In airline ticketing, growth means increasing traffic, expanding the customer base, and boosting the volume of tickets issued. For an IATA agency, however, there is also a way to leverage what it already has: its ticketing capacity, the experience it has gained in the market, and the business relationships it has built over time.
This path involves building a network.
When multiple agencies collaborate within an organized structure, the volumes generated by individual operators add up and can have a much greater commercial impact than what each agency could achieve on its own. Even a small network can become a strategic asset, capable of generating benefits for the IATA agency, its affiliates, and the end customer.
An IATA agency that opens its ticketing infrastructure to sub-agencies, affiliates, or business partners can build a system in which each entity continues to work with its own customers and according to its own business model, but within a common framework.
Value stems from the ability to consolidate and leverage the traffic generated by the network. If multiple agencies generate bookings through the same structure, the total volume can help meet the targets set out in agreements with airlines and strengthen the IATA agency’s commercial leverage with carriers.
Depending on the agreements in place, certain production levels may provide access to more favorable commercial terms, negotiated rates, incentives, co-marketing activities, or other benefits linked to the results achieved.
The benefit can be distributed throughout the entire supply chain.
An IATA agency may apply its own markup to the terms and conditions made available by the network, thereby generating profit margins on tickets issued by its affiliates. Sub-agencies, in turn, may apply their own service fees to end customers, maintaining the business relationship with their own clientele and earning a margin commensurate with the service provided.
The model works when every component of the network derives a tangible benefit.
The IATA agency increases its sales volume, expands its customer base, and strengthens its ability to meet specific production targets. Affiliated agencies gain access to a more advanced ticketing system and terms that would be more difficult to obtain on their own. End customers can benefit from a competitive offer while continuing to work with the agency with which they have already established a relationship of trust.
Let's imagine an IATA agency that builds a network of ten affiliates.
Each agency continues to manage its own territory, clients, and business relationships. It retains its own identity and autonomy, while its output is consolidated into a shared structure.
If each affiliate generates a certain number of segments or tickets, the sum of those volumes can become significant. Volumes that would individually have limited impact can, once aggregated, become a critical mass useful for achieving the objectives agreed upon with one or more carriers.
Each sale continues to have its own client and its own margin, but it also contributes to a broader strategy. A sale made by a sub-agency can help the central office meet a target, and when that target leads to more favorable terms, the benefit can extend to the entire network.
This creates a multiplier effect.
Increased production can strengthen the facility’s commercial capacity, while more attractive terms can make the network more competitive and encourage new production. The growth of individual operators thus helps to strengthen the overall value of the system.
However, to support this model, we need leadership capable of keeping the processes organized.
As a network grows, bookings, broadcasts, commercial volumes, markups, fees, and the amount of information that needs to be monitored all increase. Without a tool capable of organizing these flows, operational complexity can offset some of the benefits generated by growth.
Skytool allows IATA agencies to build and manage their own network of sub-agencies while maintaining control over the system and setting the commercial terms to be applied. The parent agency can set its own markups, while affiliates can apply their own fees and continue to manage their relationships with end customers independently.
Network growth thus remains manageable.
The value of an IATA code no longer depends solely on the number of tickets issued directly by the agency, but also on its ability to become the hub of a network capable of generating traffic, profit margins, and new business opportunities.
Even a relatively small network can produce significant results.
Ten agencies working in a coordinated manner can have a different impact than ten agencies operating completely independently. The difference lies in the ability to pool resources, organize production, and turn collaboration into a competitive advantage.
Each agency continues to grow its business, but within a structure in which the growth of the individual can enhance the value of the whole.
For IATA agencies, this means expanding their potential without relying solely on the direct growth of their sales outlets or staff. For affiliates, it means becoming part of a more structured network and gaining access to opportunities generated by the overall volume of business. For customers, it means being able to count on competitive rates while maintaining their relationship with their trusted agency.
Networking, therefore, means transforming distributed production into a shared commercial strength.
With Skytool, an IATA agency can become the hub of a network capable of driving growth in volume, margins, and business opportunities, while maximizing the value of every booking as part of a shared strategy.
By Guido Deiana and Daniele Di Stefano
