Trade still key for United amid shifting landscape

Trade still key for United amid shifting landscape
By admin


The trade continues to play a vital role in United’s Australian distribution chain, with the airline committed to continue investing in educational initiatives and trade-focused marketing strategies.

The airline’s annual trivia nights, which are held in key cities across Australia and New Zealand, are now in their fifth year with director Australia and New Zealand Alison Espley describing them as a “fun form of education”.

As an additional resource, in March the airline launched a United Training Program to agents. The online training program provided agents with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of United, with more than 1000 submission received.

Although the program has now finished, the airline is adapting and branding it for its key agency partners and it may relaunch with updates for all agents later this year.

Escorted trips to the US are also an important part of the educational program, Espley confirmed, adding that the trade are the main focus of local marketing activities.

“It’s doubtful there would be TV campaigns, but we work very closely with our trade partners to maximise the benefit of their activities,” she told Travel Today.

While Espley stressed that the trade is still “extremely significant”, she also underlined the importance of giving consumers the choice to book however they like.

“Clearly the trade in Australia provides excellent levels of service and advice beyond simply booking an airline ticket and we value those relationships,” she said.

“But there are customers who want to make their own transactions so the important thing for us is that we’re available in all of the mediums that customers want to use.”

While the number of direct bookings has risen over the last few years, the trade still accounts for more than 70% of overall sales, Espley revealed.

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