Alaska Airlines is the latest carrier to adopt the Farelogix FLX Merchandise engine which helps airlines adapt and personalize products and services.
FLX Merchandise is integrated as an enterprise or cloud-based solution. It integrates directly with the airline’s existing technology stack or PSS and lets airlines create dynamic product and service retail offers across multiple sales channels including their website, mobile apps, check-in kiosks, call centers and travel agencies directly or via the GDS.
With an internal API it can also integrate directly with an airline’s CRM, frequent flyer program management, and predictive data sources to create personalized offers.
Jim Davidson, CEO of Farelogix explains:
“This comes with a sophisticated rules engine that lets you create all kinds of products and services. We have airlines that are doing fare families and product bundles and extra legroom seats, priority boarding, upgraded meals, wifi coupons, club coupons for the airline lounge, different mileage awards for different types of flights and different types of frequent flyer passengers.”
FLX Merchandise has already been deployed by a number of carriers including Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Emirates and United Airlines which use the system to make custom-tailored dynamic offers for sales of seats and ancillaries.
The principle advantage to airlines of FLX Merchandise, Davidson says, is that it can be fully implemented and controlled by the airline directly, and is flexible to adapt to any type of merchandising strategy airlines would like to deploy. A sophisticated rules engine allows airlines to set the offer parameters and change these easily.
“What airlines are looking for is more ability to control, versus having it integrated to the PSS and whatever the PSS provides. I think that, with the maturity of the things airlines want to do today, and the type of merchandising they want to do tomorrow, they will need to be in a situation where they manage that flow.
"They need to manage the rules development and the information that is put into the system. There is a concern that airlines may be limited by having [these capabilities] in a package of a PSS or GDS. That's the sense that we are getting from more and more of our airlines that are buying this product. They want to have one merchandising engine that they can deploy on across all their sales channels."