Working with the JetBlue European Team on GB/EU POS, managing their pricing for private channels.

Manage ex-EU/GB private channel pricing

Returned to the organisation after almost four years, reporting once again into the GM UK Office, being the first port of call for customers to assist with their fares management data coding implementation and queries on the various ATPCO products; worked on the following projects: ➤ ATPCO Branded Fares project with the aim to acquire a minimum of 30 new airlines for the product, which is a divisional KPI from the board of directors. My role is to implement the data provided from the assigned carriers for them to work with their host GDS to optimise their fare offerings across a range of platforms; currently have 20 new carriers onboarded➤ Implemented new corporate rules coding for Eurostar with their impending merger with Thalys➤ Assisting customers with the implementation of their CAT31/33 coding for automated ticket reissues and refunds, as CAT16 (penalties) will be removed from the ATPCO rules categories next year; this is very big project to ensure airlines are able to process their automated reissues and refunds correctly to their required intent ensuring no revenue is displaced➤ Designed a new pricing problem log template to ensure all applicable information is received from customers to resolve their pricing issues with greater efficiency

Temporary role until April 2022, providing the opportunity to gain insight into a different sector within the travel industry; working with the Sales Data Manager to review all RFPs: ➤ Updating SalesForce, Cvent, Opera and ihotelier with all information regarding negotiated corporate deals ➤ Creating booking pages for clients to book directly on the Clermont Hotels website➤ Distributing rates to the GDS for corporate clients to book via their designated TMC (Travel Management Company)➤ Streamlining data by removing any expired and duplicate information to improve performance tracking➤ Reviewing and updating the procedures manual to detail and document processes thoroughly

Further information upon request, I did a few short term temporary roles during the height of the pandemic whilst I was seeking a new long term opportunity back in the travel/aviation industry upon its recovery.

Reported into the GDS & Vendor Contract Administration Manager, accountable for providing Programme Management, Traveller Services and CWT Clients with negotiated vendor programme support globally. Collaborated with teams to ensure all programmes were priced as negotiated, discrepancies addressed and corrected, internal system setups completed, and contract/programme details were logged for tracking purposes.➤ Worked to extremely tight deadlines and at times with limited data and information to get programmes implemented in the new GDS for assigned points of sale to ensure that this was launched within the agreed timeframe. ➤ Established key relationships with both internal and external stakeholders to achieve the project's objectives, gaining their trust and influence enabled me to provide excellent customer satisfaction with the CWT brand for all parties.➤ Trained and mentored colleagues sharing my airline pricing expertise, providing support, and assisting them with issues for a much quicker resolution.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ A key stakeholder with a global project facilitating the implementation of many corporate accounts predominantly within the EMEA and APAC regions changing GDS (global distribution system) and OBT (online booking tool) providers as a cost saving benefit for the TMC (travel management company)

Reporting into the GM UK Office, responsible for assisting customers in using and understanding ATPCO products and services to meet their business needs, analysing complex product processing issues, recommending courses of action for resolution. Was the EMEA representative for the Express Contracts Rules Upload product.➤ Provided testing support for new products and product enhancement, giving feedback and suggestions as to where improvements can be made for the benefit of the end user. ➤ Assisted airlines in understanding and using ATPCO products/services to meet their business needs in revenue management and pricing.➤ Coded and processed airline data to be distributed to GDSs, online travel agencies, and third-party vendors.➤ Triaged, researched, problem solve, and escalated data pricing issues between airlines and GDS.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ Received recognition from senior management for assisting British Airways with a filing issue that impacted many corporate fares from displaying in the GDS and retail platforms thus having a significant impact on revenue for the carrier ✔ Played an integral role in securing a contract with Virgin Atlantic for Express Contracts, conducted regular WebEx calls with the airline and visited their office to provide training, receiving praise from senior management.

Reported into the Director of Revenue & Planning, accountable for owning all pricing activity for BMI Regional, a 'boutique' airline operating short-haul routes within the UK and Europe.➤ Implemented and introduced a range of pricing strategies managing the whole process throughout seeing exceptional results and various processes being improved within the business.➤ Introduced Tourcodes to all negotiated contracts to improve revenue tracking and performance analysis. ➤ Embedded fare filing in-house as a cost reduction due to this being facilitated by an outsourced fare filing company, I was able to create sets of General Rules within ATPCO which could be applied across a range of negotiated fare programmes to alleviate the fare filing process when adding a new programme. ➤ Managed the Airline’s Carrier Imposed Fees requirements from both a strategic and implementation perspective, eradicated forex discrepancies as all values were filed in pounds sterling rather than the currency of origination for travel, which was implemented for clarity and removed discrepancies due to differing exchange rates.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ Restructured all published fare pricing that had many fare inversions thus impacted yield, introduced a “Branded Fares” tiered structure to provide an improved product offering with the options of different fare conditions and added ancillary products on selected tiers to optimise revenue subsequently increasing by approx. 30/40% YOY✔ Delivered the “MyID Travel” project for the airline which provided greater access to other carriers to book their industry fares for both business and leisure travel, with which BMI Regional could reciprocate. ✔ Pivotal team member of the BMI Task-force Team for the implementation of Amadeus as BMI’s host GDS, providing expert knowledge for coding and pricing requirements with the “Automated Ticket Changer”, “FareXpert”, “Amadeus Ticketing Limits” and “E-Retail” products.

