Avios ‘moving to dynamic pricing’ – and other Investor Day news

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• S says:

  5 Nov5 November 14:48

  If only Lhr and Gatwick had more runways and slots to force competition and therefore an improved service from BA. If not for avios I would not consider them at all. I do hope the Chinese investment in MAN boosts the long haul options from the north West.

  • Mr Dee says:

    6 Nov6 November 17:55

    agree

• Isa says:

  5 Nov5 November 14:52

  Off to do all my RFS bookings for 2018 while they’re still at 4000 avios each way…

• Cate says:

  5 Nov5 November 15:17

  ‘Vueling wants “smart, digital, young and value maximising customers”

  …….. and probably funded by their not smart, not digitally literate, older and undervalue maximising parents 😉

  • the real harry1 says:

    5 Nov5 November 16:14

    it’s only fair (says bloke, 55)

    we had free education, the houses that made us £500K or more, the gold-plated pension that would cost you £1 million to buy

    time for a bit of re-distribution of wealth towards the younger generations, I feel – not that I’m a Corbynista, just that it’s a genuine claim

    • W says:

      6 Nov6 November 09:18

      Intrigued to see where this is going?

      Assuming a demographic on HfP?

      I don’t fit into any of those categories 😉

• memesweeper says:

  5 Nov5 November 22:26

  Dynamic pricing could be the death of active Avios collecting for me. If you can’t predict the price before you start, why would you start ‘saving up’ for a particular redemption? What price will the guaranteed 4 economy / 2 club seats be launched at at T-255? If they mess up the basic simple redemption predictability I’ll switch my efforts to Amex MR points or Virgin.

• Heran says:

  6 Nov6 November 16:43

  Vueling is the worst. My mother-in-law’s flight earlier this year (April) was delayed for almost 3.5 hours. We asked them for compensation (EC 261/2004) and they disagreed (blamed the weather although the weather were fine at both airports). Took them to the CAA and CAA said they agreed to pay but after 12 weeks not heard from them. So have to ask them again (and showed them the CAA letter), but they refused and blamed the weather again! Unbelievable!

  • the real harry1 says:

    6 Nov6 November 18:09

    MCOL is easy, once you and Vueling agree you are at deadlock (exchange of emails, with them confirming this is their final position) – just issue your claim for £25 + EC261 compo, if you state your intentions clearly enough they’ll probably pay up rather than see you issue MCOL

    see Flyertalk thread on BA/ EC261 compensation, equally applies to Vueling

• the real harry1 says:

  6 Nov6 November 19:39

  Flying Blue moving to dynamic pricing for reward flights as well…

  [“Will the Miles needed for a reward ticket change?
  From June 2018, the Miles needed for a reward ticket will change from prices according to zone and date to prices according to origin, destination and date.”]

• the real harry1 says:

  6 Nov6 November 20:12

  The Travel, Pricing & Customer Contact department is responsible for creating compelling reward
  portfolios and easy redemption processes that build members’ perception of reward value to
  increase the collection of Avios.
  Reporting to the Head of Pricing, this role is focused on the customer pricing of travel reward
  products contracted by the Global Travel team and is responsible for ensuring the Avios currency
  delivers the best value reward products in order to maximise contribution and satisfaction of a global
  base of members and collection partners.
  What you will be doing…
  The role is responsible for the dynamic pricing of rewards for members of the loyalty programmes
  that use Avios as their reward currency, delivering the right product at the right price and at the right
  time, in order to best maximise margin and the satisfaction of members to drive engagement.
  The Senior Pricing Manager will work closely with the pricing team, product teams, marketing, and
  other members of the Avios and relevant travel partner commercial teams to manage inventory and
  drive ongoing pricing strategies, as well as providing critical input to the tactical promotion process.
  The Senior Pricing Manager will provide analysis, advice and recommendations to drive the pricing
  strategies, with support from the Avios management team in line with stated commercial objectives.
  This is a dynamic cross-functional role that requires excellent organisational and analytical skills,
  commercial awareness and a passion for delivering results.
  What we are looking for…
   Deliver the budgeted margin on redemption for the Avios currency (cost per avios)
   Deliver Avios redeemed and cash on redemption targets
   Use price to drive volumes back to suppliers at optimal levels to drive value through the chain
   Directly responsible for the “dynamic pricing portfolio” and strategies to deliver the above
   Support the development and implementation of “Pay with Avios” with partners
   Work closely with Customer Insight & Analytics to determine the impact of price or inventory
  changes on customer satisfaction and long term loyalty
   The role will be key in managing the transition to new dynamic pricing system capability,
  ensuring processes are robust and accountabilities between internal stakeholders are clear
   Ownership of the maintenance and development of dynamic pricing systems and rules engines
   Support, manage or own (as appropriate) CAPEX / OPEX projects involving customer price
   Work with the Head of Pricing to develop integrated pricing strategies across existing products
   Support continuous improvement and consistency of the reward pricing propositions across
  products, markets and schemes
  What we are looking for..
   Commercially astute
   Strong influencing and communication skills
   Proven demand forecasting expertise
   Proactive and ambitious
   Enthusiastic and self motivated
   Ability to plan and prioritise workloads
   Ability to work alone or part of a team
   Strong operational and organisational skills
   Strong analytical, numerical, commercial skills and business acumen
   A high level of accuracy & attention to detail
  Skills, qualifications, expertise and experience
   Travel industry or relevant FMCG experience desirable
   A high level of computer literacy
   Microsoft Excel (advanced level)
   Experience in SAS, SQL, MS query, Tableau or equivalent desirable
   Minimum of 3 years Revenue Management or Pricing experience
   Direct experience of significant systems and process re-engineering
   Degree (2.1 or above) in Mathematics, Economics, or relevant field
   Language skills desirable (particularly Spanish)

• Anna says:

  6 Nov6 November 20:19

  I know Rob thinks dynamic pricing might actually benefit some travellers, but I am just imagining a protege of Cruz thinking, “The CW seats for the Maldives/Sydney/LA get snapped up the moment they’re released, I know, let’s charge 1,000,000 avios for them. Mwah ha ha!”

  I can speak Spanish, can I have the job?!

  • the real harry1 says:

    6 Nov6 November 20:26

    to be fair (to BA), the job description does try to balance both sides of the deal/ offer

  • Rob says:

    6 Nov6 November 22:35

    Had a long chat with Cruz tonight. He sees this as something for the person who wants to book a Cape Town J flight two weeks in advance, in which case it becomes something like the Etihad ‘any seat’ concept and does not replace normal redemptions.

    • the real harry1 says:

      6 Nov6 November 23:03

      sounds interesting!

      also sounds somewhat reassuring for me, mostly RFS/ Europe, loyal Avios collector

    • Memesweeper says:

      6 Nov6 November 23:09

       Work closely with Customer Insight & Analytics to determine the impact of price or inventory
      changes on customer satisfaction and long term loyalty

      – that doesn’t sound all bad!

    • Lev441 says:

      7 Nov7 November 00:57

      But the question is would last minute availability that is currently appearing close to departure date no longer appear? A lot of my redemptions seem to be close to travel where seats open up..

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