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ASG Airline Solutions™

ASG Airline Solutions™

ASG’s aviation consultants empower you with the analysis and strategies you need.

EXTENSIVE AIRLINE EXPERIENCE IN BOTH ESTABLISHED & EMERGING MARKETS

Turbulence excites change.

Our solutions drive results

Powered by senior airline management and consulting experience

Let ASG accelerate your journey to solid, sustainable returns for your airline. Our aviation consultants possess a deep understanding of the critical data, competitive context, and strategic business needs.

ASG’s consultants understand the trends and key data intelligence that you need to develop and optimize key business strategies. From network planning to revenue management to strategic partnership relationships, our former airline executives and aviation industry consultants will help you maximize your potential.

  >> Read more about our solutions.

Strategic Airline Management SOLUTIONS

Learn about ASG's global airline solutions.

Strategic Planning

Planning & Scheduling
Fleet Assignment

Build a winning strategy.
Airlines with strategic niche-based business models thrive. ASG’s NorthStar Commercial Strategy helps you develop successful plans to position your unique role in this complex industry.
ENHANCE YOUR NICHE

Revenue Optimization

Pricing Strategies
Inventory Management

Unlock incremental value.
Our experts are on the leading edge of this industry shift and have already assisted over 25% of the current full-service carriers who have embarked on this journey.
GET ULTIMATE OUTPUT

Sales & Distribution

Sales Planning
Distribution Strategy

Get data that sales needs.
ASG empowers sales organizations with our experiences paired with relevant data and analytical resources essential for executing any successful commercial strategy.
LET DATA DRIVE SALES

Product & Retailing

Product Proposition
Ancillary Revenue

One size no longer fits all.
Our clients gain access to our industry-leading Product Proposition Playbook™ to implement diverse products and services you need to be relevant and compete.
REACH BEYOND LOYALTY

Strategic Partnerships

M&A Synergies
Joint Ventures & Alliances

Find valuable relationships.
We have direct experience in joint ventures from all three global alliances and every region of the world and will share that know-how with you for strategic global partnerships.
PROFITABLE PARTNERS

Cargo & Logistics

Network Planning
Demand Forecasting

Don't miss the cargo boat.
You may be missing opportunities for rapid growth of your cargo and logistics business. We'll ask the right questions to determine your best investments.
LET'S EXPLORE OPTIONS

Strategic Planning

Planning & Scheduling
Fleet Assignment

Build a winning strategy.
Airlines with strategic niche-based business models thrive. ASG’s NorthStar Commercial Strategy helps you develop successful plans to position your unique role in this complex industry.
ENHANCE YOUR NICHE

Revenue Optimization

Pricing Strategies
Inventory Management

Unlock incremental value.
Our experts are on the leading edge of this industry shift and have already assisted over 25% of the current full-service carriers who have embarked on this journey.
GET ULTIMATE OUTPUT

Sales & Distribution

Sales Planning
Distribution Strategy

Get data that sales needs.
ASG empowers sales organizations with our experiences paired with relevant data and analytical resources essential for executing any successful commercial strategy.
LET DATA DRIVE SALES

Product & Retailing

Product Proposition
Ancillary Revenue

One size no longer fits all.
Our clients gain access to our industry-leading Product Proposition Playbook™ to implement diverse products and services you need to be relevant and compete.
REACH BEYOND LOYALTY

Strategic Partnerships

M&A Synergies
Joint Ventures & Alliances

Find valuable relationships.
We have direct experience in joint ventures from all three global alliances and every region of the world and will share that know-how with you for strategic global partnerships.
PROFITABLE PARTNERS

Cargo & Logistics

Network Planning
Demand Forecasting

Don't miss the cargo boat.
You may be missing opportunities for rapid growth of your cargo and logistics business. We'll ask the right questions to determine your best investments.
LET'S EXPLORE OPTIONS
WHAT SOLUTIONS DO YOU NEED TO BECOME MORE PROFITABLE?

ASG will analyze where you are relative to today's turbulent environment and help navigate a clear path to where you want to go.

When you need strategic airline relationships with measurable impact, choose ASG.

