Over the past two years, several airlines have leveraged the opportunities created by third-party platforms, making close to 40% of global capacity information available online and shifting air cargo eBooking from a vision to reality.This is according to a recent study published by Freightos Research which found that at least 40% of airlines now offer instant rate search and eBooking on third-party platforms, compared to 27% and 18% of ocean lines.The study also found that 25% of all airlines offer contract, spot, booking and tracking APIs now compared to none in 2019.Freightos, owners of WebCargo, say the research is validated if one considers that this booking platform, with its more than 22 000 users, has seen a continuous increase since its launch two years ago.The research indicates that the outbreak of Covid-19 accelerated the move to digital booking platforms as airlines sought to improve efficiency and faster ways to communicate and transact with customers.“Like in ocean freight, the pandemic accelerated the pre-existing trend toward digital connectivity. While carriers made gains in their website offerings and API connections, the biggest shift was in leveraging third-party platforms to extend their reach.”According to Etihad Cargo, at least 45% of all its bookings are now made via the carrier’s revamped online booking portal.The carrier launched its revamped online booking portal in October last year as part of an ongoing digitalisation strategy. In the six months since its launch, the booking portal has attracted a surge of new users and bookings, with 45% of all bookings being made via the portal in April this year. The airline is confident portal bookings will reach 50% of all the carrier's bookings in the coming months.In a statement, Etihad Cargo said the online booking portal offered customers a more streamlined booking process that required minimal data entry. This enabled users to create and confirm bookings within 45 seconds.Martin Drew, senior vice president for global sales and cargo at Etihad, said several new features had been added to the portal as part of an ongoing process to make booking easier and faster than ever before.IAG Cargo has also reported not only an increase in eBookings, but also that the average weight per eBooking has grown, suggesting, it says, a growing trust by customers in online platforms.According to Freightos, air carriers have also made big leaps in website offerings since 2019, though sophisticated digital portals have yet to become the industry standard.“While few (10%) did in 2019, nearly half (46%) of air cargo carriers now enabled instant rate searches for quotes on their websites, and a third also feature eBooking with instant confirmation compared to 25% in 2019,” reads its report on air carrier connectivity.“Online shipment tracking has been standard since 2019, illustrating how key customer pain points – requests for updates – can lead to industry-wide digital adoption, and cost savings for carr iers.”
