Seat availability: Alignment with the revenue management value proposition

A key attribute of any distribution channel for an airline is the preservation of the inventory controls established by revenue management during the availability determination process from both the online and offline channels. With the exponential growth in online bookings, accurate display of seat availability through online channels is a challenge due to the disproportionately high look-to-book ratios that are observed. This paper describes the challenges associated with the accurate display of seat availability through online channels, its impacts on the value proposition of revenue management and how it can be overcome.