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Expertise
Six problems, one connected system.
Content, pricing, connectivity, payments, partnerships and growth affect each other. Here is what I examine in each area, and the questions we can answer together.
01 · Distribution strategy
The right mix of GDS, NDC, direct and aggregated content.
Airlines now distribute different fares, bundles and prices through different channels. A channel mix that worked five years ago can quietly leave you showing stale or higher prices on the routes that matter most.
What I examine
- Your content sources by airline, route and market
- Where NDC or direct content offers something your current channels can’t
- Overlap and duplication between GDS, NDC, LCC and consolidator content
- The full cost of each channel, including servicing effort
Questions we answer
- Should we connect direct, or use an aggregator?
- Which airlines justify the build and maintenance of a direct NDC connection?
- Which sources can we consolidate or drop?
Related reading:The future of GDSNDC explained
02 · Pricing & revenue
Markups and economics that match the market.
One flat margin is usually too high on competitive routes and too low everywhere else. Meanwhile, ancillaries, incentives and payments can matter as much as the ticket margin itself.
What I examine
- Fare competitiveness on your key routes, against the channels competitors use
- Markup and discount logic, and where dynamic rules would pay
- Revenue layers beyond the ticket: ancillaries, service fees, incentives and payments
- The unit economics of each channel and customer segment
Questions we answer
- Why do we lose on price on some routes but not others?
- Where are we leaving margin on the table?
- Which commercial levers deserve attention first?
Related reading:Dynamic pricing explained
03 · Connectivity & technology
Integrations that hold up after the sale.
Booking is the easy part. Schedule changes, refunds, reissues and failed ticketing are where integrations show their real cost, to your team and to your customers.
What I examine
- GDS, NDC and LCC integration design, including offer and order handling
- Content quality, response times and search-to-book failure points
- Servicing workflows: voids, refunds, reissues, schedule changes and ADM controls
- Mid and back office readiness for orders, tickets, EMDs and payments
Questions we answer
- Why do bookings fail between search and ticket?
- Is our architecture ready for offers and orders?
- What should we build, buy or outsource?
Related reading:Servicing under NDCGlossary
04 · Payments & conversion
Fewer bookings lost at the last step.
Payment failures, missing local methods and currency costs eat both conversion and margin, often without showing up clearly in any one report.
What I examine
- Checkout and payment failure points, by method and market
- Local payment methods your customers expect
- FX spread, settlement timing and reconciliation
- Forms of payment accepted by airlines across channels
Questions we answer
- Where exactly do customers drop out?
- Which payment methods should we add first?
- What is currency handling costing us?
Related reading:Payments as a margin layer (opens LinkedIn)
05 · Supplier & airline partnerships
Commercial terms that work in your favour.
Unclaimed incentives and avoidable ADMs are margin you have already earned. And when airlines decide who gets their best content, they are making a partnership decision.
What I examine
- Airline, GDS and consolidator agreements and incentive structures (PLB and similar)
- Ticketing controls that reduce ADM exposure
- How valuable you are to sell through, from an airline’s point of view
- Supplier performance against contract
Questions we answer
- Which agreements are worth renegotiating?
- How do we earn preferred content access?
- Where are incentives going unclaimed?
Related reading:Airline partnerships and revenue
06 · Market expansion
Readiness checked before you enter a market.
New markets need supply depth, local payments, licences and servicing capacity, not just translation. Gaps found early are far cheaper than gaps found after launch.
What I examine
- Supply coverage for the routes and products the market wants
- Payment readiness and local customer expectations
- Licensing, local requirements and trust signals
- Operational capacity for servicing in new time zones and languages
Questions we answer
- Which market should come first?
- What has to be true before launch?
- Where are the operational risks?
Related reading:Localization is not translation (opens LinkedIn)