provide granular audit trails.

Prepare for Growth and Transformation, at Your Pace

LCCs thrive on agility and efficiency, continuously innovating to meet changing customer expectations, and the transition to orders doesn’t need to disrupt that. Airlines will operate PNRs and orders in parallel for years, making a solution like FLX ONE Order Accounting essential. Powered by AWS, it provides the scalability and resilience you need to grow confidently—at your own pace. With the capability to support Accelya’s proven delivery of 31 billion offers per day, it ensures your operations can handle even the most demanding retailing environments seamlessly.

Designed for complexity and aligned with IATA’s Offer-Order-Settle-Deliver (OOSD) framework, our solution ensures a smooth, scalable journey – handling both traditional and modern accounting side by side. With its modular and open design, FLX ONE Order Accounting lets you:

Start small and scale as you grow, adapting to your evolving needs.
Integrate seamlessly with any PSS, ERP, or OMS, maintaining flexibility and agility.
Demonstrate ROI incrementally, building a strong case for continued investment.

The Time to Act Is Now

The industry is rapidly moving toward a retail-driven model, with frameworks like OOSD at the forefront. LCCs have always been pioneers in retailing and personalization, and now is the time to lead the way in financial transformation as well.

As one airline leader aptly put it: