‘We Will Be More Transparent In Our Operations’

Don Birch, president and CEO, Abacus International Pte Ltd, talks to Charmaine Fernz, about the company’s future plans

What was the objective of repositioning the brand?

We feel that the brand should be an expression of what a company wants to communicate to its customer of. Our message is the Asian Spirit, and our entire operations process would have an Asian feel. Basically, we conduct business on a relationship basis in Asia and that’s how we plan operating out here as well.

With a successful revamp, what are your prospective business plans?

If one comprehends the CRS business, the Asian market contains tremendous potential. Abacus’s future strategies would however be specific. We are in the process of profiling the Indian customer and broadening our base in terms of our travel content. Our next endeavour would be to understand the customer and be more transparent in our operations. It is a norm that with increasing competition, we as a CRS company need to be more transparent in our operations and that helps especially in India. In this regard, we have also received great feedback from the travel community at large.

Would there be any product updates to that effect?

On the product front, we have enough to offer. But what agents need to understand is that the Internet is arriving wherein technology is simplifying business processes. And we are incorporating this technology into our systems and communications network. To that effect, there are changes happening wherein the processes and airline system is concerned and travel is certainly being made more accessible. So agents need to gear up for the future.