Implementation is called a transformational airline retailing initiative
Finnair announced it has gone live with the world’s first “Native Order” on Finnair.com for bookings from Helsinki to London Heathrow. Native orders, said the announcement, are a foundational retailing capability that allow airlines to manage customer orders directly in a single record — aligned with IATA One Order directives — and “a cornerstone for the traveler-centric retailing transformation in the airline industry.”
As the first airline globally to transition to this new model, said the announcement, Finnair is spearheading the industrywide technology transformation from traditional booking methods like Passenger Name Records (PNRs) to “Offers and Orders,” paving the way for modern retailing and ultimately, a better experience for airline customers.
Finnair partnered with Amadeus to become the launch customer for Amadeus Nevio, an Offer and Order-based solution built on modular and open technology. By doing this, said the announcement, Finnair aims to further modernize and simplify its processes across customer journeys, while also facilitating easier communication between the airline and its partners.
Other benefits of the move, according to the announcement, include the ability to create personalized, frictionless experiences for customers at every touchpoint, giving Finnair the freedom, agility and security to transform, differentiate and boost its business.
Tiina Vesterinen, Finnair’s vice president, digital customer and revenue, said, “The move to Offers and Orders supports our move towards modern retailing, enabling, for example, dynamic product bundles and enhanced ancillary sales, and improved relevancy to customers with personalization in the future.”
This is a massive technological transformation, said Vesterinen, where everything changes: architecture, integration, data, applications, processes, ways of working. However, she said, “it is even more of a business transformation enabling us to rethink how we best serve our customers in the digital channels.”
Cyril Tetaz, executive vice president, airline solutions at Amadeus, said: “Amadeus and Finnair have reached a key milestone in delivering more traveler-centric air travel by implementing a single order management system.”
This innovation, said Tetaz, brings the shopping basket concept to the airline industry, connecting any travel service such as air, transfer or hotel into a single record. This is a significant step forward in the retailing transformation, he said, “and showcases our commitment to investing in and delivering advanced technology solutions for our customers.”
