Thai Airways Leaps into E-Commerce Market

Buying a ticket or checking flight details with national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) is about to become a lot easier with the airline about to leap into the e-Commerce market in a big way, offering transactions over the internet and via GPRS-enabled smart phones.

Somchai Suppakitjareon, director of Thai’s e-Commerce Department, said that within three months, passengers will be able to reserve, buy tickets, and instantly complete all the processes required for travel by mobile phone.

According to Mr Somchai the airline only generated 6 percent of its revenue from e-Commerce transactions last year and it aims to increase that to 15 percent this year.

THAI is a late-comer to the field of airline e-Commerce and up until the start of last year did not even have an e-Commerce department.

According to Mr Somchai the THAI website, “has been an online channel without the mission to become our main source of revenue but, from now, the internet is our main channel for generating revenue. We will improve our website to make it a crucial channel for our direct sales.”

The airlines e-Commerce strategy involves providing services via all online channels, including the airline's website, mobile phones, and internet-based kiosks. As part of this new strategy the airline has already overhauled its website, adding functions such as flight information and bookings, payment and online check-in.

Mr Somchai said monthly online ticket sales in 2009 were only about Bt630 million ($US19 million) out of average monthly sales of Bt10,415 billion ($315 million).

To increase this weakness THAI plans to offer more competitive pricing direct from its website, rather than having customers check schedules and prices online and then buying tickets from agents – as has been the case in the past.

The next stage of THAIs e-Commerce strategy will see it roll out more services via mobile phones. According to THAI, by the middle of this year, passengers will be able to book and pay for air tickets, as well as checking-in for flights via their mobile phones.

Mr Somchai said the service will target all GPRS-enabled mobile phones using the five main operating systems – iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile – with the aim being to attract around 100,000 mobile transactions by the end of this year.

In the second half of this year THAI also plans to place internet-based kiosks in department stores, shopping centers and public areas, with passengers able to access all the services available on the airline's website and on mobile phones.

THAIs rapid embracement of e-Commerce and mobile phone technology comes at a time when the airline is expected to report an operating profit for 2009, after suffering a loss for the first time in its history in 2008, and following a period of dramatic cost cutting measures thoughout 2009 aimed at improving efficiency and competitiveness.

From technology unsophisticated and backward, THAI looks set to rapidly introduce services and facilities that rival other regional heavy-weights, as well as exceed many other, international airlines.