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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Air Canada Extends Status of All Altitude FFP Members

Air Canada has confirmed plans to extend the current status of its Altitude frequent flyer programme members until the end of 2021. The airline will also allow members to share any status achieved in 2020 with a loved one, and is creating new opportunities to qualify for Altitude status and earn Aeroplan Miles from home. "Loyalty is a two-way street – certainly in good times, but especially so in hard times," said Mark Nasr, Vice President, Loyalty and eCommerce at Air Canada. "Altitude members have shown outstanding commitment to Air Canada, and to provide some certainty during these uncertain times, we are extending members' current Altitude status to the end of 2021. We're also making it easier to share status with a loved one, and earn both status and Aeroplan miles from home. The entire Air Canada team is looking forward to welcoming all customers back in the skies when the time is right."

Changes to the Air Canada Altitude programme include: - All Altitude status for 2020 will automatically be extended through to the end of 2021. Should a member reach a higher status before the end of this year, they will enjoy it upon qualification, and maintain it through 2021 as well. - Since Altitude status is secure through 2021, if a member has already achieved status for next year, or does so by the end of 2020, they can gift it to a friend or family member. - While at home, a member can still earn Aeroplan Miles, progress towards Altitude status and make a difference with their miles. From now until 30 April, for every five Aeroplan Miles a member donates to a charity engaged in fighting the COVID19 crisis, they will receive one Altitude Qualifying Mile – up to a maximum of 25,000 AQM – all of which count towards 2021 status for the member, and a loved one. These improvements are in addition to other recent Aeroplan changes: - Until 30 April, all members can cancel any Flight Reward free of charge and receive all of their Aeroplan Miles back in their account, plus a full refund of any associated taxes, fees and surcharges on the unused value of their travel. This is available for flight itineraries departing any date in the future. - Air Canada has paused expiry of Aeroplan Miles until 14 May 2020, meaning that between now and 14 May, any Aeroplan Miles which would have expired will not. Effective 15 May, Air Canada's normal expiration policy will once again apply, meaning that miles will expire if an eligible transaction has not been completed prior to this date. See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Air Canada, Canada, FFP, Miles, Altitude. Headlines: Changi Airport in Singapore to Suspend T2 Operations for 18 Months Hong Kong Extends Ban on Non-Resident Arrivals and Transit Indefinitely Etihad to Trial Technology That Identifies Passengers with Symptoms of Illness Air Canada Extends Status of All Altitude FFP Members Japan Coast Guard Orders Two More Airbus H225 Helicopters Owner to Rebrand Four Seasons Hotel and Residence in Shanghai Marlon Abeyakoon Appointed GM of New Resort in Maldives Boeing to Suspend 787 Operations in South Carolina ITE Hong Kong Postponed Until August 2020 IATA Postpones 76th AGM and World Air Transport Summit InterContinental Bali Distributing 'Homemade' Face Masks Etihad Encourages FFP Members to Donate Miles Avani Seminyak Bali Appoints I Made Subrata as GM Two Dassault Falcon Business Jets to Assist Operation Resilience in France Delta Extends SkyMiles FFP Benefits and Status Airbus Uses Test Aircraft to Fly 4 Million More Face Masks to Europe Royal Netherlands Air Force Takes Delivery of First of 20 CH-47F Chinooks IATA: This is Aviation's Darkest Hour Accor to Close More Hotels; Cut Costs Airlines in Asia Pacific Need Urgent Financial Support Thai Airways Staff on Temporary Leave From 4 April - 31 May American Airlines Makes Further Changes to Flight Schedule Air Canada to Operate More Repatriation Flights Boeing to Suspend Production in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania Oakwood Opens Third Property in Jakarta, Indonesia Increasing ORs Hint at Early Signs of Recovery for Hotels in China Air Cargo Demand Slumps in February Vietnam Airlines to Operate Just Three Return Flights Per Day Qatar Airways Suspends JFK Flights; Madrid and Barcelona Next Airbus Sites in Germany and Spain Producing 3D Printed Visor Frames EU Waives Airport Slots Use Rule for Summer Season CapitaLand Appoints Kevin Goh as CEO - Lodging Relais & Châteaux Adds First Hotel in Bangkok to Collection Airlines Could Burn Through US$61 Billion of Cash Reserves in Q2 Marriott Warns Millions of Guests About Security Breach Airbnb to Support Hosts During COVID19 Crisis Vietnam Airlines Launches Cargo-Only Flights 774-Room Grand Richmond Convention Hotel in Nonthaburi Closes for Two Months Sindhorn Midtown Bangkok Opens Tower with 49 Serviced Residences Air Canada to Layoff 16,500 Employees; Reduce Q2 Capacity by 85-90% Qatar Airways Launches Belly-Hold Cargo Flights to Six Destinations in China Vietnam Airlines Closes Airport Lounges RevPAR of Hotels in USA Forecast to Drop 50.6% in 2020 Delta Retains Cargo Tender and Acceptance Capabilities at Tokyo-Narita Airbus Pauses Majority of Production in Spain Vietnam Airlines to Reduce Frequency of Domestic Flights WHO Launches COVID19 WhatsApp Service in Arabic, French and Spanish Qatar Airways' FFP Offers 12-Month Tier Extension Etihad Cargo Using Boeing 787-10 Aircraft as Freighters Air Canada Continues COVID19 Repatriation Flights Airbus Flies Over 4 Million More Face Masks to Europe American Airlines Reduces Capacity Further Hilton to Take Over 1,080-Room Hotel on Orchard Road, Singapore AirAsia Suspending Most Flights Across Network Asia Pacific Airlines Carried 17 Million Passengers in February SIA to Issue S$5.3b in New Equity and Raise Up To S$9.7b via MCB Qatar Airways Expands Flights to Australia to Help Get People Home Virgin Atlantic Operates First Ever Cargo-Only Charter IATA Calls for Urgent Financial Relief from European Governments Bombardier Suspends 'All Non-Essential Work' in Canada ANA Partners Skyscanner; Achieves IATA NDC Level 3 COVID19: 75 Million Travel and Tourism Jobs at Immediate Risk Air Cargo Supply Lines Must Remain Open American to Operate Repatriation Flights from Honduras and Brazil Air Canada Launches Cargo Flights to Europe Air New Zealand Ramps Up Cargo Operations AirAsia Updates Rebooking Policy Embraer Helping to Combat COVID19 in Brazil Thai Airways Cancels Flights to Australia, Europe and Regionally Tokyo 2020 to Take Place in 2021 Air Canada Organises Two Extra Flights from Quito, Ecuador Korean Air Execs Take Pay Cut; Airline to Use Passenger Planes for Cargo Aviation: IATA Calls on Governments to Give More Support American Airlines Closes Lounges, Changes In-Flight Service and Seating France's Daily Hotel Occupancy Plummets to Just 3.3% A400M Delivers Critically-Needed Mask Supplies to Spain Air Canada to Operate Six Special Flights to Barcelona, Lima and Quito Bangkok Airways to Close All Airport Lounges UAE to Ban ALL Passenger Flights for Two Weeks Etihad Airways Suspends Transit Travel Through Abu Dhabi Hong Kong's Airport Authority Launches New HK$1 Billion Relief Package Ryan Jette Joins Capella Singapore as Executive Chef Austrian Airlines Extends Flight Suspension to 19 April Singapore Airlines to Ground 138 of 147 Aircraft COVID19: Sabre to Cut Costs by US$200 Million HD Videos and Interviews Podcasts from HD Video Interviews Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021 High-Res Picture Galleries Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News Read the full article

