The need to update inventory management systems for airlines — Part 1

Much discussion has been made over the last few decades on the changes within revenue management. Many of these changes are fundamental, with concepts such as bid price and origin and destination now the direction many major airlines are heading towards. These concepts have required airlines to look at their inventory management system, as it is this system that will actually implement an airline's chosen methodology. But while revenue management has undergone change, inventory management, which is a key component of revenue management, has remained fairly static. Split over a two part series, this paper discusses some of the issues that revenue management–driven airlines are facing and thus requiring in their inventory management system to support these changing fundamentals. Part One looks at topics such as system technology, user interface, richer data, changing decision making processes, better performance, staff productivity and alliances and code share. Part Two focuses on the changing methodologies of availability determination and control which are driving airlines away from the classic booking class model and into more creative but effective availability models.