easyJet announced an innovative deal with leading travel management company Business Travel International…
easyJet announced an innovative deal with leading travel management company Business Travel International (BTI) to give access to its booking inventory and certain back-office systems which should result in an increase in easyJet`s penetration of the lucrative corporate travel market.
The announcement will be made by easyJet Director, Chris Walton, at a conference organised by Merrill Lynch in London.
easyJet is Europe`s leading low-cost airline and BTI is UK`s leading travel management company. This is the first agreement of its kind involving a low-cost airline.
From later this year, BTI`s corporate customers, which range in size from SMEs to large corporations such as Merrill Lynch and Bank of Scotland, will for the first time be able to view and buy easyJet`s inventory through their own systems and alongside the inventory of other airlines. This will be facilitated through an Application Programming Interface (API) and, in addition to seat purchasing, will automatically fulfil various administrative functions such as billing, providing management information and notification in the event of flight disruptions.
There is no change to either easyJet`s business model or its unique pricing structure. In time, it is hoped that identical deals will be struck with other travel management companies.
This is just the latest in a long line of innovations that have made easyJet the ideal choice for business. In February 2003 the airline launched easyJet.com/b2b – a simplified version of its internet site for use by corporations. easyJet was also the first European airline to allow customers to view and change their booking details online and in September introduced the world`s most generous hand baggage policy when it removed all weight restrictions.
Speaking at a transport conference organised by Merrill Lynch, Chris Walton, easyJet Director, said:
The deal with BTI is all about making life easier for our customers – and that should be good for our business. We have long argued that easyJet is ideal for business passengers who value our great fares on high-frequency routes to Europe`s major airports. But some companies have been held back by the inability of their systems to talk to ours. The deal with BTI will remove that barrier.
There will be no change to the easyJet business model or its pricing structures; and there are no special deals for BTI`s customers. We expect this to be as efficient as Internet distribution and, without adding complexity, we`re using technology to access a new market segment rather than going down the traditional airline route of employing an army of salespeople and offering a customised service to every different company.
The winners here will be easyJet, BTI and its customers, the losers will be the legacy airlines who will now face much greater competition in their most lucrative market.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
