AIRLINES & ALLIANCES

A TRAVLR White Paper: 2025 Travel Industry Trends – Airlines urged to embed “identity layer” within shopping framework

Travlr Network’s new white paper argues that airlines should add an identity layer to the start of the shopping process so they can recognize travelers earlier and deliver more relevant, personalized offers. The report says this approach could boost conversion and revenue for airlines while giving travelers a smoother, more tailored booking experience.

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GLO

In its newly published white paper, Travlr Network argues that airlines should embed a distinct identification layer within their passenger-shopping frameworks to better capture and act on shopper intent before proceeding with fare/seat availability computation. The paper proposes that knowing who the shopper is—and what their travel profile, loyalty-status, and intent look like—can significantly improve personalization, offer relevance and conversion, while also reducing mis-targeting and non-compliant purchases.

Key arguments & rationale

• The white paper suggests that current airline shopping flows routinely treat the user as an anonymous browser until a booking is made. Travlr raises that by layering in identity earlier, airlines can differentiate offers (fares, ancillaries, bundles) based on known status, loyalty membership, traveller type (leisure vs business), and previous behaviour. 

• It highlights that an identity layer enables more dynamic, context-aware shopping: for example, a frequent business traveller may be shown premium ancillaries or upgrade offers up front; whereas a leisure flyer might be shown family-friendly bundles or flexible fare options.

• Travlr underscores that the benefits go both ways: for airlines, it means higher yield, more effective marketing spend and fewer “one-size-fits-all” offers; for travellers, it may mean more tailored, relevant choices, fewer superfluous upsells and a smoother booking experience.

Implementation considerations and challenges

The paper outlines several conditions for implementing the identity layer:

• Data integrity and traveller consent: Airlines must ensure that identity data (loyalty status, traveller profile, preferences) is accurate and up-to-date, and that customers understand how it is used. 

• Systems and architecture: The shopping engine and offer-management platforms need to support an upstream identity check, segmentation logic and dynamic offer generation. The white paper notes that many legacy systems treat identity only at checkout, which may limit the possibility of earlier personalization.

• Privacy, security and regulatory compliance: Collecting and applying identity data raises issues such as GDPR, data transfer across jurisdictions, traveller profiling fairness, and transparency. The paper emphasises that the identity layer should operate with clear opt-in/opt-out controls and transparent disclosure of benefits.

• Interoperability and partnerships: Since many airlines rely on third-party channels (OTAs, GDSs) and partner airlines, the white paper asserts that a coherent identity layer must span these partnerships—sharing the traveller identity in a standard, secure way ensures consistent user experience and avoids fragmentation of offers. 

Why now?

Travlr points to several industry trends that make this identity-centric approach timely:

• As airlines shift toward retailing (beyond seats) and focus on personalised ancillaries, bundles and upsells, knowing the traveller earlier in the shopping process becomes a competitive advantage. 

• The proliferation of traveller identity systems (loyalty APIs, digital identity wallets, biometric profiles) means more identity data is available and can be used responsibly if handled correctly.

• Business travellers and frequent flyers increasingly expect tailored offers and seamless experiences; by embedding identity earlier, airlines can meet these expectations and foster loyalty.

What this means for airlines and travellers

For airlines, implementing an identity layer may unlock higher conversion rates, better ancillary revenue, improved loyalty cross-sell, and reduced cost of generic marketing. It enables offers to be more targeted, reducing “spray and pray” approaches and improving relevance. For travellers, the benefit should be clearer: less irrelevant upselling, more personalized bundles, and a smoother booking path that reflects their profile (e.g., business traveller vs family leisure).

However, the white paper also cautions that travellers may feel uneasy if identity data is used without transparency or proper control. Airlines must clearly communicate how identity profiling works, what benefits are offered, and provide opt-out options. Mis-handling could undermine trust and lead to regulatory or reputational risk.

Global Loyalty Organisation Take:

The Travlr Network white paper makes a persuasive case that the next evolution in airline retailing lies in recognising who is shopping and then tailoring the offer accordingly. By inserting an identity layer into the shopping framework, airlines can turn static fare/seat shopping into dynamic, traveller-centric retailing. The real work lies in the data architecture, privacy safeguards, and industry partnerships—but the reward could be a more personalized traveller experience and stronger commercial performance.