Seconded to Delta Air Lines (DL) Head Office in Atlanta representing VS joint venture (JV) strategic commercial interests in respect of pricing for ex-US to GB and beyond Jan-Dec 2014. Previously based at the VS office in the Stamford, CT to lead the strategic pricing project to optimise VS price offering in the US market. Reported daily to the UK Head Office senior management all agreed initiatives. Trusted and valued team member and key stakeholder and decision maker with many processes and initiatives for Virgin Atlantic whilst based in the US on their behalf. ➤ Evaluated the competitive landscape and analysis of internal and external data, implemented and recommended actions to increase revenue, traffic volumes and market share generating immediate results.➤ Coordinated pricing activity by collaborating and forging strategic relationships with the Global Sales Teams and E-commerce for worldwide marketing campaigns ensuring fares went live in conjunction with all marketing activity.➤ Reviewed and approved corporate proposals from the US Sales Team to ensure their viability that discounts offered were in the agreed guidelines as many existing agreements had previously been negotiated outside of the required parameters with yield not reflecting the correct class of service within the VS fare hierarchy bandings. ➤ Revised the ex-US Agency Incentive Programme (AIP) discounts to remove higher discounts in low yield classes of service, which were not sustainable and having a detrimental impact on revenue for the airline.➤ Streamlined the distribution within private fare channels to ensure optimal performance within these segments such as Marine, Student, Tour Operator etc as some agencies in receipt of these programmes were not providing any commitment to the airline, focusing on accounts who performed and achieved the required targets.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ I was the very first VS employee to be seconded to a partner carrier's HQ DL for the JV

Assigned to the offline US markets where I conducted a detailed analysis of market potential and incremental revenue opportunities to identify possibilities to contribute positively to VS route revenue and maintained price competitiveness in these markets. ➤ Supported VS relationships with their partner airlines, as this subsequently provided VS incremental revenue within softer travel periods on their flights.➤ Ensured that all through proration of fares when utilising the interior US feeder carriers for these markets resulting in no negative revenue for VS.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ Introduced competitive fares utilising SPA agreements with ex-US partner carriers for key O&Ds which VS did not operate non-stop direct flights but were opportunities to obtain market share, which increased by 10% YOY.

Reported into the Pricing Systems Manager, established as a key point of contact for researching and analysing Global Distribution System (GDS) problems, when fares were not displaying as required, taking the best course of action to resolve in the timeliest and cost-effective manner. ➤ Assumed ownership for conducting daily analysis on contracts received for filing, ensuring they met required guidelines and then forwarding these to Virgin Atlantic's offshore fare filing company to implement➤ Became compliant with all GDS providers (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport), participating in conference calls with travel agencies to assist with providing a faster resolution to their fare display/pricing issues.𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ Facilitated the implementation of the various negotiated fare programmes to CAT35 automated distribution as at the time, travel agencies were manually pricing these negotiated programmes. By having the fares automated this would provide more confidence to the travel agent to sell Virgin Atlantic over a competitor airline and subsequently increasing revenue.

Reported into the Business Support Manager, my primary role was to manage the distribution of all of Virgin Atlantic net fares to designated agents in order to maximise revenue opportunities and to ensure competitiveness in the market through the Consolidator, Inclusive Tour, Student, Marine etc sectors. I would analyse market intelligence to identify agents that could generate incremental revenue if in possession of net fare contracts and make recommendations to the Sales leadership Team. I was the key point of contact for all areas of the business as a net fare specialist to assist with queries, I represented UK Sales at internal meetings and also I provided training to the Sales Team on pricing matters. 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:✔ Led the project for updating the net fare agreement contract for travel agents to ensure that they adhered to all applicable terms and conditions when selling Virgin Atlantic's net fares✔ Also another project I was the lead on for VS UK Sales was the changing of the Ticketing Time Limits on the net fares to ensure the revenue integrity and competitiveness in the private fare channels with the other carriers.

I proactively supported Virgin Atlantic's Account Management team in arranging UK and global sales events, I represented the airline at promotional events, conferences and accompanied the account managers to client meetings. I was able to establish, build and develop relationships with key decision makers, up to director level with a portfolio of corporate and consumer customers as “the first point of call” contact to assist with any queries for these channels. Through my role as a Sales Support Coordinator, I was able to develop a high level of commercial awareness by proactively seeking information about the Airline’s activity with its accounts and researching current market activity and trends.

I offered high levels of customer service within the central reservations department to passengers of various cultures predominately via the telephone to make sales and assist passengers with their existing reservations. My main achievement within this role was generating over one million pounds of revenue for Virgin Atlantic.