Virgin Atlantic is partnering with airline tech company, FLYR, to adopt its Ancillary Revenue Management to automate and optimize revenue for seating.
Virgin Atlantic has been leveraging FLYR for the last 18 months, establishing a dynamic pricing model that responds to a range of variables including route, seat zone, and traveller demand – increasing conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
The British airline has been an innovator since it was founded in 1984. Today, the carrier is always seeking new ways to elevate and optimise the travel experience for its fleet that serves 30-plus destinations across four continents, and more than five million annual passengers.
Realising that the opportunities to innovate start long before check-in, Virgin Atlantic began searching for a solution to optimise ancillary revenue for seating. With limited data on variably priced ancillary purchases and a range of aircraft and cabin configurations, the airline was looking for a flexible, data-driven solution that could optimise seat pricing and availability, while ensuring a seamless, personalised passenger experience.
Virgin Atlantic turned to FLYR to automate and optimize ancillary revenue for seating using deep learning, an advanced form of artificial intelligence. Virgin Atlantic has experienced more than 10% uplift in seating revenue with FLYR’s AI-based optimisation for seats.
“Providing the best experience possible for our passengers is core to everything we do at Virgin Atlantic,” said Virgin Atlantic CCO, Juha Jarvinen. “We are ecstatic with the revenue uplift we have seen using FLYR already, in addition to the optimised offerings and experience we continue to provide for our passengers.”
Insights from FLYR have allowed Virgin Atlantic to better understand the customer seat needs for each route, as well as the interdependencies between seats, ticket prices, and other ancillaries. With FLYR’s comprehensive Ancillary Revenue Management, Virgin Atlantic now has the flexible solution needed to optimise the passenger experience.
“We’ve appreciated their forward-thinking, data-driven approach to ancillary revenue management and total offer optimisation over the last 18 months. Going from a static pricing system to a dynamic, near automatic one that is powered by machine learning feels like a leap into the future, and we’re excited to explore what else is possible with FLYR,” said Dominic Kennedy, SVP, Revenue Management, Distribution and Holidays, Virgin Atlantic.
“Our collaboration with Virgin Atlantic has been immensely rewarding and is a testament to the value that FLYR can unlock,” said FLYR founder and CEO, Alex Mans.
“We’re thrilled with the results Virgin Atlantic is already experiencing with Ancillary Revenue Management and look forward to continuing to innovate together.”
