RockCliff Expeditions

Travel and Airline Industry Newswatch

Monthly Journal
JAN 2011 - ISSUE 01

this issue
Social Networking revolution. P2
Upgraded Airports. P3
Mobile Technologies. P4
Social Media and Mobile. P5
Mergers and Acquisitions. P6
Upcoming Events. P7

Airline Industry
Airline industry has made significant
progress over the years keeping the
interests of the shareholders and its
customers on the top, adjusting and
improving its processes and services
Note from the Editor: with time by using the latest
technologies both in the aviation and IT
This news letter is intended to capture, collate and report relevant IT related news from fields. Airline industry has made
relevant changes to the way they
the Airlines and Travel Industry. News would be reported from various news sites, so that
operate and sustain their businesses
the readers can keep themselves up to date on the latest happenings in the industry and are amending it each day due to
without having to go through individual news sites and channels. the challenging economic environment
and changes in customer expectations.

Passengers, Staff and Management representatives of Airlines and Travel Industry and IT /
Travel Industry
ITES Solution providing companies may find this news letter useful.
Online and Offline Travel Agents and
Travel Management companies have
It is impossible to report all the IT related news from various news sites, so there may be been adjusting their business models
instances where news relating to your interest does not get published. Readers are over the past few years due to the
changing circumstances and customer
encouraged to share their feedback on the news and articles published in this newsletter
needs. There is a urgent and immediate
to improve the quality of news and the coverage area, and also share relevant news. rush amongst the businesses in Travel
Industry to embrace the latest
This is the first new letter that is being circulated, so your comments and feedback would technologies and increase their
revenue and market reach, and also to
be really useful to ensure that this news letter could be published each month. introduce new lines of businesses.

Regards,

1
 Embracing Online Social Networking tools
As reported in various news sites
US Airways a-Twitter with
vacation deals
Phoenix Business Journal
10-Jan-2011
US Airways Group Inc. is offering deals on
upscale travel packages to its Twitter
followers through Jan. 21.
The Tempe-based airline’s (NYSE:LCC) US
Airways Vacations unit will be offering
specials, including room upgrades,
champagne toasts, first class seats and
limousine transportation for @USAirways
Twitter followers. The exclusive offers also
will include a limited number of VIP deals
with extras such as butler service, spa
treatments and more for the price of regular
packages to top destinations. Followers also
will have a chance to win vacation packages
through daily trivia questions.
US Airways customers who don’t tweet also
can save up to $250 on vacation packages
between Jan. 10 and Jan. 31 by visiting the
US Airways Vacations website at
usairwaysvacations.com/January.
“Each day, we’ll post exclusive travel deals
and trivia on our @USAirways Twitter feed
for our followers. Travelers will have
chances to score amazing prizes and save
big on their next vacation,” said Chris Ames,
director of sales, US Airways Vacations. “In
addition to our generous discounts, we’ve
also got some surprises to take our loyal
Twitter followers’ vacations to the next
level.”
Facebook campaign for Stobart
Logistics Manager
24-Jan-11
An online campaign supporting Stobart
Group’s redevelopment of Carlisle Airport
has been started on social networking
website Facebook.
2
JetBlue Offers Rewards for
Checking In on Facebook Places
Todd Wasserman (Mashable)
25-Jan-11
JetBlue has announced a new program with
Facebook Places that lets customers earn
rewards when they use the service to check
in at airports.
Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue rewards
platform can register on the company’s
Facebook Page. Registered users will then
receive 25 TrueBlue points every time they
check in to an official JetBlue airport
location on Facebook Places. The first 100
customers to check in at Boston’s Logan
International, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood
International, Long Beach, New York’s John
F. Kennedy International or Orlando
International airports will receive 100
points. Those who accumulate 5,000 or
more points can trade them in for free
flights.
JetBlue is the latest to attach a rewards
program to Facebook Places. Over the
weekend, Sears Outlet, a unit of Sears, ran a
promotion that awarded 10,000 Shop Your
Way Rewards points to anyone who used
Facebook Places to check in at one of its
outlet stores and then made a purchase.
Though marketers have been running
loyalty programs for ages, a gamification
overlay adds another reason — aside from a
desire to earn points — for consumers to
actually use the programs. Given Facebook’s
huge consumer base, the average shopper is
more likely to have Facebook on his or her
smartphone than a competing location-
based service like Foursquare or Gowalla.
What do you think? Would you be more
likely to participate in these loyalty
programs now?
US debate over cell phones
on flights continues
MSNBC
13-Jan-11
What do media magnate Arianna
Huffington and Hollywood heartthrob
Josh Duhamel have in common?
They've both been busted for using
their cell phones on planes.
Over the weekend, on a New York-
bound flight from Washington, D.C.,
Huffington reportedly failed to turn off
her mobile device, inciting the ire of an
unimpressed cabin mate. Last month,
Josh Duhamel was escorted off a plane
in New York because he wouldn't turn
off his BlackBerry. (Lesson learned, the
star later said.)
These high-profile skirmishes are two
of the latest examples in the debate to
allow in-flight cell phone conversations.
In Europe, the Middle East and Asia,
airlines that wire planes for
connectivity can install special
equipment to allow passengers to use
their own cell phones to make and
receive calls.
Domestic airlines own about 90 percent
of the world's connected planes, but
federal regulations still ban the use of
in-flight mobile calls.
And while Uncle Sam doesn’t outlaw
mid-air communications made using
Skype or other Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) services, every U.S.
carrier offering broadband has directed
service providers such as Aircell/Gogo
and Row 44 to block all voice calls and
disable the VoIP function.
The disconnection may get wider.
At the end of 2010, more than 2,000
airplanes were wired for connectivity.
"We expect that number to increase by
50 percent this year, to roughly 3,000
planes worldwide," said Amy Cravens, a
market analyst for In-Stat.

