Sabre: airBaltic enhances choice and personalisation using merchandising technology

airBaltic, the largest airline serving the Baltic region, is increasing the choice and control it offers travellers by introducing new merchandising software from leading travel technology provider Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) to help it launch its branded fares.

airBaltic, which operates from hubs in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, recently introduced a new range of branded fares, which cater for the growing desire for travellers to unbundle each component of an air fare. With the implementation, Sabre-connected travel agents can now easily view, compare and sell airBaltic Basic, Premium Corporate, Premium, Business Corporate and Business fares - offering travellers more choice and better value, however they choose to book.

"airBaltic is a successful regional carrier that competes with both traditional and low-cost airlines operating in and around the Baltics," said Alessandro Ciancimino, vice president EMEA, supplier commerce, at Sabre. "Offering a superior choice and transparency to its customers over different fare options is a crucial part of airBaltic's strategy to offer low-fare tickets in a simple and accessible way. Its branded fares offer control for passengers over the types of tickets they buy, helping the airline differentiate itself from its competitors; Sabre's goal is to help the carrier market and sell these fares in new and exciting ways, through any booking channel."

With its main base at Riga International Airport, airBaltic currently serves 60 destinations carrying 3.5 million passengers per year to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East.

"Today's travellers increasingly look at overall value rather than just the price alone," said Jouni Juhani Oksanen, Senior Vice President of E-Commerce, Sales and Marketing at airBaltic. "We constantly develop our offering in all booking channels. By enabling our customers to purchase our fares based on what is important to them, we help to satisfy their demands as well as ensure we sell more seats and ancillaries. Improving traveller satisfaction while increasing revenues helps airBaltic maintain its position as one of Northern Europe's most successful carriers and enables us to offer the best possible experience to our customers."

Sabre's merchandising technology helps airlines distribute their branded fares to more than 425,000 travel agents and OTAs via Sabre's travel marketplace. When using the Sabre Red Workspace, travel agents can easily view the ancillaries included within each branded fare, enabling them to present travellers with more transparency, choice and flexibility. Through the Sabre Red Workspace, agents will also be able to view NDC-based offerings - which airlines are increasingly introducing - in the same way.