Midwest Moving To Ease Upselling Of Seats Through GDSs

When Midwest Airlines' revamped Boeing 717s come into service this summer, the carrier hopes to sell its seats with more flexibility than currently allowed in global distribution systems.

Midwest plans for 40 Signature seats—which are wider and have more legroom than the 59 Saver seats in the same cabin—on those planes, and is working with Sabre to access XML services and upsell customers who elect to pay more for a Signature seat at the time of booking.

"We're not trying to install a business class or a first class—that, the GDSs can accommodate," Midwest vice president of sales and distribution Randy Smith said. "We're trying to tell customers they have a choice in where to sit, based on the fare paid or the choice to pay an additional fee to move up to a Signature seat."

Smith said the initiative has been nearly two years in the making, including about a year working with Sabre to develop the capability. Midwest's plan underscores airlines' growing desire to unbundle and merchandize offerings, and their growing frustrations with GDS technology.

Smith said Sabre and its brethren "agreed to move in that direction, though there's not much tangible evidence of that through the GDS. We see initiatives like those at Air Canada, through their Web site, but you can't access some of the dimensions via the GDS."

Midwest chief marketing officer Scott Dickson said, "It's not as much of a problem with our MD-80 fleet, where we've already installed Signature and Saver seats. We only have a dozen Signature seats on a 141-seat MD-80. Filling a dozen seats on day of departure is not a problem. However, the reconfigured 717s this summer will have 40 Signature seats and 59 Saver seats. It's going to be extremely unique, and we can't rely on last-minute day of departure to take care of 40 seats. That's why we need the ability to pre-sell."

Smith said, "We're getting to phase one, which is some ability, but we really want all the GDSs to accommodate the customization and as much choice for the customer. Normally, when there are great market initiatives, the technology shows up the next day, but here we are still dealing with 40-year-old, cast-iron technology that is not amenable to marketing innovation. That is a struggle. This doesn't mean that Sabre isn't working with us, because they are.