Airports around the world
Sydney Airport expands
biometrics use
Tim Lohman (Computerworld)
05-Jan-11
Sydney Airport has expanded its use of facial
recognition technology, launching new
kiosks and a ‘SmartGate’ to allow
international travellers to more quickly
establish their identities and pass through
security.
The expansion — four new kiosks and one
gate – brings Sydney Airport’s total up to
sixteen kiosks and eight gates and will
available for use by Australian e-passport
holders aged 18 and over and New Zealand
e-passport holders.
Commuters wishing to use the gates must
first answer basic questions at a kiosk then
have their faces scanned at the gates.
These scans are then matched with Customs
and Border Protection’s passport records.
Commuters with correct matches will then
be allowed into the country.
According to federal home affairs minister,
Brendan O’Connor, the average time to
establish a commuter’s identity using the
technology is 38 seconds.
The use of the SmartGates in Australia has
climbed in the past year. In January 2010
3
Passsenger Processing at
Haneda Airport
Aviation Today
11-Jan-11
ARINC has installed a suite of advanced
passenger technologies for the new
International Terminal at Tokyo’s
Haneda Airport, also known as Tokyo
International Airport.
Under a contract from Tokyo
International Air Terminal Corporation
(TIAT), ARINC has deployed more than
200 passenger check-in and departure
workstations at the new International
Terminal. ARINC’s common-use
some one million people had used the passenger technology will allow
biometric technology in Australia. As at the international airlines to share the
Sydney Airport’s expansion, some 2.7
available counter space and make the
most efficient use of the new Terminal
million had used it, according to O’Connor. facilities.
ARINC has also installed 40 common-
More than one million passengers are use passenger kiosks at the
expected to pass through Sydney International Terminal, using its
advanced SelfServ technology. The
International Airport in the first two months
kiosks will support the diverse check-in
of 2011. applications of the growing number of
carriers at the Terminal. As an
“There’s strong demand for SmartGate from alternative to check-in counters, kiosks
are preferred by many travelers
passengers and these new kiosks and gate because they speed up the check-in
help meet the increasing desire for non- process.
invasive, efficient and tech savvy ways to With both its domestic and
travel," O'Connor claimed. “The system is international terminals becoming fully
operational, the Airport expects to
easy to use and it is a safe and convenient
handle many more flights in the near
alternative for clearing through passport future. ARINC equipped the new
control.” International Terminal with its efficient
BagLink Baggage Messaging System.
Easytrip installs DSRC transponder-based taxi
management system at Dublin Airport
Traffic Technology Today
26-Jan-11
Ireland’s largest provider of electronic tolling services, Easytrip, has announced that it has
been selected by Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to supply, test, implement and maintain a
Taxi Management System (TMS) at Dublin Airport. The system will be used by the DAA to
maintain visibility on taxi usage and ensure compliance of authorized users, while
streamlining the flow process through the airport’s concourse. The system will service the taxi
holding and taxi rank areas for Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The system – which has been
designed and implemented by Easytrip – started test operations in early November 2010 to
coincide with the opening of the new Terminal 2 facility.
The new system combines the company’s knowledge of DSRC technologies, incorporating
5.8GHz in-vehicle transponders with an array of transceivers at strategic locations on the
airport campus. Real-time data collection is integrated with a suite of management and
operational applications, providing the DAA with more effective and efficient capabilities to
manage taxi operations.
 Mobile & Touch Technologies changing the way
we do business
As reported in various news sites
Dublin Airport Authority
launches free iPhone app
Melody Ng (The Moodie Report)
21-Jan-11
IRELAND. Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has
launched a new iPhone app to help make it
easier for passengers to use Dublin Airport.
The new application includes features such
as live arrivals and departures information,
user-friendly maps of all the facilities at both
of the airport’s two passenger terminals,
and details of all of the retail and catering
