In the mapping of a commercial airline's information systems, a PSS (Passenger Service System) covers two main areas: commercial services (reservations, distribution, yield management) and ground services (check-in, boarding, passenger operations)..

 

The "classic" PSS are industrial platforms, stable but rigid, built for a world where the TICKET is a standardized/unique product and the AIRPORT the only place for interaction.
And indeed, historical PSS (Sabre, Amadeus Altea, Radixx, IBS, Hitit, Mercator/Accelya, Videcom, AeroCRS,
Bravo... , etc.) were designed to handle:

• Flight inventory (flights, dates, segments, classes).

• Reservations (PNR).

• Distribution (via GDS/CRS).

• Electronic ticketing.

• Ground services (check-in, boarding).

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Architecture  is flight-centric (not customer-centric)

• The data model is based on PNR (Passenger Name Record) and eTKT (e-ticket).

• Information is fragmented between systems (reservation, distribution, operations, CRM).

• The personalized passenger experience is difficult to manage, as the PSS is not designed for

     modular offers.

 

Technology, with a few rare exceptions (Amadeus is an exception), it is inherited.

• Often developed in the 80s and 90s on mainframes or proprietary environments.

• Batch-oriented interfaces or point-to-point messages (EDIFACT).

• Few or no native APIs, resulting in complex and costly integration with modern systems.

 

The PSS is much more than just a booking tool: it is a critical IT system, at the heart of the relationship with travelers, and a driver of revenue optimization.

However, it is becoming less and less adapted to an environment where transport is transforming into personalized retail, based on data, modularity, and real-time orchestration.

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How can we design an innovative, agile, efficient and profitable PSS? 

This is the challenge of tomorrow's PSS.

 

Its contours are already taking shape, requiring the opening of a number of essential projects.

 

1 - A core system built on a Retailing approach (Offer & Order Management)

• Native compliance with OOMS (Offer & Order Management System) architecture.

• Dynamic offer engine: rich, complex, fully customizable and priced in real time.

• Complete Order Management: payment, reimbursement, compensation, lead-time tracking, etc.

 

2 - Omnichannel distribution with passenger experience management

• Consistency of offer and sales policy across all channels.

• History and centralization of interactions (CRM / Customer Experience).

• Fluid management of baskets, sessions and complementarities between channels.

• 360° experience: inspiration → booking → post-booking → post-flight.

 

3 - Extensive digital capabilities and services orchestrated "by design"

• Mobile and adaptive interfaces, compatible with IoT, voice and robotization.

• Open API by design: all processes exposed via a catalog of secure services.

• Native process automation.

 

4 - "Event Driven" by conception

• Open, extensible event-driven architecture for dynamic subscriptions and integrations.

 

5 - Inclusive, multi-host, flexible architecture

• Native support for hybrid models (low-cost / full service).

• Standardized cloud infrastructure (self-scaling).

• Combined with an Agility Platform to adapt the global model to the specific needs of local markets.

 

A perfect PSS is therefore not just the result of a simple technological evolution: it is a strategic lever for restoring agility, innovation and control to its "owner", in a context of outsourcing and digitalization. It thus becomes the essential foundation for an agile, interoperable and traveler-centric transport ecosystem..