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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What Wolfgang Puck thinks the restaurant industry needs most

Wolfgang Puck is one of the most famous chefs in the world. Arguably the first celebrity chef, he built a culinary empire with a catering company and dozens of restaurants. In Los Angeles, the Austrian chef is known for helping to start a dining renaissance in the 1980s with restaurants Spago and Chinois. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing shutdown have pushed him into politics, with a seat on President Trump’s economic council alongside chefs Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

We spoke with Puck, who is quarantining in Los Angeles, about the crisis facing the restaurant industry and his thoughts on a solution. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s happening with your restaurants?

Most of the restaurants are closed. We are supposed to open in Singapore soon. In Istanbul soon too. Here in L.A., we’re doing takeout at Spago, a little takeout at Bel-Air Hotel and a little takeout at Chinois. With all the overhead of a restaurant, I hope that when we reopen at Spago and Chinois, with some customers coming in and takeout, it will be enough to actually stay alive.

How was the transition to takeout?

I really believe that for every problem, we have to figure out how to solve it and make something through innovation. When we started takeout at Chinois, we were working with DoorDash. They charge 25% to 30% for every delivery. That is OK if you have a fast-food restaurant where the average check is $10. We changed to Tock, where people can put in the order and pick up at a certain time. That helped a lot.

I wanted to give people the restaurant experience, so instead of ordering a la carte, you get six dishes for $40. Some people send me pictures of how they plate things at home. At Spago we started selling fried chicken. You have to have enough ingenuity because people at home want change. If you see the same menu, even if it’s a good deal, it gets boring.

Tell me about your work on the president’s economic council.

We’ve gone through many bad spots in our industry and we get through it. Hopefully I think Washington thinks the same. If not, we have to get politically organized. We employ more than 50 million people. It can be a huge political force.

We are supposed to go to Washington — I don’t know if I’m going — on Monday. We’ll see if I get an agenda and everything. I just don’t want to hang around to kiss somebody’s butt, it doesn’t matter who it is. I think if in Washington they can hear us and know what a big problem the restaurant business is in, and if we can be the spokespeople for so many people out there who have no voices.

The last time we talked with the president I didn’t know how many people were there. They had everybody from Jeff Bezos to the head of Walmart. Sure, against them we are just little fish. Totally unimportant. When we talked the first time with the president and talked to him about insurance, talked to him about the stimulus program, he was very interested in it and very much for it. I told him to send me an agenda [for Monday] and who is going. If there are 40 people meeting there at a long table with masks on, I don’t know if I’m going to go.

What would you say to people who criticize the president for choosing four chefs who are in charge of large brands to be on his council versus chefs who better represent small businesses?

We are using our voices because we can be heard. Chefs became really well respected, not just as good cooks but as business people. So I think for a small guy who has a little restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard or down in Long Beach, how is he going to call his congressman? The congressman has never heard their names. It’s very difficult to get something done. So we can speak for everybody and become more politically involved and really push harder for things that should be done for our industry.

For me, my life won’t change that much. If tomorrow everything falls apart, I can sell my house and then I’m still OK. But there are so many people who live from paycheck to paycheck. We are there for these people.

The people who criticize, I want to know what they are doing. I just got off the phone with Congressman Fitzpatrick. I talked with Thomas Keller this morning. I just did an interview on Fox. Why? Because they all watch the news in Washington. So I think if I can hit it home that we need an insurance payout and a stimulus, maybe they will act.

What’s the solution? What will actually help restaurants?

I know a lot of small restaurant owners who own little places with 10 to 15 employees and that’s really their livelihood. It’s not like they are going to make a lot of money. If they weren’t super successful before the virus, now it’s going to be really difficult to get out of it.

I really believe that we need the help of our federal government. The first thing would have to be the insurance companies. I paid business interruption insurance for the last 38 years. They make an excuse and say the virus is not really included in your insurance. Well, the virus really didn’t shut us down. The government shut us down. They should pay up. And the government should bail out the insurance companies the same way they do with the airline industry. That way the money will go immediately to the people who need it, to smaller restaurants. They can go to their insurance guys and claim business interruption and lost money during this time.

If we get a stimulus program, I think they will be able to survive. If you are a lawyer and you go to Spago for lunch, you can deduct that from your taxes. If everything is deductible, maybe people will be more inclined to go to restaurants and spend some money, which will employ a lot of people. We want people with money to spend their money in restaurants, so that way we can get back to a normal life.

What about the PPP loan program?

Well, that helps the employees for a little while, but what about after that?

Did any of your restaurants apply for the PPP loan?

At Chinois we got some money. All of our restaurants are small, individual entities. It’s not like Ruth Chris steakhouse or Shake Shack. Chinois is its own small restaurant. We got the PPP loan because we have to pay the employees. If not, I would have to furlough all the employees. We got lucky at the Four Seasons in Maui. We own the restaurant there. It’s on the PPP program so all the employees are getting paid there. Same thing with Disney World. Thank God we have that [PPP] there. The employees are getting paid while all the Disney people are on furlough.