outlets within both Terminal 1 and Terminal
2.
Users of the Dublin Airport app can also
save money on parking charges, as the new
App has a direct link to the Dublin Airport
online car parking pre-booking page, which
has the company’s best rates.
The app, which is available free of charge
from Apple’s App Store, also features links
to airport shopping services such as Shop &
Collect, which allows passengers to collect
items previously purchased items on their
return to Dublin, and the online store Click
& Pick Up.
Developed by DAA in partnership with Irish
web design company Arekibo, the app
contains useful information such as airport
security regulations, transport options to
and from the airport, and facilities for
passengers with reduced mobility.
“Dublin Airport’s new iPhone app has been
designed to help make it easier to use the
airport and give our customers an improved
experience,” said DAA Commercial Director
Jack MacGowan. “It’s a reliable guide for all
airport users whether they are frequent
travellers or a first time visitor to Dublin
Airport.”
“The app takes about 30 seconds to
download and gives iPhone users a host of
useful information,” MacGowan added.
“You can plan your trip better with the live
flight updates and find your destination with
clear maps of our terminal and car parking
facilities and you can save time by buying
4 Though marketers have been running
online before you get to the airport.”
The new Dublin Airport iPhone App is free
to install and is available from Apple’s App
store at
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dublin-
airport/id411482375?mt=8# or simply enter
the online App store and search for Dublin
Airport.
Facebook campaign for Stobart
Logistics Manager
24-Jan-11
An online campaign supporting Stobart
Group’s redevelopment of Carlisle Airport
has been started on social networking
website Facebook.
JetBlue Offers Rewards for
Checking In on Facebook Places
Todd Wasserman (Mashable)
25-Jan-11
JetBlue has announced a new program with
Facebook Places that lets customers earn
rewards when they use the service to check
in at airports.
Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue rewards
platform can register on the company’s
Facebook Page. Registered users will then
receive 25 TrueBlue points every time they
check in to an official JetBlue airport
location on Facebook Places. The first 100
customers to check in at Boston’s Logan
International, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood
International, Long Beach, New York’s John
F. Kennedy International or Orlando
International airports will receive 100
points. Those who accumulate 5,000 or
more points can trade them in for free
flights.
JetBlue is the latest to attach a rewards
program to Facebook Places. Over the
weekend, Sears Outlet, a unit of Sears, ran a
promotion that awarded 10,000 Shop Your
Way Rewards points to anyone who used
Facebook Places to check in at one of its
outlet stores and then made a purchase.
TripAdvisor Debuts Airline
Rating System
DAN SALTZSTEIN (NYTIMES.COM)
17-Jan-11
For more than a decade,
TripAdvisor.com has been a popular
Web site for users to rate hotels,
restaurants and activities. Now it has
added airlines to the roster of ratable
items. The new feature, which debuted
last week as part of TripAdvisor Flights,
the site’s online flight search tool,
allows travelers to add feedback on
airlines in eight categories, as part of
their booking process.
“It’s something we’ve always wanted to
do,” said Bryan Saltzburg, general
manager of TripAdvisor Flights. “We’re
giving customers all the right tools to
make the best decision possible.”
The categories, which users can rate on
a scale of 1 to 5, include baggage
handling, the check-in experience, in-
flight amenities, in-flight service,
punctuality, reasonableness of fares,
seat comfort and general value. In turn,
travelers conducting flight searches on
TripAdvisor Flight are now able to see
user ratings for various carriers and can
filter flight results by airline ratings.
(You must be a TripAdvisor member,
and reside in the U.S. or Great Britain,
to add ratings.)
Though the functionality debuted on
Monday, Jan. 10, the site seeded the
ratings via solicited surveys of American
and British travelers, though Mr.
Saltzburg said that thousands of
reviews had been posted in the first
few days. He added the site has
“extensive checks in place” to combat
any attempts to skew reviews. “We
have an entire team dedicated to
managing the reviews that come in to
our system,” he said.
 Airline alliance offers
timetables on iPad
The Independent, UK
12-Jan-2011

