JAYPEE INSTITUTE OF

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Summer Internship Report

Airline Ticket Booking System Analysis

AIR INDIA
MR. MUKESH SAREEN
(DY. GENERAL MANAGER (IT))
12104746
JUNE 2015- JULY 2015

GANDHARV BHAGAT
IT

COMPANY BACKGROUND
Air India is a state-owned flag carrier, the oldest and the largest airline of India. It is a part of
the Indian government-owned Air India Limited (AIL) which is renamed as Air India Ltd.
The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft
serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at
the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. It is the 16th largest airline in
Asia. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi
International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. An international hub at Dubai
International Airport is currently being planned.
Some six decades ago in August 1953, the Indian air transport industry was nationalised to
provide safe, smooth and economic air travel to the people. It involved eight warring airlines
with different work cultures, horrendous safety record, disastrous financial conditions
because of cut-throat competition and inefficient management in some.
Thus come into existence Indian Airlines Corp and Air India Ltd to operate domestic and
international long haul services. The nationalisation was also expected to spur growth, promote
economic activity, rush assistance in times of natural calamities like flood, famine and
earthquake, foster national integration and, above all, serve as the second line of defence in the
event of war with another country.
It must be conceded that the nationalised airlines fulfilled most of the expectations of the nation,
particularly at times of natural calamities and during the wars with China and Pakistan. These
apart, bringing remote places of the country into the mainstream by connecting them
with air service need not be told.
Air India is the 16th largest airline in Asia, serving 25 destinations worldwide, and, with its
affiliated carriers, serves over 100 cities. Air India has code share agreements with twelve other
international airlines. In 2010, Air India is expected to join Star Alliance, the world's largest
airline alliance.

CORPORATE VISION

Vision
To be among top five Asian airlines in terms of Yield, Profitability, Productivity, Size and
Quality
Mission
Focus on customer satisfaction
Grow with emphasis on sustained profitability
Provide exciting and satisfying work environment to retain and develop employees
committed to Corporate Vision
Focus on social responsibility environment & community

Objectives
Achieve unit revenue, unit cost, profitability, productivity and service level targets, based
on benchmarked parameters

EXISTING SYSTEM FOR AIR INDIA

For its Reservations and Departure Control requirements, Air-India uses Unisys Computer
Mainframes with proprietary USAS software. The reservation system besides being connected to
Air Indias booking and ticketing offices all over the world using its closed user group domestic
network and SITAs international network is also connected with the Departure Control System
through a WAN connection using UDLC and Frame Relay protocols. These mainframe systems
are also linked with the computer systems of various airlines worldwide using host to host links
through SITA network For this Air India has its own communications network in India and the
communications requirement at foreign stations have been outsourced. Air-India has also
invested extensively on the terminal equipment at Indian and foreign stations for its use. The
Reservation System has real time links with other computer reservation systems such as SABRE,
GALILEO, AMADEUS, ABACUS etc. The system also provides additional services like
frequent flyer programme, code-sharing, CRS booking by travel agents, Advanced seat
reservations, internet bookings etc. The departure control system is hosted on Unisys Clear-Path
System IX6600 Series of mainframe hardware with software packages for passenger checking
and load planning. The departure control system provides airport passenger handling and load
planning support to its own flights and the flights of other carriers handled by Air India at
various airports in India. In addition, the system permits the handling of Air India flights at JFK
Airport, New York and Dammam Airports in Saudi Arabia using the SITA network. The main
role of Air Indias DCS activities at present include as an airline handling own flights, handling
agents of other airlines and handling all flights at Cochin Airport. Air India conforms to Article
9 of ICAO code of conduct for the regulation and operation of CRS. Air Indias reservation
system also conforms to the IATA standards with regard to Airlines reservations interline
message procedures.
Similarly, Indian Airlines uses two IBM Mainframe systems, which are configured with
redundant configuration with full disaster recovery for its Reservation and Departure control
requirements. The system fully supports the electronic data exchange between different airlines
systems using real time EDIFACT protocols for both Reservation and Departure Control as per
IATA standards. The Reservation system has real time links with other Global Distributions
Systems (GDS) like Sabre, Galileo, Abacus, Amadeus, World Span etc. and uses highest level of
participation. The Departure Control system has similar real time links with other airline systems
like Air France, Emirates, Air India, Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Cathay Pacific etc. They have
their own network infrastructure in India that facilitates on-line reservation with auto pricing and
ticket printing facility at their all International & Domestic booking office locations (80+) and
also with their travel agents within the country. Some of the salient features in Indian Airlines
Reservation System include Availability & Schedule display, Passenger Name Record, Lists, Air
Fares, Auto Pricing, Automated Ticketing, Code Share etc. Indian Airlines also provides value
added features in the area of reservation like Advance Seat Reservation, processing of Frequent