We don’t own the restaurants in the airports. But we have staff there. We got a PPP loan there but I looked at our bank account and I said you know what, we have enough money in the bank. I sent back $500,000 and said give it to someone who needs it. To me, every restaurant is different obviously, but we have to do the right thing. I don’t want to take advantage of the program if I don’t need it. I want to sleep at night.

What’s happening with your furloughed employees?

Altogether we have over 5,000 employees if you count worldwide. Some of them are furloughed, some of them are on the PPP program. We pay the health insurance and hopefully by the end of June or something we can open most of the places.

What does your plan for reopening look like?

We looked at some of our restaurants to see where we have enough space. At Chinois, if we put 30 people in there, with 50% occupancy that will be it. At Spago we are bigger, so maybe with 50% occupancy we could still seat 100 people. We changed the floor, we are painting and upholstering new booths. I’m going to bring in plants and stuff like that, trees, to make it a winter garden. I don’t want people to walk into a restaurant and see an empty space. I’m even thinking of putting a piano player at Spago so that people can hang out later at night and maybe have a cocktail or another drink. I want to create an ambiance of positivity. I don’t want people to come to the restaurant and talk about the virus all night long.

How has it been in Vegas, where you recently reopened your restaurant in Summerlin at reduced capacity?

People seem to be excited to go out. Families came with their kids. But hopefully we can move forward and keep our employees and our guests safe. If we can’t do that, we will relapse and go the other way. I’m really worried about that. That we can get enough testing. We have to test employees every day and take their temperature. Maybe we have to hire a doctor and every week he does random testing and we still take temperatures every day. Maybe we need a doorman outside to open the doors. Maybe we have to take customers’ temperatures. Obviously we have to have social distancing. Our employees are going to be wearing masks.

What do you want people to know, and what should they be doing?

Support your neighborhood restaurants. Go to the small bars after they reopen. The big chains, the McDonald’s and so forth, will always survive. The small neighborhood restaurants are such a big part of the fabric of a city or a village and you don’t want them to disappear. We don’t want to have all of a sudden only big multinational restaurant companies. Go support local businesses and go often.

At Spago, someone picked up food for like $200 and left a $1,000 tip. One lady sent us $5,000 to Chinois and $5,000 to Spago for the employees.

What would you say to someone just starting out in the restaurant business or someone who just got out of culinary school?

The thing is, you have already experienced the worst thing ever. It’s like being born during the war. This is as bad as it will be. This is as hard as it can be to get a job with so much unemployment out there. Stay positive. It will get better.

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experiencetheskies · 7 years

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Airlines Hunt For Secret Recipe To Ancillary Revenue Success

"Retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customers through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. Demand is created through diverse target markets and promotional tactics, satisfying consumers' wants and needs through a lean supply chain." The first retail experience was introduced in late 1560s at The Royal Exchange in London, England. This insight goes into airlines as retailers and how today's competitive market requires them to transform from a transportation agent to an experience mastermind.

Before Ancillary Revenue

Before ancillary revenue became an industry trend, airlines got into the retail industry when Tony Jannus piloted a Benoist flying boat with its first paying passenger on January 1, 1914. The first passenger was former St. Petersburg mayor Abram C. Pheil who bought the ticket at an auction for $US400 (roughly $US9,300 in today's dollars with an inflation of 3.15%). The flight took the pair from St. Petersburg to Tampa in Florida, USA and did not include any in flight service.

Airline Retailing - First Commercial Flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. Other Milestones Since that day in 1914, the airline industry invested in new ways to improve the retailing experience through technological innovations.

1946 - American Airlines introduced the world's first automated booking system called Electromechanical Reservisor. This was also used by Sheraton Hotels for their inventory system 1964 - IBM and American Airlines worked jointly to implement an automated reservation system (ARS) called Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment (SABRE) 1976 - Implementation of direct travel agent access by United Airlines in 1976 paved the way for a better retailing experience between the airline and travellers 2008 - Things did not change significantly on the purchase process (i.e. travel agent working directly with travellers) until internet and e-ticketing became the standard by May 2008 Traditionally, airlines had an all in one pricing structure for its services depending on the cabin and would charge extra for selected items such as headsets, movies and oversized baggages. No one thought of unbundling service based on fare class in the same cabin until 2004. That was when Air Canada decided to implement an "a la carte" pricing structure to cater to economy cabin customers who wanted to pay less to forego such things as collecting frequent flyer miles, seat selection, date/route change eligibility after it ended the low cost carrier concept called "Tango". Travellers could enjoy cheaper in flight meals or lounge access by paying more in advance. The airline was credited as the first network carrier to implement this innovative pricing structure at the ticketing stage and giving travellers more control and flexibility. This would be the early start of ancillary revenue generation.

