2nd March, 2022
Blockchain isn’t just about making crypto payments, managing fraud or contributing in the loyalty arena, but also can play a role in pricing and revenue management (RM), too.
Accentuating on the same during a webinar last week, Oliver Ranson said that airlines can consider the possibility of outsourcing their revenue generation to a blockchain, with the blockchain’s individual members using AI not the airline. “Just like “Bitcoin blockchainers” do with a distributed ledger today except the problem to be solved is airline revenue optimisation, not currency ownership,” he said.
He also pointed out that airlines can consider several aspects regarding the same. For instance:
- What sort of external or new streams of data can be used in pricing and RM?
- How can blockchain play a part in the same?
- Who will do the analytical heavy-lifting?
Other than referring to aspects like offer management and #revenuemanagement, he also underlined that airlines “using blockchain with up-stream AI will achieve better results than those using AI on its own”.
Ranson also spoke about other use cases:
- What about blockchain’s role in ticketing?
- What about airline’s own crypto currency – using to pay other airlines or other stakeholders?
- NFTs and aspects like rewards
In addition to evaluating the role in revenue generation, distribution, e-commerce and handling fraud, airlines have been banking on blockchain for maintenance activities, supply chain tracking system etc. Airlines have been using AI for such operations-related decisions for a while.
“When it comes to something like blockchain, it is tough to give answers. It is about having a go (as an organization), blockchain has certain advantages (over AI and machine learning) and will have huge changes in general, including in the airline industry,” said Ranson.
Ritesh Gupta
Ai Team