Flyer Program points for different airlines (Indian Airlines, Air India, Air France), STAR records
for Auto creation of Passenger Name, Contact, FFP Number for PNR, On-line Flight Analysis
etc. Indian Airlines has computerized check-in facility available on its network covering more
than 75% of the total passengers from 34 locations and can serve any airline at these airports
using EDIFACT links or as handled airlines. This system offers value added facilities like
through check-in of both Domestic & International Passengers on Indian Airlines and other
carrier flights, Tele check-in, City check-in, Return check-in and Boarding Control for flights.
The DCS package of Indian Airlines is also used to handle check-in of other airlines by
downloading the Passenger List into the Indian Airlines Host. In addition, Indian Airlines
Departure Control system also has other standard features like Payload Control, Production of
Load Sheets as per IATA standards etc. Indian Airlines in their future plans for enhancing
Departure Control activities are examining the SITA CUTE proposal for their Metro locations.
Simultaneously, they have planned to enhance the present Departure control by implementing
Thermal Bar Coded Bag Tags & Boarding Pass, Automatic Gate Control and Baggage Matching
facility at these airports. Additionally, Indian Airlines is maintaining a Data Warehouse for the
complete Reservation & Departure Control activities.

Current Ticket Booking Channels for Air India:

Company Website/Travel Desk
Online Portals (MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo, Yatra, etc. )
Travel Agents

Currently, about 70% of the total revenue is generated from travel agents, 20% from the
AI office(online/offline) and just 10% from the online portals.
Airlines are moving towards differential pricing so as to promote online portals.
This will help airlines save on sales and distribution costs.

Our prime focus will be based on increasing sales and revenue through the first 2 channels as the
company earns better profit via them than from the agents.

PROPOSED MODEL:

Predictive Analysis using Data Analytics tools to transform the Airline industry
Predictive analytics looks at what has happened to date, and applies statistical models to reliably
forecast what will happen next. It sounds a little bit like magic, but its actually just math.
Predictive analytics lets you infer what a person (customer, patient, citizen, employee, etc.) will
do in the future based on the information you have about that entire population and what that
individual has done before. You can then group people together based on these individual
predictions to project what those segments of the population will do in the future.
In comparison, historical analytics focuses on what has happened previously. It lets you track
results over time and determine meaningful trends. Historical analytics uses reports, charts,
graphs, and other types of data visualizations to make information as accessible as possible. A
business can then see which methods have brought the greatest success over time, and then
further invest in the most effective methods going forward.

Predictive analytics continue to factor heavily into how prices are set for todays airlines.
Air travel remains a low-profit margin industry and the ability to forecast fluctuations in
demand is critical.

Benefits of Predictive Analytics

Historical analytics are critical for making sense of whats happened to date. But here are some
advantages of incorporating predictive analytics into your business decision-making framework,
which can be defined as The Triple A:
Agility: Historical analytics requires a certain amount of time to pass in order to derive
meaningful conclusions, so it takes longer to see which strategies are beneficial and which are
failing. Predictive analytics, in contrast, encourages constant testing and iteration as it doesnt
require as much observation in order to come to a robust conclusion. It gives companies the
agility to try new and different methods and quickly determine how effective they will be going
forward.
Accuracy: The statistical methods used in predictive analytics are built to calculate the
probability of their accuracy. This allows decision makers to be informed of the risks of relying

on a given prediction, as opposed to historical analytics, where it is more of a subjective call as

to how accurate a projection will be.
Dealing with Absent Data: Predictive analytics can be most instructive when there is
insufficient historical data or when the past is not representative of the future. For example, if a
retailer is expanding into a new acquisition channel or introducing a new product category, it will
not be able to rely on a historical baseline. Predictive analytics would enable it to make decisions
even in the absence of past experience.
To summarize, predictive analytics and historical analytics both attempt to give an organization
insight into what strategies they should pursue going forward. However, predictive analytics
enables organizations to adapt more quickly to changing conditions, pinpoint how likely their
strategies are to succeed in the future, and make decisions even in the absence of historical data.

TECHNOLOGY USED:

CDN(Content Delivery Network) by AKAMAI:

Optimize the web experience for travelers on any device. To deliver a compelling web
experience every time, travel companies must understand when and how travelers are using
web and mobile devices and networks to search, shop, buy and share. Online brands need a
partner to optimize their web experience and ensure that customers are engaged, loyal and
transacting. For hundreds of the worlds travel sites, that partner is Akamai. Akamais content
delivery network (CDN) and cloud services help deliver mobile-optimized websites and
applications, enabling a high-quality web experience that helps increase online bookings for
connected devices and desktops, build customer loyalty and improve productivity across
employees and partners.