Industry Moved Forward

It has been over 13 years since Air Canada elevated ancillary revenue to a different level. Unbundling is now an industry norm while ancillary revenue generation continued to gain ground actual ticket prices remained stable. Between 2010 to 2014, ancillary revenue has gone up by more than 221% from US$22.6 billion to US$49.9 billion and rising.

Airline Retailing - Ancillary Revenue vs Total Revenue Credit: Data from IdeaWorksCompany / Air Transport World / Airline Business and various airlines Both low cost (e.g. EasyJet, RyanAir, Wow Air) and network airlines (e.g. Delta Air Lines, SAS, Austrian Airlines) are employing similar techniques as Air Canada today in competing for would-be travellers' attention whose first consideration for purchase may be fare price.

Product Differentiation

Today, ultra low cost, low cost and network carriers employ some form of ancillary revenue generation to offer "extras" passengers may want to include in their tickets. Ultra low cost carriers and lowest fare classes typically would have the most options available for purchase. Here is a list of the ten most popular ancillary revenue items airlines deploy today based on different type of carriers: Ultra Low Cost Low Cost Full Service Full Size Baggage Fees - no free baggages offered, higher pricing per piece from ticketing to check in - no free baggage except for highest fare classes or with credit card affiliation, no price difference during ticketing to check in - no free baggage only at the cheapest fares, free baggage for elites or through credit card affiliation Carry On Baggage Fees - only small carry on baggage limited by weight is allowed for free, full size carry on baggage will incur fee - free carry on baggage (small and full size) - free carry on baggage (small and full size)(except for United Airlines and American Airlines which restrict full size ones on basic economy fares) Ticket Change Fees (Name, Date, Destination) - changes can be made at different pricing based on item and time. Ticket changes may incur additional fare difference to be charged - changes can be made at different pricing based on item and time. Ticket changes may incur additional fare difference to be charged. Names are likely not changeable. - changes can be made at different pricing based on item and time. Ticket changes may incur additional fare difference to be charged. Names are not changeable. Ticket Purchase Fees - free for all online purchases, other forms including phone or at airport may incur administrative fees - free for all online and likely phone purchases, other forms including at airport may incur administrative fees - free for all types of fare purchases Advanced Seat Selection Fees - advanced seat selection is not available without paying a fee. Seats cannot be changed if no fee is paid and airlines assigned them prior to flight - not all seats are free unless it's the highest fare class. - free for most types of fares, for elites or through credit card affiliation Buy on Board Food - all food and beverage items would incur a cost whether it is on domestic or international flights - basic food and beverage items may be offered for free in domestic and international flights. Other items incur a cost. - domestic flights may not have free food in economy class. International flights will likely have free food and beverages on most fares. On Board WiFi - not typically available or free - free to fee by flight/pass - free to fee by flight / pass Entertainment - not typically available. Handheld entertainment will incur a cost. - free to fee by flight - mostly free Lounge Access - not typically offered - fee to use lounges - fee or free depending on elite status or purchased membership tier Line Bypass - fee based if offered - fee based to free for higher fares and elite status - fee based / free for higher fares, elite status and credit card affiliation Airlines are keenly aware that these many options available in the market place may lead to confusion and fatigue. It is important for these airlines to understand the demographics in different markets and approach them with the right mix of convenience and low pricing in their promotional efforts.

