Hahn interline EMDs to empower agents
With new products and airlines added to their system, Hahn Air is reaching out strongly to the Indian travel agents, reveals Jorg Troester, Head of Corporate Strategy, Industry and Government Affairs, Hahn Air, in an exclusive tete-a-tete with TRAVTALK.
QHow has the Indian market been for Hahn Air?
The Indian market is one of the most important markets for Hahn Air and ranks under the Top 5. Thus, we try to nurture the relationships with Indian travel agencies allowing them to sell and run a good business. It is very important for us to be a member of the travel community here, especially with the liberalisation that is happening in the Indian market. We are excited to see how it would develop further and how we can support the travel agencies.
QWhat kind of growth have you seen in the Indian market?
We have seen growth from both the travel agencies as well as the airlines. On the travel agents front, we have been able to sell more international flights all over the world, even in regions where they would not sell that much, as those airlines would not be a member of BSP India. Thus, we can help travel agencies to get a complete set of products available to sell whatever the market is demanding. On the other side, we are excited to see how the market is growing on the airline side with increasing number of start-ups coming in. There are many low-cost carriers as well as Indian airlines that are cooperating with us, using Hahn Air tickets.
QWhat kind of challenges have you faced in the Indian market?
There are always challenges, but we have not seen any specific challenges in the Indian market. However, we have grown and shown more commitment in the market by placing people here who are taking care of the Indian market by being in touch with the travel agents and helping them out when they have questions regarding ticketing etc.
QWhat kind of new products are you bringing for the travel partners?
The latest product, which has been growing for the last few years is the so called interline EMDs (Electronic Miscellaneous Documents). EMDs have already been in the market for a while now. They are available as an interline standard as well, which means that Hahn Air is offering EMDs to the travel agent for other airlines. We have many airlines available using it and there are more airlines in the pipeline to be implemented even in this region. Thus, we are looking forward to widen this product to help the travel agent become more relevant and important in their role as consultants to the customer offering a full range of products. Now with interline EMDs in place, they can sell additional ancillary services of the airlines as well to their customers.
QWhat kind of ancillary services are you offering?
It’s usually luggage and seat reservations. Today, many airlines offer limited baggage allowance and seat reservations against payment and other services, which can be done online through their own booking engines. However, with interline EMDs, when the airline is offering these additional ancillary products and services through the GDS or through the sales system the travel agency is using, they can directly make a reservation.
QWhich are the new airlines you’ve added to the system?
We have added some new airlines even in Southeast Asia, which includes VietJet from Vietnam. We are now in cooperation with SpiceJet from India as well. Apart from this, under our Hahn Air System’s products represented by codes H1 and 5W, we have now added two more exciting partners. We have the first ferry company available, called Tallink based in Estonia, which can now be sold through the GDS under the 5W code, whereas under the H1 code many new airlines are available.
QHow are you making your system more user friendly?
To make it as user friendly as possible for the travel agencies, we still believe in the traditional indirect distribution channel, which is the GDS. Thus, the travel agency doesn’t need anything else but its GDS terminal. Also, there is no need to switch between different terminals and different computers, as everything works through the GDS. They can look for flights available, make the booking and then issue the Hahn Air ticket from the GDS system.
There are many low-cost carriers as well as Indian airlines that are cooperating with us, using Hahn Air tickets