The FINANCIAL — UIA serves 30,000 passengers weekly with passenger traffic growing steadily by over 15% per annum, according to Lali Beshkenadze, Manager at APG Air Agencies, Tbilisi (representative of Ukraine International Airlines on the Georgian Market). “In 2009 1.5 million passengers were transported by UIA,” Mrs. Beshkenadze said.
With increasing demand on return flights from Georgia UIA is offering a special action, the so-called “Crazy Prices” – flights from Tbilisi to Europe starting from 130 EUR RT. The action is covering the whole of UIA’s European network.
Q. What are the average fares on flights provided by UIA?
A. The Georgian market is a very price sensitive one and competition is very tough. UIA is trying to follow up and offer competitive prices to Europe starting from 150 EUR OW (one way) and 210 EUR RT (Round Trip).
Q. What about the low cost airlines which have recently been introduced to the Georgian market (like Pegasus)? Are you going to follow the trend of cutting prices or are you going to operate with traditional prices?
A. Of course Pegasus has affected our prices and demand as well. The thing is that for Georgians at the moment the main motive in choosing an airline is price and then service. As for this reason we’re taking steps towards price adjustments on the market.
Fares of UIA have already decreased by 20% in the last 2 weeks due to competition with two new airlines entering the market, Pegasus and Polish airline LOT.
UIA is a full service airline although at the moment we are offering full service at a lower cost. The difference between low cost and non low cost is service. UIA is offering comfortable transportation on every flight including various ranges of onboard services.
In Business class: Business lounges in international airports, free baggage allowance – up to 40 kg (checked baggage) and up to 10 kg (hand baggage), Possibility to change travel date without penalty, Comfortable wide seats with adjustable headrests – convenient for work and rest, Wardrobe, Selection of newspapers and magazines onboard, Great in-flight selection of spirits and beverages, Delicious European and Ukrainian cuisine.
Economy class: In Economy Class there will be offered a complimentary snack or meal depending on the duration of the flight. We will also be pleased to offer you tea, coffee or a beverage during the flight. We do not plan to change the profile of the airplane or remove any of the above-mentioned services any time in the near future.
Q. Which destinations do you offer flights to? And which are the most popular destinations for Georgians?
A. For Georgian passengers UIA offers qualified services and connections all over Europe and the Middle East, cities like Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Nice, Paris, Vienna, Helsinki, Zurich, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Israel, Almaty, etc.
UIA (Ukraine International Airlines) offers more European services via Ukraine than any other airline, operating 450 flights per week with onward connections across the globe. Ukraine International cooperates with airlines worldwide on the basis of more than 130 interline agreements. Through its partner network UIA serves over 3,000 destinations offering the best same-day connections at competitive prices. The commercial network covers 70 countries and the website www.flyuia.com allows customers to make bookings online.
Q. Which is the most active season for your company?
A. We can divide seasons in to two parts, the business travel season and holiday travel season. Business travel is mainly in Autumn-Spring and holiday travel is Summer-Winter. Mainly for airlines the busiest traffic is in summer and winter, during the holiday travel season, when people are planning their holidays and are travelling with their whole families.
Q. What kind of sales campaigns are you planning for the near future?
A. Basically we are oriented at motivating local travel agencies to sell UIA. For this reason we have annual sales seminars. In 2010 it will take place in December. The aim of this meeting is to share information, UIA news, new fares, new routes etc, with the managers and front staff of agencies, and give them more instructions about sales possibilities via Kiev on Ukraine International Airlines.
Q. How many tickets are sold monthly, yearly? And have the sales figures changed from year to year (increased)?
A. Approximately 125,000 tickets are sold monthly. After the financial crisis, sales have of course been increasing, for example in October 2010 revenue was increased by 12%.
Q. Are you going to offer some discounts for this season? Or any other benefits for your passengers?
A. As already mentioned at the moment UIA has the ongoing special action “Crazy Prices”, flights from Tbilisi to Europe starting from 130 EUR RT. This action is covering the whole of UIA’s European network.
Q. What are the benefits of being a member of IATA?
A. Airline members of IATA enjoy the support of an internationally renowned organization that represents leads and serves one of the most dynamic industries in the world. IATA provides a powerful, unified and experienced voice which supports and promotes the interests of member airlines in a number of different ways including: International recognition and lobbying, targeting key industry priorities, driving industry change, reducing costs, communication, training and other services, etc.
IATA allows airlines to operate safely, securely, efficiently and economically under clearly defined rules. IATA serves as an intermediary between airlines and passenger via neutrally applied agency service standards and centralized financial systems. A large network of industry suppliers and service providers gathered by IATA provides solid expertise to airlines in a variety of industry solutions.
Q. On your website visitors can see the “collecting miles points while flying”. What does that mean and how does it work for your clients?
A. This is UIA’s Frequent Flyer Programme “Panorama Club”. Passengers travelling on our flights can register and gain benefits. Club members can earn miles on UIA flights and the flights of our airline partners (AF, KL, LX, OS, TP, EY) as well as collect miles by using services of our non-airline partners (hotels, rent-a-car, payment cards, mobile calls, duty free shops). Collected miles can be spent on awarding tickets, upgrades, and discounts. Passengers can even pay a penalty for a date change using their miles instead of money.
The range of other benefits depends on the membership level – Classic or Premium.
With the Classic membership card passengers can take 5 extra kilos of checked baggage free of charge and can also appreciate discounts when staying at one of the partner hotels or when renting a car.
With the Premium membership card passengers can use business class check-in and business lounge (even when travelling in economy class), they can take 10 extra kilos free of charge and can also have discounts at hotels and rent-a-car.
Miles are credited based on the actual distance flown. Depending on the class booked and fare paid the actual flight distance is multiplied by an appropriate coefficient (0,1; 0,5; 1,0; 1,5). For example, the distance between Kiev and Tbilisi is 1,000 miles. If the passenger has an economy class ticket (usual price), he will be credited 1,000 miles for the Kiev-Tbilisi flight. If the passenger purchased the ticket on the same flight at a special promotion price, he can be credited 500 or 100 miles. It depends on the booking class and tariff. Full information about booking classes and the number of miles credited is available at our website http://www.flyuia.com/eng/club/panorama-club/collect-miles/in-the-air.html.
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