Future Development

Most airlines generate most of their ancillary revenue through products and services offered within their own sphere. Future development would be based outside of the flying component of a trip and into other experiences. Here are some examples: Integrating with other forms of transportation to provide travellers with a more seamless travel experience and generating more cross revenue (Related News) Offering contextual hotel and car options based on fare paid, passenger type and interests (i.e. a basic economy fare passenger would likely not choose high-end accommodations being offered). Offering tour packages based on fare paid, passenger type and interests. While ultra low cost carriers like WOW Air include tour packages as part of the ticketing process, it does so without providing passengers with more information to make an informed decision) Integrating with airports to maximize spending potential (e.g. while London's Heathrow Airport offers a VIP shopping experience (Related News), no airlines currently serving the airport offers this experience as part of their ticketing. Offering unique entertainment experiences that passengers would want to pay for (e.g. virtual / augmented reality and unique programming, etc)

Conclusion

Many airlines now rely on ancillary revenue to drive overall results. While traditional products generating the revenue are now common place, they are also clouding product differentiation between carrier types. Confusion can lead to travellers picking the wrong airline. Click to Post

#Air Canada #Airline Retailing #Ancillary Revenue #Baggage #Full Service #In-Flight Meals #Low Cost #Ultra Low Cost

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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Airlines Become More Sophisticated With Personalized Offers for Passengers

Lufthansa Group is one of many airline companies trying to refine its digital strategy so it can offer the right products at the right time to the right customers. Lufthansa

Skift Take: Many of the world's airlines know they're not as good as retailers like Amazon in targeting offers for individual passengers. A lot of carriers want to improve, so they can get the right offer in front of the right person at the right time. But it won't be easy, since airlines often have clunky computer systems.

— Brian Sumers

Just before Christmas, Iberia Airlines sent emails to some customers. If they could vacation anywhere, the airline asked, where would they like to go? And with whom?

Iberia asked customers to go to a special website, where they would share information on their travel desires and contact information for a favored travel partner. A little later, the customer’s friend would receive an email from Iberia. “Feliz Navidad,” it started, before explaining that the friend had created a special travel-related holiday card, with help from Iberia.

To view it, all the recipient had to do was click on a link. Iberia then put its advertising budget to work, using cookies so the traveler’s friend would see banners across the web, suggesting the perfect Christmas gift. “Alejandro’s dream is to travel to Bilbao,” one might read, “and you can fulfill it.” Another might suggest, “It’s never too late to fulfill Alejandro’s dream. Do it with a trip to Bilbao.”

It was a small promotion, running for fewer than three weeks and only in Spain. And it wasn’t easy for Iberia to measure its effectiveness, since the airline could only a see a correlation on revenues if a person clicked on the ad and bought tickets. But Iberia’s Christmas promotion shows how some airlines are working to target offers not to general market segments, but to individuals. They want to provide the right offer to the right person at the most opportune time — all to generate more revenue.

“It’s about relevance,” Iberia Chief Commercial Officer Marco Sansavini said in an interview. “I will offer to you what is relevant to you, which is not necessarily what is relevant to your friend that is next to you.”

Airlines were among the first retailers to divide consumer groups and price accordingly, charging different fares for the same product based on a market segment’s perceived ability to pay. That’s why business travelers tend to pay higher fares than leisure customers, even when both fly the same routes.

But with retailers like Amazon and content companies such as Netflix using more sophisticated technology to monitor consumer needs and react accordingly, airlines sometimes struggle to keep up. If Amazon can vary pricing on a whim, according to individual tastes, why can’t airlines? And If Netflix can guess, with reasonable accuracy, what movie a person might enjoy, shouldn’t airlines know where a traveler might fly next? Or shouldn’t an airline know what ancillary option a loyal traveler might want? Perhaps lounge access? Or an upgrade to premium economy?

Many companies, including Lufthansa Group, are working to analyze customer data so they can guess what customers will want — perhaps even before they know.

Before Christmas, Iberia used cookies to try to target web advertisements.

“You don’t want to be spooky,” said Marcus Casey, Lufthansa’s vice president for personalized customer experience, analytics and data management. “We all don’t know what Facebook knows about us, right? But if you’re open with how you handle data, the opportunities are immense.”

Working to Learn Customer Needs

At its Munich hub, Lufthansa is testing approaches to better understand customer needs.

In one program, the airline has deployed sensors and bluetooth beacons so it can message customers in real-time. Often, when a targeted passenger comes through security — and has bluetooth enabled on his phone — the airline’s personalization program starts working.

First, what the airline calls its “Big Data Engine” examines the customer’s mobile boarding pass and calculates how much time the traveler has before departure. If it’s more than 65 minutes, the system examines the customer’s profile in Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program, called Miles and More, to see if the passenger has free airport lounge access. If not, the system considers making the customer a lounge offer — but only after evaluating whether the customer might buy it.

