Session Nine :

SpiceJet's success story: Creating an effective on-line distribution strategy to boost revenue streams via the internet

The ninth business session of the day focused on SpiceJet's strengths such as overcoming the challenges of utilising the Internet as an important on-line distribution channel for ticket sales in India. Broadband penetration is low in India and only a small proportion of the total population has access to the Internet. Risk of online fraud is also very high. Despite all these challenges, more than 90 per cent of Spicejet's revenue is generated from online bookings and through credit card transactions.

Virender Pal, Chief Technology Officer, Spicejet, highlighted some of the initiatives of one of the most successful Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) of India. He maintained that one of the major challenges faced by Spicejet was to integrate Online Travel Agents (OTAs) on the Spicejet system. "Understanding the underlying factors that may prevent Indian consumers from buying online and to manage the challenges that e-commerce in India could present, it was imperative to make OTAs a successful medium for us to sell our tickets," offered Pal.

Some of the other initiatives by the airline include introducing online travel insurance in partnership with TATA AIG with which they have maintained a consistent rate of 28 per cent of sales since the introduction of the product. Providing value-adds to clients by enabling fraud detection systems for which the airline was recently awarded; introducing internet banking for customers, wherein they can select any bank with which they have an account and can use their own login credentials, which is essentially for customers not owning a credit card or not inclined to using one, are among the other major initiatives. Apart from these, providing efficient information flow to clients, wherein the system gives the clients a recorded call giving information about the flight; creating a portal for crew (pilots and cabin crew), which enables them to communicate with each other and initiating roaming agents wherein passengers without baggage are assisted by the roaming agents at the airport to skip check-in are some of the other initiatives.

In future, Spicejet plans to start Web Access Protocol (WAP) on the mobile phones of the passengers and sms check-in through which passengers can skip check-in by just showing the barcode or the notification on their mobile phones. "We are in the process of starting WAP and sms check-in. We also have the highest data security. We never compromise on the data security of our passengers," concluded Pal.