  • Commercial & Strategic Business Solutions

Strategic Planning Solutions

Network Planning

The transport of customers from one airport to another is the core product of all passenger airlines. As such, network planning, the creation of such routings, is one of the industry’s most essential functions. Skilled network planning maximizes profit and reliable service. Flawed network planning can lead to tremendous financial losses and unsustainable flight schedules. At ASG, we have all the attributes needed to support your airline in creating and optimizing network value:
  • Experience. ASG’s network planning experience has covered the industry’s largest and smallest airlines, full-service, hybrid and low-cost carriers, and all the world’s regions. ASG’s professionals have all started their careers within network planning departments of industry leading airlines and then added many years of network planning consulting.
  • Tools and data. ASG has access to industry-leading planning tools and data.
  • Perspective. ASG professionals have worked hand-in-hand with all departments that are a critical component of the network planning process, such as revenue management, sales, fleet planning, finance, and crew management to name a few. ASG understands your airline, your competitors, your markets, and the interdependencies between network planning and the rest of the airline.

Scheduling

Schedulers convert the best network and fleeting plans into reality, maximizing customer preferences, utilization, and connections while incorporating countless operational constraints. Airline schedules serve as the common foundation for almost every commercial and operational department, which is why optimized schedules are critical to the profitability and operational efficiency of your airline.

Fleet Assignment Modeling

Utilization of a Fleet Assignment Model (FAM) that optimizes aircraft deployment to each route within a given schedule can result in tens to hundreds of million dollars of value creation. ASG has the experience, fleet insight, and optimization tools needed to determine the ideal balance among the seemingly unmanageable number of inputs and constraints including market demand, operating costs, fleet capabilities, airport restrictions, and more.

Learn about our Strategic Planning Solutions.

Network Planning

The transport of customers from one airport to another is the core product of all passenger airlines. As such, network planning, the creation of such routings, is one of the industry’s most essential functions. Skilled network planning maximizes profit and reliable service. Flawed network planning can lead to tremendous financial losses and unsustainable flight schedules. At ASG, we have all the attributes needed to support your airline in creating and optimizing network value:

  • Experience. ASG’s network planning experience has covered the industry’s largest and smallest airlines, full-service, hybrid and low-cost carriers, and all the world’s regions. ASG’s professionals have all started their careers within network planning departments of industry leading airlines and then added many years of network planning consulting.
  • Tools and data. ASG has access to industry-leading planning tools and data.
  • Perspective. ASG professionals have worked hand-in-hand with all departments that are a critical component of the network planning process, such as revenue management, sales, fleet planning, finance, and crew management to name a few. ASG understands your airline, your competitors, your markets, and the interdependencies between network planning and the rest of the airline.

Scheduling

Schedulers convert the best network and fleeting plans into reality, maximizing customer preferences, utilization, and connections while incorporating countless operational constraints. Airline schedules serve as the common foundation for almost every commercial and operational department, which is why optimized schedules are critical to the profitability and operational efficiency of your airline.

Fleet Assignment Modeling

Utilization of a Fleet Assignment Model (FAM) that optimizes aircraft deployment to each route within a given schedule can result in tens to hundreds of million dollars of value creation. ASG has the experience, fleet insight, and optimization tools needed to determine the ideal balance among the seemingly unmanageable number of inputs and constraints including market demand, operating costs, fleet capabilities, airport restrictions, and more.

  • Revenue Optimization Solutions

Revenue Optimization Solutions

Pricing & Revenue Management

Effective execution of pricing and revenue management strategies and tactics requires a combination of art, science, and disciplined methodologies. ASG blends these elements to ensure the optimal output, leading clients to extract the full benefits of complex systems and processes while driving organization effectiveness. ASG professionals assist and support Revenue Management departments by unlocking significant incremental revenue benefits based on real-world expertise and delivery of our proprietary best-practice processes. ASG brings tremendous expertise across all pricing and revenue management system (RMS) platforms, allowing delivery of the right solution based on an unbiased and unaligned perspective with immediate impact to our clients’ bottom line. Members of the ASG team have managed and consulted across some of the largest and most complex revenue environments in the airline industry and have also assisted airlines that use more simplified business models. Our pricing and revenue management team provides multiple high impact services in the revenue optimization area:
  • Pricing and revenue management transformations
  • Fare class optimization modeling and implementation
  • Pricing strategy development, execution, and management
  • Fare structure design and implementation Flight and/or path steering methodologies and processes
  • Demand cycle planning for leg-seg or O&D environments
  • Group policies and management Partnership (JV / codeshare / interline) management
  • Key performance indicator (KPI) development
  • Organizational design
  • Training and mentoring of all staff levels
ASG has the expertise, capabilities, methods, and processes to drive incremental revenue for any airline, large or small. Talk with us today so we can start helping you prosper tomorrow.
Learn about our Revenue Optimization Solutions.

Pricing & Revenue Management

Effective execution of pricing and revenue management strategies and tactics requires a combination of art, science, and disciplined methodologies. ASG blends these elements to ensure the optimal output, leading clients to extract the full benefits of complex systems and processes while driving organization effectiveness. ASG professionals assist and support Revenue Management departments by unlocking significant incremental revenue benefits based on real-world expertise and delivery of our proprietary best-practice processes. ASG brings tremendous expertise across all pricing and revenue management system (RMS) platforms, allowing delivery of the right solution based on an unbiased and unaligned perspective with immediate impact to our clients’ bottom line. Members of the ASG team have managed and consulted across some of the largest and most complex revenue environments in the airline industry and have also assisted airlines that use more simplified business models. Our pricing and revenue management team provides multiple high impact services in the revenue optimization area:
  • Pricing and revenue management transformations
  • Fare class optimization modeling and implementation
  • Pricing strategy development, execution, and management
  • Fare structure design and implementation Flight and/or path steering methodologies and processes
  • Demand cycle planning for leg-seg or O&D environments
  • Group policies and management Partnership (JV / codeshare / interline) management
  • Key performance indicator (KPI) development
  • Organizational design
  • Training and mentoring of all staff levels
ASG has the expertise, capabilities, methods, and processes to drive incremental revenue for any airline, large or small. Talk with us today so we can start helping you prosper tomorrow.

  • Sales & Distribution Solutions

Sales & Distribution Solutions

Sales Performance

Sales teams represent the front-line of the commercial organization and arming them with relevant data and appropriate resources is key to any successful commercial strategy execution Our team at ASG has helped countless sales organizations drive incremental revenue performance while increasing focus and efficiency. Our sales effectiveness team provides multiple support services across all facets of airline sales from TMC management strategies to consolidator incentive scheme development and everything in between, including:
  • Incentive scheme development (front end / back end)
  • Tiered account management strategies
  • Corporate account management (TMC)
  • Organizational structure
  • Market and customer segmentation
  • Local marketing strategies
  • CTO / ATO management tactics
  • Call center support
  • Quantitative analytics capabilities
ASG has the expertise, capabilities, methods, and processes to help shape any sales team into an analytics-based arm of the commercial organization focused on incentivizing incremental revenue performance and driving valuable customer acquisition

Distribution Strategy

With the growth of low-cost carriers and proliferation of internet shopping, customers have become more comfortable with buying directly from airlines rather than through indirect storefronts or middlemen and in fact expect it. This trend is further heightened by IATA’s push to transform the distribution landscape in the air transport industry via NDC (New Distribution Capability) standards. Distribution strategies are no longer tied to just the discount a GDS can offer an airline. They now include the type of content that should be pushed via different channels and technologies. The ASG team has been heavily involved in reshaping distribution strategies for its clients to achieve long-term margin gains by minimizing distribution costs and increasing airline storefront sales.
Learn about our Sales & Distribution Solutions.

Sales Performance

Sales teams represent the front-line of the commercial organization and arming them with relevant data and appropriate resources is key to any successful commercial strategy execution

Our team at ASG has helped countless sales organizations drive incremental revenue performance while increasing focus and efficiency.

Our sales effectiveness team provides multiple support services across all facets of airline sales from TMC management strategies to consolidator incentive scheme development and everything in between, including:

  • Incentive scheme development (front end / back end)
  • Tiered account management strategies
  • Corporate account management (TMC)
  • Organizational structure
  • Market and customer segmentation
  • Local marketing strategies
  • CTO / ATO management tactics
  • Call center support
  • Quantitative analytics capabilities

ASG has the expertise, capabilities, methods, and processes to help shape any sales team into an analytics-based arm of the commercial organization focused on incentivizing incremental revenue performance and driving valuable customer acquisition

Distribution Strategy

With the growth of low-cost carriers and proliferation of internet shopping, customers have become more comfortable with buying directly from airlines rather than through indirect storefronts or middlemen and in fact expect it.
This trend is further heightened by IATA’s push to transform the distribution landscape in the air transport industry via NDC (New Distribution Capability) standards. Distribution strategies are no longer tied to just the discount a GDS can offer an airline. They now include the type of content that should be pushed via different channels and technologies.
The ASG team has been heavily involved in reshaping distribution strategies for its clients to achieve long-term margin gains by minimizing distribution costs and increasing airline storefront sales.