“We look at his Miles and More profile and ask, does he have an affinity for this product?” said David Doyle, Lufthansa’s director for personalized customer experience. “Based on that affinity score, we also then contact the lounge system. We have sensors in the lounge that tell us how much space there is. [If there’s space,] the beacon then sends a signal to the app and the customer gets then an offer for the business lounge for 25 euros.”

The lounge promotion is part of what Lufthansa calls SMILE, a companywide program dedicated to personalizing travel. Many Lufthansa Group customers — the company owns Swiss Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and the low-cost airline Eurowings — may have some interaction with the program, though they may not know it.

For many, SMILE kicks in after booking, as the airline decides which ancillary items it might offer. Options include hotels, rental cars, trip insurance, lounge access, or upgrades to business class or premium economy.

In the past, Lufthansa discovered bombarding customers with all of their options wasn’t effective. Now, it sends offers to customers only when its data engine suspects passengers might want them. The system may take into account whether it thinks the person is traveling on business or leisure, or where the customer bought the ticket — through Lufthansa or a through a travel agent.

For example, if Lufthansa thinks a customer is traveling on business, it might not offer travel insurance, as it will guess the passenger’s company has a policy for its employees.

“You can send something out and it has all the offers,” Casey said. “But your eye will catch two and not 10 offers. The important thing is, ‘how relevant is what I send you?’ When is the best time to offer you what product through what device? When are you most susceptible of wanting to buy something? That might not be two weeks before you fly, if it’s an upgrade. Maybe it’s when you get to the airport, or you’re packing your bags and you say, ‘Damn, I have 12 hours in economy class ahead of me.’ Then if you get the offer, you will buy. It’s behavioral economics, basically.”

Sometimes, Lufthansa makes decisions about customer needs that don’t involve generating sales. If it looks at a traveler’s itinerary and notices the person is flying from London to Frankfurt for the day, it may not send detailed destination information, said Alexander Prinz, a member of Lufthansa’s big data analytics team.

“Maybe we don’t want to send you weather information for Frankfurt because we know you fly in during the morning and fly out during the evening,” he said. “You’re most probably a business traveler. What will you see of Frankfurt? You will see arrivals, the taxi driver, your office, maybe a meeting room, the taxi driver, the terminal and that’s about it.”

Prinz said Lufthansa is working on bigger — and perhaps more fun — projects. Lufthansa is trying a Netflix-style algorithm that seeks to guess where its most frequent flyers would like to vacation next.

“We can find people who are flying are statistical twins,” he said.[We’ll say to a customer,] ‘This guy, He flew to there. You didn’t.’ Why don’t we offer this to you? You two fit perfectly together.”

Far from perfect

While Lufthansa and Iberia brag about their personalization strategies, the general consensus is that airlines have work to do before they will always sell the right product to the right person at the best time.

For many carriers, technology is a major issue. Airlines were among the first companies to embrace computers, and among the first to sell on the web. That put them ahead in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but today, a lot of airlines rely on antiquated technology for some systems.

Many airlines have invested in modernizing some channels, while keeping other systems as they were a decade or two ago. Sometimes that creates a problem where the personalization is not consistent across the entire experience, said Dermot O’Connor, co-founder and vice president for product and engineering at Boxever, a firm that helps airlines craft personalization strategies.

It’s a problem, he said, when an airline tailors messages to customers via email or push notifications, but its employees know little about that same customer if the passenger approaches an airport service desk or calls the reservations line. Amazon rarely faces this issue, he said, in part because its employees generally do not interact face-to-face with customers.

O’Connor added that some airlines “silo” their data, so one part of an airline does not share customer information with another.

“They have a real challenge in knowing their customers and talking to their customers across all their business channels,” O’Connor said. “Who is doing that well? No one. That’s a really difficult problem. That’s what everyone is trying to solve.”

Campbell Wilson, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Singapore Airlines, said developing personalization strategies across channels is a problem because airlines are unusually complex businesses. He acknowledged airlines may have more information about customers than most corporations, including from their frequent flyer programs, but said knowing what to do with that data is more difficult than it may appear.

