Blockchain in Airline Distribution

Overview: The air transport industry has been predominantly traditional, based on long-established business models and archaic IT systems. However, the advent of Low-Cost Airlines (LCC), with their simplified enterprise framework, based on unbundling of fares and ancillaries, has undermined the industry. Due to increased competition, legacy airlines had to adapt accordingly, allowing non-airline systems to become the norm, such as dynamic pricing, predictive analysis and revenue management, which require collaborative IT systems. Yet airlines failed to fully benefit from these enhancements, as they were being held back by the archaic technologies that dominated airline distribution. Industry visionaries then started to look at emerging technologies such as blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

The aim of this research is to determine whether blockchain has the potential to disrupt the traditional airline distribution system and whether this technology will expedite the required transformation of the industry.