  • Product & Retailing Solutions

Product & Retailing Solutions

Product Proposition

The commodification of air travel has caused continued and constant downward pressure on core ticket yields all while customers’ expectations on choice and core product have changed, dramatically impacting loyalty and willingness-to-pay. One size no longer fits all. Airlines need to offer a wide choice of products and services, not just varied prices, to maintain relevance to customers, to capitalize on willingness-to-pay, and to stay competitive in the marketplace Across the globe, regardless of region, competitive landscape, or core customer base, airlines have been hyper-focused on this and have redefined their core product, deployed attribute-based pricing, and designed product bundles (branded fares) to better meet their customers’ needs Our team at ASG has developed an industry-leading playbook to assist our clients in this months-long strategic journey which includes focus on all key aspects from design to implementation:
  • Business case design and development
  • Migration from fare families to branded fares
  • Market research study coordination
  • Core product redesign and organizational alignment
  • Product bundle development and optimization
  • Ancillary à la carte product catalogue design
  • Distribution strategy evolution
  • Technology and implementation roadmap
  • Project management and implementation support
Our experts are on the leading edge of this industry shift and have already assisted more than 25% of the current full-service carriers who have embarked on this journey.
Learn about our Product & Retailing Solutions.

Product Proposition

The commodification of air travel has caused continued and constant downward pressure on core ticket yields all while customers’ expectations on choice and core product have changed, dramatically impacting loyalty and willingness-to-pay. One size no longer fits all.

Airlines need to offer a wide choice of products and services, not just varied prices, to maintain relevance to customers, to capitalize on willingness-to-pay, and to stay competitive in the marketplace

Across the globe, regardless of region, competitive landscape, or core customer base, airlines have been hyper-focused on this and have redefined their core product, deployed attribute-based pricing, and designed product bundles (branded fares) to better meet their customers’ needs

Our team at ASG has developed an industry-leading playbook to assist our clients in this months-long strategic journey which includes focus on all key aspects from design to implementation:

  • Business case design and development
  • Migration from fare families to branded fares
  • Market research study coordination
  • Core product redesign and organizational alignment
  • Product bundle development and optimization
  • Ancillary à la carte product catalogue design
  • Distribution strategy evolution
  • Technology and implementation roadmap
  • Project management and implementation support

Our experts are on the leading edge of this industry shift and have already assisted more than 25% of the current full-service carriers who have embarked on this journey.

  • Strategic Airline Partnership Solutions

Strategic Airline Partnership Solutions

M&A Synergies, Joint Ventures, Alliances, and Codesharing

Strategic Airline Partnerships enable airlines to offer their customers new market choices and frequencies that they cannot serve profitably within their own fleet and regulatory constraints. Interlines and codeshare partnerships extend the airline’s network in a competitive framework. Joint ventures enable airlines to leverage a partner airline’s strengths in an antitrust immunized, collaborative framework. Alliances help airlines bring global benefits and reach to their customers. Designing the partnership that is best suited to the airline’s objectives and the context of the situation leads to long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Creating an ill-conceived partnership could lead to financial losses and years of frustration. ASG has seen it all and has the experience and know-how to guide its clients along the most strategic and profitable partnership path. 
Learn about our Strategic Airline Partnership Solutions.

M&A Synergies, Joint Ventures, Alliances, and Codesharing

Strategic Airline Partnerships enable airlines to offer their customers new market choices and frequencies that they cannot serve profitably within their own fleet and regulatory constraints. Interlines and codeshare partnerships extend the airline’s network in a competitive framework. Joint ventures enable airlines to leverage a partner airline’s strengths in an antitrust immunized, collaborative framework. Alliances help airlines bring global benefits and reach to their customers. Designing the partnership that is best suited to the airline’s objectives and the context of the situation leads to long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Creating an ill-conceived partnership could lead to financial losses and years of frustration. ASG has seen it all and has the experience and know-how to guide its clients along the most strategic and profitable partnership path. 

  • Cargo & Logistics Solutions

Cargo & Logistics Solutions

Network Planning & Demand Forecasting

In general, air cargo has experienced excellent growth during the COVID-19 pandemic with surging demand and record-setting air freight rates in many markets. Air cargo has received newfound visibility and respect in the C-suite, boardroom and investor community. This intense demand and growth in the logistics sector during the pandemic, however, is accelerating industry structural change. These changes include:
  • Prolonged depression, and likely permanent reshaping, of intercontinental passenger networks and attendant belly capacity
  • An influx of new freighter capacity and operators attracted by current air cargo boom, and
  • Deep-pocketed competitors (including major e-tailers and certain big ocean carriers) entering the air cargo industry in order to become vertically-integrated “factory-to-customer” logistics providers
The coming years will bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges for air cargo competitors, suppliers and capital providers. More than ever, success will depend on correctly understanding the “big picture,” as well as undertaking a rigorous, clear-eyed assessment of opportunities, threats, and the ability to compete and execute. The ASG team combines analytical expertise with decades of executive and consulting experience in the airline, freight forwarding, and GHA industries to help clients make sense of a fast-changing world, set the right strategic priorities, and design realistic implementation plans. ASG’s typical clients include:
  • Airlines (all-cargo, combination, ACMI)
  • Forwarders/3PLs OEMs and conversion shops
  • Aircraft lessors and investors
  • Warehouse investors and operators
  • Creditors (secured and unsecured)
  • Airports
  • GHAs
Read more.