The Oneworld alliance has launched a

new iPad app, allowing flyers to view
the schedules of all of its airlines on the
device's large display.

Using the free app, passengers can

Gatwick’s innovative use of social media
Travel Daily News
21-Jan-11
Gatwick Airport has scooped the award for
its 'Innovation in Online Customer Service'
at the Econsultancy Innovation Awards
2010, recognising innovation and best
practice within the digital industry.
Chosen by an international panel that
included representatives from organisations
such as Mercedes Benz, Dupont, O2, ebay
and the BBC, the judges chose Gatwick for
providing "probably the most holistic use of
social media seen in a customer-focused
business."
Working with social media agency
Rabbit,Gatwick has been continually
developing and introducing new ways to use
online tools to better communicate with its
passengers.
“The airport is going through a major
programme of improvement designed to
benefit the passengers and we delivered a
fun and interactive way to communicate
about how the money is being invested,
what work is going on behind the hoarding
and how they will eventually benefit.
This is only the first stage of our programme
to use social media to inform, listen and talk
to our audiences and so there will be much
search for and view schedules for the
nearly 10,000 flights operated daily by
members of the Oneworld alliance,
which includes American Airlines,
British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia
and Japan Airlines.
The Oneworld timetable displays both
non-stop flights and connections, flight
numbers, length and total journey time,
along with terminals and the aircraft
used for the flight.
Alliance apps are a useful way for
travelers to keep an eye on timetables
from preferred carriers as they show
codeshare flights from all of an airline's
partners.
As well as the new iPad app, Oneworld
offers an iPhone Flight Search app,
although it's not as powerful as the free
iPhone and iPad app offered by its
competitor alliance SkyTeam, which
also offers weather information and
seven-day forecasts for major airports.

more to come in 2011.”

Gatwick's recognition for innovation in
online customer service comes only one
year on of being under new ownership.
Nearly £1 billion is being invested in the Mobile content access and m-commerce take
UK’s second largest airport to transform it
into an even better airport for its passengers
off with QR codes on Jet Airways
and airlines. Internet Retailing
12-Jan-11
This means departing passengers having Indian airline Jet Airways is plastering 2D QR codes on its website, Facebook page and in its in-
flight magazine to give its customers what it sees as faster and better access to its online
easier check-in and security processes,
content on mobile. Phase two of the project will see the codes also appear on boarding
enjoying an extended retail offering and on- passes and tickets too.
time departures. For arriving passengers its
The codes are supplied by 3GVision and passengers need to download the mobile company’s
about experiencing swifter taxi-ing to gates, i-nigma 2D mobile barcode scanner onto their phone to take advantage of the offer.
less time queuing at immigration, shorter
Once scanned by pointing the individual’s handset at the barcode, the technology
waits at baggage reclaim and accessible
automatically directs the user to the mobile internet site, making it easy to navigate through
information to make informed choices the airline’s editorial content and promotional offers and services. 

about onward travel and leisure options.