Products:
Akamai Web Performance Solutions: Connected audiences expect instant, reliable, secure
access to websites and applications from any device, anywhere. Akamai Web
Performance Solutions help you engage consumers with fast, personalized online
experiences, enabling you to increase revenue opportunities, gain IT agility and scale
globally.
Akamai Media Delivery Solutions: Consumers expect a flawless viewing experience and
instant access to high definition video content on any screen. Delivering software
updates, games, social media, news and other content must also be seamless, fast and
scalable. Akamai Media Delivery Solutions help you engage audiences globally by
delivery content at the highest quality wherever and whenever users want without
having to build out costly infrastructure to scale with the growth and complexity of
different connected device types.
Akamai Cloud Security Solutions: Online threats are constantly changing. Offering
protection against the largest and most sophisticated attacks, Akamai helps you safeguard
your websites and other Internet-facing applications from the risks of downtime and data
theft. Built on the Akamai Intelligent Platform, Akamai Cloud Security Solutions provide
the scale to stop the largest Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) and web application
attacks without reducing performance, as well as intelligence into the latest threats and
the expertise to adapt to shifting tactics and attack vectors.

 Akamai Cloud Networking Solutions: Business and consumer users expect fast, highquality application and video experiences, regardless of location or device. Akamai Cloud
Networking Solutions help boost enterprise productivity and revenue by accelerating inbranch applications, reducing enterprise network costs and successfully bringing the
Internet and public clouds into the enterprise network.
Akamai Network Operator Solutions: Subscribers expect a broadcast quality experience
with engaging video content on any device. Akamai Network Operator Solutions help
providers operate a cost-efficient network that capitalizes on traffic growth and new
subscriber services by reducing the complexity of building a Content Delivery Network
(CDN) and interconnecting it across providers.
Akamai Services & Support Solutions: Akamai's Services & Support team inspires
innovation and removes complexity as your online strategies evolve, integrating and
deploying solutions with ease and keeping online business running smoothly 24x7. Our
Internet experts around the globe are an extension to the enterprise, leveraging more than
a decade of experience to provide world-class support, problem resolution and
customized service ensuring optimized online success for all of our customers.

SEGMENTATION AND TARGET MARKET:

Identification of Segments:

Title

Segment 1
Low Income

Segment 2
Moderate Income

Segment 3
High Income

Income

Low

Moderate

High

Usage Rate

Low

Moderate

High

Value for Money

High

High

Low/High

Psychographic Segmentation:
Air India has a strong image of an official national carrier.
Most of the government officials, bureaucrats including the President and Prime Minister
of India travel by Air India.
People who are travelling by Air India since the past few decades are still loyal to it.

Market Segmentation

Demographic Segmentation: (Income Based)

Business Class: Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 18 business class seats
Economy Class:Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 238 economy seats

 Geographic Segmentation
International Market

 Domestic Market

Justification for choosing the segments

Segment1
Low Income

Segment1
Segment1
Moderate Income High Income

Measurability

The current sales in

this segment are low.
Preferred only in case
of emergencies

The sales in this

segment is increasing
as they now constitute
a major share of
passengers

This segment
constitutes the major
portion of business
class travel. Sales in
this segment in
growing

Accessibility

Newspapers, Radio,
Television

Newspapers, Radio,
Television, Online
Ads, E-mails, Mobileads

Newspapers, Radio,
Television, OnlineAds, E-mails, Mobileads

Substantiality

A major portion of
domestic market
belongs to low
income group

Middle income group

in the country is
growing

High income group is

also growing in the
country

Actionability

Low fares on advance

booking can attract
this segment

Low fares and good

customer service and
in-flight crew service
will attract this
segment

Customer service, inflight crew service

and Frequent Flyer
miles can attract this
segment

Target Market Strategy

Air India should follow a Multi-Segment strategy to target different segments.

Marketing Mix 1
Low Fares, Economy Class Travel,
Easy ticket booking via travel
desk/online, Ads through papers, radio,
TVs

Marketing Mix 2
Low/Medium Fares, Economy Class
Travel, ticket booking via
websites/travel desks/mobiles, Ads
through papers, online media, mobileads.

Marketing Mix 3
Normal/High Fares, Business/Economy
Class Travel, Ticket-booking via
websites/travel desks/mobiles/agents,
Ads through papers, online media,
mobile-ads.

Segment 1
Low Income

Segment 2
Moderate Income

Segment 3
High Income