Airlines get Frequent Flyer option in new IBS software

Friday, 09 February 2007

Stephen Cleary, general manager commercial freight, Qantas Airways, said the airline looked at forwarder reward schemes along the same  lines as frequent flyer programs for forwarders five years ago, but decided against introducing it.

Ram Menen, senior vice president cargo for Emirates, said his airline also had considered similar schemes, but had rejected them.

“It comes down to a question of determining who the real customer for the carrier is,” said Menen.  “Is it the forwarder or the consignee/shipper? Everyone claims they control the cargo and it becomes very confusing. There is no easy answer.”

However, there may be some good news around the corner.

Murray Kidd, vice president-cargo for IBS Software Services, which is developing the I-cargo reservations system, said the new system would incorporate a facility for tracking sales and rewarding individual effort if airlines chose to do so.

“Our system identifies individual effort though codes,” said Kidd. “A carrier will know exactly who did what and when, including weight and yield, and this would be easily adaptable to a reward scheme such as points per kilo or similar.”