New Insights From Sabre On How Airlines Are Adapting

The Art & Science of Network Planning to Ramp up for Recovery is a new whitepaper from Sabre Corporation that outlines the new methodologies that it’s creating to enable its airline partners to create more holistic, accurate network plans as their focus shifts from short-term planning to long-term recovery.

The whitepaper is being released as the airline industry turns its attention to longer term planning once more, and away from the short-term operational focus that was necessary earlier in the pandemic.

Cem Tanyel, Chief Services Officer, Sabre Travel Solutions, explains that: “From an aviation perspective, the latter half of 2021 is the time to change our outlook from crisis mode with a focus only on the immediate term to again taking on a more strategic view; analyzing market and fleet adjustments for the seasons and years to come.”

Tanyel continues: “However, shifting from a purely short-term scheduling focus back to a full timeline network planning view will not be easy in the current environment. In addition to difficulties caused by reduced passenger numbers and revenue, and resulting reductions in crew for some airlines, there are additional challenges given that the data airline managers could previously rely on to estimate future demand beyond the next few weeks is no longer reliable.”

That is why Sabre is developing the robust new airline network planning methodologies described in its new whitepaper. These new methods can leverage its GDS shopping data in conjunction with historical Global Demand Data and Industry capacity data to predict demand in a manner that works effectively even when prior year results become less representative. Using these new approaches, Sabre has developed alternative 2021 schedules and demand estimations that are more reflective of what is likely to occur.

The whitepaper sets out:

• The pioneering new methodologies created by Sabre to take a more holistic view of Airline Network Planning at a time when it is not possible to rely on previous years’ data alone.
• How airlines are now shifting from a purely short-term to a full timeline planning view and why this process is complex as we move towards recovery.
• Latest industry data that can help airline managers in their decision-making process.
• Why airlines need to place a deeper focus on segmentation in both the leisure and business segments as we move further into 2021.
• The destinations and segments that are seeing above average capacity rebound.
• How Covid-19 has accelerated network planning innovation.

Said Tanyel: “Often it is said that necessity is the mother of invention. This pandemic has driven innovation to an NPS process that has been quite static over the prior decades. Quantitative network planning approaches being developed that leverage technical advances were already under way before Covid-19 but have now become more important to advance. A more complete, innovative process that incorporates segmentation analysis, shopping data and more robust industry schedule outlooks will be the outcome.”

To access The Art & Science of Network Planning to Ramp up for Recovery, go to https://www.sabretsapac.com/whitepaper-AirlineNetwork.pdf .