Dr. Antonio Borges , Director of IT and Planning at Cabo Verde Airlines (TACV), is driving a massive change program at the airline in order to make it fit for the future. Frank Socha, CEO of Airline Solutions, talks with Dr. Borges about his perceptions and points of view in terms of what is needed, when, why and how to implement the program.

 

Dr. Borges, please tell about the changes you will implement at TACV.

We will implement a completely new IT environment, consisting of E-TKT, including E-TKT Interlining, Revenue Integrity (RI), Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) and an Internet Booking Engine (IBE).

 

Why have you decided to implement these changes now? What has driven your decision?

First and foremost, the E-TKT deadline of December 31, 2007 was responsible for our decision to start now. As you know, the entire implementation process of E-TKT, including interlining, takes time. I wanted E-TKT to be implemented at the latest by the end of 2006, so that we have ample time to take care of our most important interline agreements. The other applications are logical support applications, supporting our growth strategy.

 

Dr. Borges, I understand that this implementation must mean a quantum leap forward for TACV. How did you start this massive project? Many of our readers would like to understand what your first steps were.

I made sure that I had a professional advisor who took care of the entire internal due diligence, as well as the RFP management. He was key when it came to selecting our provider. He also made sure that a powerful project team was in place at TACV and provided the necessary coaching for our staff. Without an external advisor with relevant experience at other airlines, many issues would simply have been impossible to achieve.

 

Dr. Borges, how long will the entire project take?

Including all testing, we will be finished in about 12 months from now. We will apply a staggered approach, avoiding a “big bang” scenario. ETKT definitely comes first and will be available in a couple of months. We need 2007 in order to establish our ETKT Interline agreements.

 

Dr. Borges, please tell us why you have chosen those 4 components for the TACV implementation.

ETKT is an absolute must for us. We need to ride the winds of change, automate our environment and prepare TACV for the future. I believe enough has been said about E-TKT, but I am happy that we have started this project early enough, as I could imagine that closer to the deadline of the end of 2007, things will get hectic and airlines not yet compliant by that time run a high risk of being left behind.

Revenue Integrity is a component that needs to be implemented with a fully automated passenger and sales system. Do not underestimate the power of such an application. Run a business case on it and you realize soon, how advantageous RI can be. You will be surprised about the additional revenues this application can generate for you.

A Frequent Flyer Program is indispensable for TACV, because we want to be as good or even better then our competition. We have a competitive network today, with appealing destinations in Europe, USA, Africa and Brazil. We want to attract new customers, retain our current customers and make TACV the first airline of choice for all of our passengers. The fact that many frequent flyer programs are profitable in and of themselves is added incentive.

An Internet Booking Engine to me is the alternative distribution channel. Cutting costs is key and the growing figures of online bookings vs. GDS bookings are impressive. It’s now or never.

 

Dr. Borges, I am sure you have done your home work in terms of financials and your strategy for growth, so I will not ask you how much the IT investment at TACV will be. But, many of our readers are a little bit concerned about the costs. What would your advice be?

Taking ETKT alone is a very good example. There is an upfront investment- no doubt about it. But, the return on investment is fairly short. Conservatively estimated, we will save between 3-5 dollars per ETKT issued, compared to paper. And, we are aiming at reaching the 1 million-passenger threshold in 2009! Any airline with similar goals should seriously think about their future.

In order to spend your money in a responsible way, and also in order to not waste too much time, I have found it indispensable to have an external advisor with relevant experience who acts as a real partner and is respected as “the expert” at TACV. Even if only hired for the RFP process and the selection of the provider, this investment would have really enabled us to find the “perfect fit” in terms of our applications and our provider. But, the process is so massive, including all the acceptance testing procedures, to name a major future task, that our advisor will observe and manage these projects for us for some time longer.

 

Frank Socha: Dr. Borges, I wish you all the best and a successful implementation of your new IT platform. TACV is a very good example that the African continent is as capable as any other when it comes to take decisions that will drive forward the aviation industry. Thank you very much.