5
 American Airlines moving out of the shadows of
GDSs and OTAs
As reported in various news sites
American Airlines selects ITA
software for next generation
availability engine
Breaking Travel News
17-Jan-11
American Airlines took another step today
in implementing its technology vision and
commitment to broad fare availability by
expanding its pricing and shopping
relationship with ITA Software to include an
airline availability engine and customer
product selection capability. This effort is
the continuance of the company’s focus on
enhancing its customers’ travel experiences
by offering products and services that can
be customized and distributed through a
wide range of distribution channels. The
new availability engine will provide
inventory, pricing and shopping visibility,
and will manage the various product and
service choices customers want to consider
as they customize their travel experience.
“American has steadily built its relationship
with ITA because we align in key areas such
as vision, leadership and innovation,” said
Monte Ford, Senior Vice President,
Technology and Chief Information Officer –
American Airlines. “The availability engine
will serve as a hub for pricing, shopping and
customization of American Airlines products
and services. This technology lays the
groundwork for the future of travel – with
customized travel options as well as access
to these options through every channel.”
“This decision will usher in a new era of
travel options and services for our
customers, who are at the center of every
decision we make,” said Virasb Vahidi, Chief
Commercial Officer – American Airlines.
“We are focused on the future of travel,
including choices for our customers as well
as the broad and effective distribution of
our products and services through all of our
distribution channels – from AA.com to
American’s reservations, BusinessExtrAA
program, Global Distribution Systems, travel
6
search engines, and traditional and online
travel agencies for corporate and leisure
travelers.”
American Battles for ownership
of customer
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
28-Jan-11
What had been skirmishes between
American Airlines and Online Travel
Agencies (OTA) escalated when Sabre
unilaterally began biasing against
American’s domestic flights. The airline
immediately won an injunction against
Sabre’s move.
In November, American notified OTA Orbitz
as its contract ran out on 01-Dec-2010, it
was withdrawing its content - fares and
schedules. It did so on 23-Dec-2010, but said
the move had little impact on its bookings. It
should be noted that Orbitz is owned by
Travelport which unsuccessfully tried to
block American’s move. In retaliation, OTA
Expedia began biasing American flights
downward on its search screens in advance
of pulling them completely when its
contract ran out on 31-Dec-2010.
This was followed by a pre-emptive
offensive strike by Global Distribution
System (GDS) Sabre is a completely different
game since Sabre accounts for about 32% of
revenues compared to the 35% generated
by American itself.
American’s cool in dealing with the
Orbitz/Expedia actions quickly changed,
taking Sabre to court for violating its
contract (still effective through September)
and increasing distribution costs by USD157
million. Sabre accounted for about USD7
billion of American’s USD18.9 billion in total
revenues earned between Dec-2009 and
Nov-2010.
Airlines pay GDSs booking fees per sale and
before 05-Jan-2011, Sabre charged
American USD2.73 on the average domestic
point of sale. On 06-Jan-2011 that went up
to USD7.31 for each domestic point of sale
and on 04-Feb-2011 was set to increase to
USD7.36 for each international point of sale.
Alliances, Acquisitions,
Mergers & Consolidations
Pratik Roy
13-Jan-11
Airline Industry is going through a
phase where Mergers and acquisitions
have become common news. Airlines
are consolidating their position and
services and are forming or joining
alliances. Full Services Airlines (FSAs) as
well as Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) are
looking to consolidate their positions in
the current economic and competitive
conditions. Here are some of the news
that hit headlines this month.
06-Jan-11: New Singapore Airlines’ CEO
considers selling Virgin Atlantic Stake.
11-Jan-11: Saudi Arabian Airlines
prepare to join Skyteam.
12-Jan-11: Virgin Blue and SkyWest sign
10-year strategic alliance.
12-Jan-11: American Airlines, Japan
Airlines oneworld Joint Business to
launch in April; to yield USD150m.
14-Jan-11: Qantas withdraws from San
Francisco, commences 4Xweekly Dallas
service – New competitive
environment.
20-Jan-11: LAN and TAM move ahead
on consolidation.
21-Jan-11: Air New Zealand acquires
‘substantial’ stake in Virgin Blue; step
towards fuller alliance.
25-Jan-11: Virgin Atlantic to join
alliance for firepower to compete with
‘Mega’ mergers.
26-Jan-11: British Airways and Iberia
merger completed; plan to add more
airlines to group.
 Disclaimer
All the news reported in this newletter
have been collected from various
online news websites whose name are
printed along with the news articles.

Articles written by the author for the

Travel Industry Newswatch will have
the Author’s name.

To subscribe to this newsletter please

send email to:
pratik.rockcliff@gmail.com with
subject line - I want RE Newsletter
Upcoming Events subscription.

Loyalty 2011
RockCliff Expeditions
22-23 Feb, 2011, Renaissance Hotel, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, US Travel and Airline Industry
Newswatch
Intended for Loyalty Managers, FFP Managers, CRM Managers, Marketing Managers,
Partnership Managers JAN 2011 - ISSUE 01

Innovation in Airline Distribution About Editor / Author

Pratik Roy is an IT/ITES solutions
Innovation in Airline Distribution will take place in Central London on the 28th February specialist having over 16 years of
and 1st March. The post conference masterclass for airlines will also be held in London experience in the IT industry which
includes over 12 years of experience in
and take place on the 2nd March 2011. the Airlines and Travel Industry.

Adopting the wrong distribution strategy will cripple revenue generation for any airline, Pratik has performed various roles
during his career that includes
irrespective of its size, geographical location or industry sector. Only by fighting
management of IT software project
distribution costs and creatively investing in tools to find new revenue can airlines win the deliveries and providing business and
profitability battle. technical consultancies & Solutions for
business organizations.

Regional Airport Development 2011

22-23 Feb 2011, Sydney, NSW AU - IQPC’s Inaugural Regional Airport Development 2010
Event showcased a speaker faculty featuring 20+ senior level executives from regional
airport, airlines and councils. Attracting over 80 attendees the event stood out among
industry as the most comprehensive and only event in Australia for regional airports.

ROCKCLIFF EXPEDITIONS

TRAVEL AND AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEWSWATCH

News Collated and Presented By:
Pratik Roy
Email: pratik.rockcliff@gmail.com
Web: http://www.rockcliffexpeditions.com/