BWIA on the E-commerce Path
By Sharlene Maharaj, eCommerce Manager, BWIA BWIA West Indies Airways Limited (BWIA), a well-established legacy carrier, has been servicing the Caribbean and Atlantic waters for over 65 years. The airline, with hubs in Barbados and Trinidad, offers intra-Caribbean services (Trinidad, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Kingston) as well as flights between the Eastern Caribbean islands and four North American destinations (Miami, Washington D.C., New York and Toronto) on the one hand and the Eastern Caribbean and two UK points (Manchester and London) on the other. Two A340-300 aircraft service the UK routes whilst seven B737-800 comprises the dedicated fleet on the Intra-Caribbean and North American routes.
Confronted by increasing competitive pressures, changes in industry trends and mounting costs - notwithstanding several restructuring efforts – the airline cautiously flirted with the world of Ecommerce in 2000. The effort required significant investment at the time when the risks were little known. By April 2000, BWIA implemented E-ticketing internally (on BWee’s flights only) as well as an introduced a consumer online booking engine via its website, bwee.com. To facilitate interline bookings BWIA extended its paper ticket options to the Internet (Ticket by Mail and Pick up Paper Ticket at the airport or a BW city ticket office). A 24/7 helpdesk was established to respond to customer queries and concerns.
It was all new, it was unfamiliar and it was a learning process not only for the airline but for its customers as well (especially those resident in the Caribbean). Limited PC and Internet penetration, including the relatively high cost of telecommunication, and fear of credit card fraud were the initial challenges that needed to be addressed. Many workshops, trade shows and media advisories later, Internet sales now account for between 6-8% of total airline sales. It was an eye-opener. By 2003, BWIA began to realise the some of the real benefits of Ecommerce. The Ecommerce area was reaching new markets, distributing directly to the customers and in turn building new relationship all at lower costs than the traditional distribution and marketing avenues. As a result, today there is growing Executive commitment to the effort - a far cry from the measly support and resources that were dedicated to this pursuit in previous years. It was really a case of the chicken and the egg – no resources without showing the revenue; slow growth in revenue without the resources and support.
Whilst E-commerce remains a department within BWIA and not a way of doing business, it is now considered to be equivalent to the fire that Prometheus gave to mankind coming with the promise of reduced distribution and administrative costs, new markets opportunities, extended product offerings and moreover the ability to offer loftier customer service. The conversion to the belief that Ecommerce is the way forward for many flailing airlines was in part prompted by the reported successes of the low cost operators – Ryanair, JetBlue etc – which are ecommerce dependent.
The future vision for BWIA then is to extend to the realm of automation and ecommerce the existing product offering (i.e. purchasing tickets online) to include as many pre and after sales services.
By mid 2006, the airline will be introducing web check-in for passengers without check-in baggage. Other self service facilities such as kiosk ticketing and check-in are currently being reviewed.
In an effort to meet IATA’s 2007 deadline for Eticketing, BWIA will be introducing E-ticketing for GDSs and Interline E-ticketing with its top 30 interline airline partners between 2006/7. The hub concept for introducing Interline E-ticketing is expected to simplify and fast track the implementation process.
The introduction of travel agents and corporate portals are viewed as fundamentals in reducing GDS costs. This is expected to come on stream by the close of third quarter of 2006. Three high profile projects also under review are: the introduction of CRM platform; mobile services to facilitate more effective marketing and communication with customers; and the introduction of email subscription and survey tools.
Whilst the cost of technology remains on a downward trend, harnessing the benefits of those listed above still calls for significant upfront investment. But one must recognise that technology alone cannot bring forth the new horizon that BWIA and many other airlines are seeking. It calls for a major cultural overhaul. One of the many by-products of the Internet was to make information ever more mobile and portable. Our customers today, even at a much earlier age are more sophisticated and learned than ever before. We cannot ignore this. The airline’s customer service agents must not only be equipped with the tools to handle the concerns of the customer but must be empowered to effectively address them. Re-training into an empowered, empathetic and multifunctional environment is obligatory.
Processes and procedures must become more fluid (save those imposed by security and regulatory considerations) if BWIA airline is to move ahead with flexible and scalable technology.
Whilst the fundamentals of internal and external marketing and communication may remain intact, the media and construct will also need to take on new dimensions. The rigid, structural approach will have to give way to higher levels of creativity and innovativeness.
These are just some of the internal challenges with which the legacy carriers including BWIA are confronted. Externally, BWIA continues to feel the effects of ID and credit card fraud; slow penetration of PC and Internet use and high telecommunications costs.
Whatever the future may hold for BWIA, there is one thing on which its customers can depend, the airline’s dedication in providing service to/from the Caribbean. In this regard, BWIA will continue to help define the landscape of the region and the movement of the peoples of the Caribbean.
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