Four decades ago airlines began the race to the bottom that ensured commoditization of their once luxurious and glamorous product. This was to be a great boon for customers — lower airfares, better schedules, increased availability and so on. Of course, reality turned out a little differently. Commoditization has chipped away at the value of the airline brand; indeed even the once vaunted frequent flier program has become a commodity.
So, it’s interesting to see airlines that form the Open AXIS Group compare themselves with cookie suppliers in the ongoing distribution wars with travel agencies and GDSs. The carriers make a good point about needing to update the travel distribution supply chain for the 21st century. However, the analogy with cookie manufacturers may not necessarily help. While needing a radical improvement, the current travel distribution picture is rather more complex than the typical retail supply chain so a complete overhaul a la Open AXIS may be not be feasible.
Besides, what ever happened to all those cookies that airlines used to serve in flight not so long ago?