SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has opted for IBS’ iFly Loyalty, a product line under its iFly solution suite, for handling its airline loyalty management system. iFly Loyalty, a comprehensive new-generation solution, was chosen at the end of a high standard market research and evaluation conducted by SriLankan Airlines, to support the launch of its new frequent flyer programme FlySmiles. iFly Loyalty was chosen for its flexibility, functionality, technical prowess, support and the level of commitment offered by IBS. The system went live at SriLankan Airlines after a successful transition from the Emirates Skywards programme. In recent times, SriLankan has taken several initiatives to increase passenger convenience. iFly Loyalty’s FFP offering brings new levels of efficiency to these initiatives, thereby helping the airline enhance customer experience.

iFly Loyalty provides SriLankan Airlines with all aspects of loyalty administration including programme management, tier management, partner management and member management. One of the key requirements of SriLankan Airlines was that the system be flexible enough to make changes effectively and quickly; iFly delivers this with a highly sophisticated ‘rules engine’ that forms the backbone of the system. With the rules engine embedded in the system, SriLankan Airlines will be able to make innovative changes to their FFP with no technical or professional help. iFly is the only system in the world to offer such a functionality.

iFly Loyalty will also help generate greater ancillary revenue for SriLankan with its sophisticated partner management module. iFly Loyalty’s SOA architecture ensures that the application is fully scalable and ensures easy interfacing to disparate systems. iFly Loyalty enables the airline to keep pace with the constantly evolving preferences and expectations of frequent flyer programme members. The product helps improve revenue and market position by helping the airline improve customer loyalty and effective partner management.

A substantial market demand

SriLankan Airlines’ head of worldwide sales Mohamed Fazeel said, “[The] SriLankan frequent flyer programme gives members so many ways to earn points. Travellers can earn points throughout their journey through our network of no less than ten globally reputed partners. Among them are co-branded credit cards, airlines, hotels, spas, car rentals and phone companies. It is extremely important to have the very best support system and we are pleased to have IBS’ iFly Loyalty.”

Mr VK Mathews, chairman and CEO of IBS Group, said, “Loyalty programmes have become one of the most important marketing tools in the industry and continue to grow. iFly is a new generation IT solution developed specifically for the evolving airline industry, and will set new standards in the market. It is estimated that 5% to 6% of an airline’s revenue can be attributed to a successful frequent flyer programme. We see a substantial market demand for the product. With rising air fares, iFly Loyalty will help retain the customers of SriLankan as the profitability of the airline’s business depends on them. We look forward to a long-standing partnership with them.”

iFly Loyalty is the outcome of multi-million dollar investment fuelling two years of R&D at IBS. To ensure best industry practices in the product, a core group of influence (CGI) was formed, where a selected set of leading airlines shared requirements and were involved in product development from inception, making iFly Loyalty ready for the dynamic airline industry. In this sense, the product has been built for the industry, guided by the end users themselves. The product is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of a dynamic industry.