IATO Special - XXIII Annual Convention, September 1-8, 2007

DAY ONE: SESSIONS
Session One: Regulators and airline panel discussion
Session Two: Etihad's growth story in India: Understanding the role of Middle East airlines in serving the US / Europe and India market
Session Three: CEO Executive Interview: The Aviation Leadership Challenge
Session Four: Driving India aviation growth through OEMRO Partnership
Session Five: Panel discussion - Crafting the right revenue management strategies to achieve maximum yield and profitability
Session Six: Jet Airways' revenue management strategy - Developing new value propositions for the passenger market in face of stiffening competition
Session Seven: Customer Focused Enterprise: The Airline of the future
Session Eight: Panel discussion - Leveraging technological enablers to boost the efficiency of airline systems and business processes
Session Nine: SpiceJet's success story: Creating an effective on-line distribution strategy to boost revenue streams via the internet
Session Ten: Case Study presentation on Changi Airport International: Leveraging on the new investment opportunities arising from India's recent Merchant airport Programme

DAY ONE: NEWS
Leading Indian carriers in talks with AeroMobile for air mobile services


Session Six :

Jet Airways' revenue management strategy: Developing new value propositions for the passenger market in face of stiffening competition


By Arti Saggi | Mumbai

The sixth business session highlighted Jet Airways growth strategy in India, Asia and Europe. Raj Sivakumar, Vice President – Revenue Management, Jet Airways (I) Ltd provided an insight on how the airline navigated through the challenges of operating in India and the best route to optimal revenue management. According to Sivakumar, revenue optimisation at Jet Airways is done through network rationalisation, seat inventory optimisation and margin maximisation. Their focus currently is on being a network carrier. They are also keen on maximising their network connectivity to and from their international gateways. At the same time, they also want to improve domestic connectivity within the country. "The airline is looking at mediums to take passengers beyond the gateways," said Sivakumar.

Jet Airways currently is actively pursuing route rationalisation activities in both domestic and international sectors. "We are viewing the combined Jet Airways and JetLite networks as our combined virtual network," added Sivakumar. Revenue maximisation according to him is an outcome of the combined efforts of people working for an organisation, good execution and technology. One of Jet Airways revenue management practices is that different passenger segments exist at different time bands throughout the day and different days of week and they cash in on opportunities available to increase revenue. Further, domestic flights that connect with international departures or arrivals are treated appropriately.

Sivakumar also pointed out the fact that LCCs have grown disproportionately in the past and there is a significant pressure on yield. He predicted losses for the industry to the tune of one billion USD in 2008-09. Commenting on the increase in fuel surcharge he said, "Partially the YQ or fuel surcharge has been increasing. It has been able to partially offset the prices. The shifting landscape has forced Jet to respond. An intensive two-pronged initiative is underway." The airline is also investing a great deal in making data available for people across the board and is placing significant emphasis on development of performance. There is an added emphasis on analytic and analysis throughout the revenue management department of the airlines.