TRADING UP TO A NEW REVENUE MANAGEMENT VISION, WITH MELISSA SKLUZACEK, EASYJET

For this new season of Airline Voice Radio, we welcome two new hosts. Transformation pioneers and great storytellers Nancy Delgado and Tye Radcliffe take over the mic to explore the road to high-performance retailing by engaging with industry leaders. In this first episode, Tye talks to Melissa Skluzacek, easyJet’s Director of Trading and Revenue Management.

Melissa has over 30 years of industry experience and has been with easyJet since January 2020. Her current position is Director of Trading and Revenue Management at the low-cost, UK-based airline. Trading is a British term that speaks to an amplified vision for revenue management. It was that aspect that attracted Melissa to the role. 

For a more holistic and collaborative approach to revenue optimization, easyJet's trading team implements the pricing and revenue management strategy. Then the team works with other departments to ensure the revenue needle is moving in the right direction.

With easyJet operating in nearly 1,000 routes, its revenue management department works with an enormous amount of information. Using data models is the only way to handle this sheer volume. Melissa’s advice is that before implementing a data model, the airline should decide what the model needs to accomplish and what it can and cannot do. Most importantly, a data model’s output needs to answer a specific business question. Will data models replace revenue analysts? Not according to Melissa. She advises against basing decisions solely on the model's output. Instead, analysts should view the output as a recommendation that they can approve, reject, or influence.

In this episode, Melissa and Tye discuss if:

• Combining search data with competitive fare prices and event data will give revenue analysts a more comprehensive market view. 
• Dynamic pricing has huge revenue implications for airlines as it allows them to reach the customer at a more personal level.
• Revenue management is a niche field with many nuances and requires specific skills that few vendors have.

Tune in for more Airline Voice Radio episodes coming soon with insightful airline leaders. Airline Voice Radio is available on your favorite podcast player, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

Thank you for your interest in the Air Transformation Lab. This new chapter on retailing transformation includes podcasts, thought-leadership blogs, and customer testimonials that will inspire your journey ahead.