Listen to this articleJR Technologies (JRT) was established in 2002 introducing new innovative technologies, supporting travel companies’ initiatives in modernizing their operating models. JRT is one of IATA’s Strategic Partners and is involved in the development of NDC-based solutions. JRTs engagement with the NDC standard and the extensive airline background of its executive-team having over sixty years of experience in the field, will transform todays’ retail & distribution landscape. Below is our interview with George Khairallah, President of JR Technologies:
Q: JR Technologies was established in 2002, tell us something more about the company and your history?
A: JR Technologies is an IT provider specialized in designing-developing and implementing software solutions for airlines and travel related companies. It was established in 2002 in order to support travel agency and airline initiatives in modernizing their distribution models. During these years, the company grew and has developed software for the travel and airline industry. On 2013 JR Technologies became an IATA Strategic Partner to help transform the current airline distribution landscape. JR Technologies is now 200 employees strong and operates its software development and R&D centers in the USA, Greece, and India bringing together a team of innovators and visionaries whose goal is to constantly challenge the status quo in order to enable the leaders of this new era in airline distribution to deliver their ideas and strategies to the market place.
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Q: What advantage does JR Technologies have over its competitors?
A: JR Technologies focuses in assisting airlines and travel professionals to adopt the New Distribution Capability (NDC) and leverage the opportunities that this transformational technology will bring to travel industry. The driver behind our product design is the need to reverse the commoditization of the airline product. Fare families, branded fares, and merchandizing provide short term revenue benefits but fall short of this goal. Reversing commoditization requires personalization of the airline product, it implies the kind of capability that enable the passenger him or herself to tailor their travel experience to suit the purpose of each journey and their preferences. “Canned” ancillary products and pre-determined market segmentations do not provide this flexibility.
Our philosophy is reflected in our NDC Platform. The platform offers all tools an airline requires to meet this goal and enables the airline to create for itself a distinct a competitive advantage. Personalized offers with a-la-carte services, dynamically generated personalized bundles result in a micro-segmentation that creates significant upsell opportunities and passenger satisfaction.
JRTs approach to NDC is holistic. We offer our airline-clients full retailing capability, a true passenger-centric sales and distribution platform and, at the same time, leverage their existing technologies to control the transition into NDC.
Q: What are main benefits of your Airline NDC Solution?
A: The adoption of JRT’s NDC platform facilitates substantial cost reductions and incremental revenue through better supplier control and added value respectively. But more than immediate financial benefit, the three key benefits of our NDC platform:
• Airlines can allow their agency customers to access key product information directly from the source
• Airlines can offer travelers a greater array of product/services
• Airlines can protect their brand and differentiate their product. Whether the passengers access product information through agencies, aggregators, airports, or directly through the airline web site the experience and quality of information will be the same.
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Q: Recently you’ve been awarded the IATA level 3 certification, tell us something more?
A: The NDC (EDIST) PADIS 15.2 Release Schemas fulfill the business requirements for Shopping, including support for Interline Ancillary Shopping, Order Management (Booking and Servicing) and Payment and Ticketing. Level 3 certification, offered by IATA, covers end-to-end transactions, including offer management and order management and validates that NDC messages are developed according to industry standards.
The JR Technologies NDC Platform that served as basis for this certification is the first NDC Order Management System in the world to receive such a certification. It demonstrates JR Technologies’ capability to quickly adapt to new technologies and enable its clients to be in step with their markets.
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Q: What can we expect from JR Technologies in next six months?
A: In 2016-17, JR Technologies plans to:
• Add a next generation Real Time Dynamic Pricing capability to its NDC Platform
• Update the latest versions of the NDC standards
• Airport systems connecting directly to the JRT Order Management System
• A Travel Agency Portal used by the airline industry for a direct B2B servicing of their agents
• A Corporate Booking Tool Portal used by major corporations to access directly an airline’s product, services & rich content
