|
30 minute interview
"We owe allegiance to airlines and travel agents"
Galileo CEO Bruce Hanna's initial months in office
have been interesting enough for him to believe that the Indian travel market
is currently at it is best stage of evolution, he tells Bhisham Mansukhani
What is level of evolution of the Indian travel market
vis a vis the global scenario?
India is perhaps in the best evolution stage, which is one of learning from
other markets’ best practices and experiences. India is poised to leap
ahead of what has happened in other markets. For instance, we are currently
making a transaction from paper tickets to full e-tickets. We also have the
opportunity here of improving on other market experiences, like Galileo's dynamic
e-ticket that clearly indicates the airline logo reassuring travellers that
their itinerary is official and the e-ticket in hand works!
What would you identify as the most pressing challenges
for Galileo, as market leader, in the present scenario?
Galileo believes in a proactive approach in developing products and services
for our clients. We are focussing on integrating total travel content on to
a single desktop for our users. It is our endeavour to get hotel rooms, car
rentals, and Low Cost Carrier (LCC) inventory on to a single desktop.
What role do you perceive Galileo playing in the evolution
of the Indian travel agent from his current role and what would you want his
new role and business model to look like?
As said earlier we are proactively integrating total travel content on to our
users' desktop. This is significant because if content - like hotel rooms, car
rentals, tour guides etc - is accessible at just a single click of a button,
travel agents can generate additional revenue streams in addition to the traditional
airline commissions, which might further reduce in the future. We see the future
of travel agents more secure and prosperous if they offer more than just airline
tickets. We think they should also sell commissionable products such as hotel
rooms.
Would you say you owe your allegiance to the airline or
the agent and how do you intend to balance those two roles if you were to say
the allegiance is an equitable one?
We owe our allegiance to both the airlines and travel agents. We balance our
relations with both the agents and airlines by offering a win-win proposition
that is mutually beneficial to both.
How has the Indian travel agent taken to Galileo Leisure?
The response to Galileo Leisure has been phenomenal. Already about 500 travel
agencies have signed up at the website. At this rate we expect about 2,000 registrations
on the website by the end of this year.
Is there a thrust and timeline towards introducing a payment
model for inventory access at different levels, in the Indian market?
No, not at this time. We believe we have the required platform options for content
entry. GDS for full service airlines and GFI for LCCs and Galileo Leisure for
leisure tours, hotel bookings, etc.
|