Illustrative Services:

  • Market and customer analysis
    • Size/segment/forecast market demand
    • Analyze supply/demand balance and trends by market
    • Assess A2A, charter and ACMI market rates and trends
    • Understand customer needs
  • Industry and competitor analysis
    • Understand industry economics, changing economies of scope and scale, and other key drivers of ongoing structural change
    • Assess strategy of specific competitors
    • Benchmark a client’s costs and products against key competitors
  • Network & fleet planning
    • Optimize freighter network size and shape (both stand-alone and as part of passenger belly network)
    • Analyze and recommend fleet plan based on aircraft capability, lead time, and cost under various utilization and fuel-price scenarios (assess the right balance between forecast unit cost and flexibility)
  • Commercial strategy
    • Analyze profitability of specific products, customers and routes
    • Analyze how customers use the network
    • Understand how costs behave (activity-based cost models, as distinct from existing accounting reports)
  • Implementation support
    • Aircraft and airlift capacity sourcing and negotiation
    • JV/alliance negotiation support
    • Operations monitoring and continuous improvement

Learn about our Cargo & Logistics Solutions.

Network Planning & Demand Forecasting

In general, air cargo has experienced excellent growth during the COVID-19 pandemic with surging demand and record-setting air freight rates in many markets. Air cargo has received newfound visibility and respect in the C-suite, boardroom and investor community. This intense demand and growth in the logistics sector during the pandemic, however, is accelerating industry structural change. These changes include:
  • Prolonged depression, and likely permanent reshaping, of intercontinental passenger networks and attendant belly capacity
  • An influx of new freighter capacity and operators attracted by current air cargo boom, and
  • Deep-pocketed competitors (including major e-tailers and certain big ocean carriers) entering the air cargo industry in order to become vertically-integrated “factory-to-customer” logistics providers
The coming years will bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges for air cargo competitors, suppliers and capital providers. More than ever, success will depend on correctly understanding the “big picture,” as well as undertaking a rigorous, clear-eyed assessment of opportunities, threats, and the ability to compete and execute. The ASG team combines analytical expertise with decades of executive and consulting experience in the airline, freight forwarding, and GHA industries to help clients make sense of a fast-changing world, set the right strategic priorities, and design realistic implementation plans. ASG’s typical clients include:
  • Airlines (all-cargo, combination, ACMI)
  • Forwarders/3PLs OEMs and conversion shops
  • Aircraft lessors and investors
  • Warehouse investors and operators
  • Creditors (secured and unsecured)
  • Airports
  • GHAs
Illustrative Services:
  • Market and customer analysis
    • Size/segment/forecast market demand
    • Analyze supply/demand balance and trends by market
    • Assess A2A, charter and ACMI market rates and trends
    • Understand customer needs
  • Industry and competitor analysis
    • Understand industry economics, changing economies of scope and scale, and other key drivers of ongoing structural change
    • Assess strategy of specific competitors
    • Benchmark a client’s costs and products against key competitors
  • Network & fleet planning
    • Optimize freighter network size and shape (both stand-alone and as part of passenger belly network)
    • Analyze and recommend fleet plan based on aircraft capability, lead time, and cost under various utilization and fuel-price scenarios (assess the right balance between forecast unit cost and flexibility)
  • Commercial strategy
    • Analyze profitability of specific products, customers and routes
    • Analyze how customers use the network
    • Understand how costs behave (activity-based cost models, as distinct from existing accounting reports)
  • Implementation support
    • Aircraft and airlift capacity sourcing and negotiation
    • JV/alliance negotiation support
    • Operations monitoring and continuous improvement

ASG | AIRLINE STRATEGY GROUP

Analysis. Strategy. Guidance.

Our highly experienced airline consultants use intelligent data analytics and decades of airline experience to identify the strategies you need to fly through the headwinds you face.

We help you develop and optimize your network, revenue, and partnerships to achieve more profitable results.

Reach out to ASG