Picture this: You sign into a travel metasearch site, where it may know your zip code, gender, e-mail address and preferred alliances, and after conducting a flight query, an airline may return offers for free Wi-Fi, reduced rates for premium seats and bag fees, or perhaps an upgrade, all personalized for you.
Airlines have done a bunch to make personalized offers to their own loyalty program members through email marketing and some pledge to do likewise through direct-connects, but now they are pushing to take what they term “traveler authentication” to metasearch sites, where perhaps they can attract new customers and more efficient bookings.
The effort is all part of a new Open AXIS Group committee dubbed the Customer-Centric Meta-Search Working Group, which is being sponsored by flight and hotel metasearch company Hipmunk and has additional participation commitments from American Airlines, Air Canada, US Airways, United Airlines, Skyscanner, MindTree, Goldenware Travel Technologies and others.
Read full story at: http://www.tnooz.com/2011/11/30/news/will-hipmunk-lead-airline-and-open-axis-effort-for-personalized-metasearch-deals/
