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The Gulfs big airlines need to provide a one-stop travel shop on their website and partner with more hotel and car rental websites, if they want to compete with the increasingly creative packages offered by low cost carriers, top executive in an online travel planning company said.
Several big Arab air carriers, such as Dubais Emirates airline, offer their customers special online deals on hotels and car rental, but Jon Arni Bragason, chief operating officer of TripCreator, an Iceland-based online travel planning company, told Zawya in an interview on Tuesday that the regions big players need to do more if they want to sustain their position in the fast-changing travel market.
"Big airliner like Emirates... are in a very strong position and are full service airlines but they have to be cautious about the low cost airlines that will be looking to make revenues from commissions made out of deals with hotels and car companies,"Bragason said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Bragason said big airlines should work on their technologies and data systems to allow customers to plan their entire without leaving their websites.
Airlines like Emirates, the largest international airline by passenger traffic, should consider working with travel websites like Booking.com, a world leading online travel booking company, on incentive travel deals, Bargason said.
"This will make it better for the two companies and create a win-win situation for everyone."
Such process, Bragason believed, will also help airlines learn more about their consumers' travel preferences.
"It will only take one low cost airline to come in and disrupt the market for the big airlines so they all need to realise they have to offer more and better full services. They might cut their prices on the seats and start selling other commodities to retain customers and maintain revenues," He added.
Global e-commerce and online travel bookings have grown at an impressive pace over the last ten years, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is home to a young tech-savvy population. Read more
Zawya 2017
