“Bringing it Together”

An Analytical Perspective

November 2013

Commercial Performance

British Airways – Commercial Performance

Contents

Introduction

Old World vs. New World Data Issues

The “traditional” universe now expanded

Our current solution - EDW and tool set

Consolidation around customer - Know-me

Our challenges – partners and unstructured data

A shift in the paradigm

Summing up

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British Airways – Commercial Performance

Introduction

I will give an analytical perspective on the consolidation and dissemination of data.

In common with my background in Revenue Management as well as in my current function in Commercial Performance at British Airways we are heavily reliant on clean, accurate, accessible data, which we then shift through to create insight that lead to decisions.

The data landscape is shifting and alongside it the opportunities and challenges

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British Airways – Commercial Performance

Old and New World Data Environment

Old World Issues

Data Availability

Car Rental lack of real-time car count data

Temporary Office Solution – no link between sales enquiry and inventory

Low Point Analysis

• Conclusions based on low data typically internal

Low skill data extraction and manipulation

Analysts not requiring extensive training

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New World Issues

Multiple Sources – multiple versions of the truth

Differing touch points hold alternate assumptions and data creation process often opaque

Expertise to manipulate and draw out the message

Talent difficult to find and retain in an increasing data centric environments

Inability to harness large volumes of unstructured data

Facebook ,Twitter feeds, Web Traffic

British Airways – Commercial Performance

The Traditional Universe

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Historic

Future External

Competitors

Customer

Transactional Forecast

Targets

British Airways – Commercial Performance

The Expanded Universe

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Historic

Future

External

Competitors

Customer

Transactional Forecast

Targets

Web Stream

Non Relational

Mobile Touch points

Partners

Ancillary

British Airways – Commercial Performance

Current Solution – Warehouse

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External

Web Schedules

DATA WAREHOUSE

Revenue Management

Bookings CRM

• Everything in one place

Simplification and Structuring

Toolset to suit range of abilities and uses

British Airways – Commercial Performance

The Right Tool Set…

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Reach and Complexity

• Access to data sets are controlled by a set of business owner not by BI or IT. • Certain data is classified into Sensitive and Highly Sensitive and require multiple sign-offs for access • SAS allows our users to manipulate and analyse all the data and information we hold

British Airways – Commercial Performance

Data Consolidation around the Customer

BA is structuring its data around a unique customer and is using this data in a program called Know-me with the goal of the program is to understand customers better than any other airline

Personal recognition - This aspect of Know Me involves recognizing customers for being loyal to BA

Service excellence and recovery - BA will track the service it provides to its customers and attempt to always keep it at a high level. BA also wants to understand what problems its customers experience,

Offers that inspire - The program analyses customer data to construct relevant and targeted “next best offers” for their consideration. BA hopes that customers will consider it more a service than a marketing program.

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British Airways – Commercial Performance

Our Challenges Partner and unstructured data remain difficult to cross integrate with our current data

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Unstructured

BIG Data

Data Warehouse with “Our” Structure

External Data

British Airways – Commercial Performance

Integration and a hybrid data environment An element of structure is required to create insight however not all data is destined for the warehouse.

We will continue to simplify, integrate and structure our data around the customer and believe that this will drive our profits and differentiate us.

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Unstructured BIG Data

Data Warehouse

with “Our” Structure

External Data

Data Scientists + Programming

Simplification and structuring allows a wider internal audience

and monetization

British Airways – Commercial Performance

A Shift in the Paradigm We have seen the shift to customer away from transactions but the way travel companies manage their performance is still centred around the product and geography.

Travel Industry Revenue Management is still very much rooted in the Price, Inventory and Time dimensions.

Technology, the right skills and big data together can create a shift

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Transaction

Customer

Customer

Transaction

British Airways – Commercial Performance

It is happening but how far will it go?

One outcome could be that we start managing performance and setting targets for individuals rather than groups of customers. Having specific prices, offers and products created by mining live data. This would require a high degree of flexibility and analyst autonomy.

Could we see Revenue Management teams “optimising” customers rather than inventory? Could booking data be replaced by live data sourced from internal and external systems ?

Will we completely break free from data structures and into a non-relational live data environment or will it stay as hybrid.

Would love to hear from the audience

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VS.

British Airways – Commercial Performance

Summing Up

The traditional universe of data and information has expanded,

there are opportunities to exploit and monetize the insights.

The trend of consolidation around the customer will continue

and has the ability to shift the current transactional model.

The key challenges of harnessing the change with the right

skillset and interpreting the results coherently remain present

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