As the Travel & Aviation industry is returning back to its pre-pandemic levels, revenue and profit maximisation opportunities in the industry are on the rise. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects industry-wide revenue this year could result in a 54.5% increase from last year and fulfil 93.3% of the 2019 level, the last full year before Covid. Meanwhile, costs will be 44% lower year over year. According to a recent report from McKinsey & Co, the aviation industry has a massive opportunity in the years ahead with a projected value of $440.6 billion by 2030.
How payment systems affect the bottom line
As it stands, approximately 2.9 billion airline booking payment transactions - valued at about $1 trillion - take place around the world every year. However, according to a McKinsey report, the transactions come at a cost - with the airline industry spending more than $20 billion per year on payment costs, amounting to over 3% of airlines’ total revenue and approximately 78% of the industry’s net profit. Airline payment solutions are often fragmented, with various systems used across different touch points. One of the ways to fully realise margin potential for carriers, is to get their payment component right and keep costs under control. Enabling integrated payment solutions across the board not only improves the experience for passengers, it can also help unlock new potential revenue streams.
Seamless payment experience with OPA
Online Payment for Agents (OPA) is a web-based portal that works as a payment landing page, connecting both the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and a variety of online-based payment systems. OPA enables digitalisation of payment processes from offline channels into payments that can be performed online with no wait time.
By removing the need for any payment intermediaries such as BSP (Billing Settlement Plan), processing time is minimised and unnecessary costs (such as deposits and bank guarantees) can be avoided, helping airlines improve their cash flow significantly. With this technology, OPA allows fast, easy and secured payment for airlines and their network of travel agents.
How can ATI’s OPA solution maximise your potential revenue?
Elimination of unnecessary costs by removing the need for any payment intermediaries, and involving only the essential flow and services needed for the payment, creates a much more efficient ecosystem for revenue maximisation. Not only that, ATI’s OPA solution enables airlines to receive real time payment, which would significantly improve cash flow and minimise payment processing time - ensuring your customers get the best customer service experience.
ATI’s OPA solution also facilitates a wide variety of payment options that can be added as required, either through direct connections or highly-secured payment gateways. With a broad variety of payment gateways, suppliers and carriers have the freedom to choose payment channels best suited to their needs. Easy integration with other settlement and inventory systems also allow payments not only for flight tickets, but also non-flight products, generating an even wider revenue opportunity.
OPA is the flexible solution many airlines are looking for to address their payment needs through the travel agency network. To learn more about OPA here , and don’t hesitate to get in contact with us here.
