An Analysis of Airline E-commerce Strategies in Ticket Distribution

Today most of airline's air tickets are sold through traditional travel agencies using computer reservation systems (CRS) around world. Facing fiercer market pressures bought by factors such as the development of low cost carriers and the globalization of civil aviation industry, airlines found that it is critical for them to lower their costs as much as possible so as to make them more competitive. Thus airlines around world began to develop e-commerce models based on internet which could reduce their reliance upon CRS and traditional travel agencies herewith. This paper introduces and analyzes e-commerce models of leading airlines that are effective in reducing air ticket distribution costs. It is suggested that Chinese airlines should take great initiatives in developing e-commerce strategies so as to reduce their reliance upon CRS vendors and traditional travel agencies, as e-commerce models are helpful approaches to enhance airline's distribution efficiency and cost effectiveness.