Airlines must embrace real-time pricing to maximise revenue: Javier Jiménez

Speaking at the World Aviation Festival 2024 , Airnguru COO Javier Jiménez discussed the pressing challenges airlines face in optimising pricing strategies and highlighted the need for real-time pricing adjustments to better capture customers’ maximum willingness to pay. 

He pointed out that traditional airline revenue management systems, while dynamic, often fail to address real-time demand fluctuations and price elasticity.

 Following the session, Jiménez explained: “Even though airline revenue management systems dynamically adjust prices based on inventory optimisation algorithms, there has always been a challenge in optimising prices according to the maximum willingness to pay of each demand segment. While inventory-based algorithms adjust prices, they often fail to capture price elasticity and real-time demand fluctuations effectively.

 “This limitation stems from the fact that pricing strategy evaluations have traditionally been done through a batch process, relying on retrospective comparisons, rather than leveraging real-time data to dynamically adjust to evolving market conditions. Moving towards more real-time adjustments is crucial for aligning pricing strategies with actual customer demand and maximising revenue potential.”