“It’s very true that we can analyze our data such that we can determine what characteristics lead to a propensity to do a certain thing like buying preferred seats, upgrade, preference for a certain type of meal,” Wilson said. “Airlines have the pleasure and the pain of having massive amounts of data, but to get insight from that data, then translate it through to a delivery mechanism in an airline context is also not as easy as in other industries. ”

Even Iberia’s Sansavini said it could be awhile before airlines match Amazon or other sophisticated retailers. Those companies often are solely focused on e-commerce, he noted, while airlines are essentially transportation businesses.

“We are not designed as an airline to provide truly individual experiences,” he said. “We are sort of a factory that serves millions of passengers.”

Using data to vary prices

If airlines ever hone their personalization programs, many insiders see a logistical next step — carriers may vary prices according to how much their systems think a passenger will pay.

Take Alejandro, the Iberia customer hoping to visit Bilbao. An airline should know whether Alejandro is a 22-year-old college student who usually buys the cheapest tickets, or a 50-year old father who often flies in business class. The airline could offer different prices depending on what it knows about Alejandro.

But most airlines are not there yet.

“The issue is that our revenue management systems are not sophisticated enough to take into account the individual profile,” Iberia’s Sansavini said. “They work based on segments. The issue is, how much will technology be able to evolve? Ideally, you’d like to get to a segment of one person. That’s ultimately what our aspiration is.”

British Airways CEO Alex Cruz has a similar view. He told Skift in November that the current way industry pricing strategy is “not survivable.” (His airline is owned by International Airlines Group, the same company that controls Iberia.)

“We’ve been talking about being able to walk up to McDonald’s and a Coke costs [a] different [price] at any time of the day,” Cruz said. “Ultimately, a Coke is going to cost different if it’s you or I that goes up to the counter. I think pricing is going to go in that direction. In the beginning, [the company] will be able to know who we are, where we are, [and] what sort of need we have. How much are we really willing to pay for the ticket?”

Still, not everyone is sure airlines will take it so far. Boxever’s O’Connor said he suspects airlines will sharpen pricing schemes, but he said airlines probably won’t sell the same package at the same time for two different prices, because that approach would irritate customers.

But an airline could use what it knows about customers to promote either a higher priced or lower priced package, he said. If Iberia knew a customer preferred business class, the airline might try to hide its cheaper fares, or put them at the bottom of a list.

“Changing the price for a particular person has been discussed but hasn’t been done,” O’Connor said. “There has been talk about showing only certain options based on our likes. It might be a higher price for your because based on data analytics the airline knows you usually prefer a certain time or a certain class. That’s probably the fairest way to do it. You’re not manipulating the customer. You are just putting the most applicable fare in front of them, and they can choose a cheaper fare if they want it.”

Iberia’s Sansavini said he knows airlines cannot use data about customers to charge them higher prices every time.

“Personalization is about two things,” Sansavini said. “One is about having the right offer at the right moment. But the other is having the relationship where the customer trusts to give you all the information because they believe that will help us treat you better.”

Lufthansa’s Casey said airlines must be transparent. That’s important to Lufthansa, because German privacy laws require customers opt-in before airlines can access to most data. But if customers feel they’re being cheated, they might not give permission.

Casey said Lufthansa could change how it charges for lounge access. Today, when a customer enters the terminal in Munich, Lufthansa’s data engine makes a simple decision, asking whether the customer might want lounge access and whether the lounge has room. In that case, the price is always the same — 25 Euros. But what if it’s snowing, and the customer’s flight is delayed by four hours? In that situation, many flights are likely delayed, so the lounge is probably busy.

Now, Lufthansa might tell the customer the lounge is full. But what if Lufthansa thought in terms of surge pricing? Perhaps, this time, the price would be 50 Euros.

“If you’re open with the reasoning behind it then you can do these things,” Casey said. “I think you need to be as transparent as possible to the customer. You can do it just as Uber does it. They say, now we have heavy demand. It’s raining in New York. There are no cabs. Are you willing to pay double? Maybe with the lounge, you can say, ‘There’s heavy demand to go into the lounge right now.'”

Casey said he fears travelers may object to paying different prices according to factors outside their control. But he noted airlines have been practicing price discrimination, in some form, for decades.

“If you’re trying to be opaque that might hurt you,” Casey said. “But then again, the aviation industry has proven be able to sell three different products on the plane at 10,000 price levels.”

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