NP-RM-15 · LCC Competitive Pricing Strategy

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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)

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L4 Process Steps

Step	Step Name	Role / Swim Lane	System	Input	Output	KPI	Dec?	Exc?
Phase 1 1.1	Ingest LCC published fares from ATPCO feed	Revenue Analyst	ATPCO Automated Competitive Intelligence (ACI)	Daily ATPCO fare-change notification feed across all GDS-filed LCC fares	Structured LCC fare dataset by O&D pair, cabin, booking class, and advance purchase tier	Fare update latency ≤4 hours from ATPCO filing; coverage ≥80% of LCC-filed fares	N	N
1.2	Scrape LCC direct-channel fares via fare shopping	Revenue Analyst	Sabre PRISM Competitive Fare Shopping	LCC-overlap route list and 90-day departure date range	LCC web-fare matrix by route, departure date, and fare class including ancillary fee schedule	Shopping coverage ≥95% of LCC-overlap routes completed within 24 hours; intraday refresh on routes with >50 weekly LCC departures	N	Y
1.3	Flag routes exceeding LCC penetration threshold	Revenue Strategy Manager	Amadeus SkyCAST	LCC fare matrix combined with OAG Traffic Analyser market share data	Priority route list with LCC threat tier classification (High / Medium / Low) for current and next 90-day window	100% of routes with LCC market share >25% flagged and tier-assigned within 48 hours of data refresh	Y	N
Phase 2 2.1	Calculate fully-loaded fare differential vs LCC	Pricing Analyst	Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM)	Own lowest available fare per O&D; LCC base fare plus published ancillary fee schedule from Step 1.2	Net fare gap report showing base-fare delta and fully-loaded delta (bag + seat assignment + change fee) per route	Fully-loaded fare gap calculated within 2 hours of trigger event; model accuracy ±5% vs actual LCC checkout price	N	Y
2.2	Assess LCC seat capacity deployment on overlap routes	Network Revenue Analyst	OAG Schedules Analyser	LCC published schedules from OAG; own schedule from Amadeus SkyWORKS	Capacity share report showing seats, weekly frequencies, and ASK split by carrier for each contested O&D	Capacity share delta vs prior 4-week period reported weekly; >10% capacity increase by any LCC triggers immediate alert	N	N
2.3	Classify route competitive response mode	Revenue Strategy Manager	Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM)	Fare gap report from Step 2.1; capacity share report from Step 2.2; route RASM from Amadeus SkyCAST	Route-level response mode classification: MATCH / STIMULATE / DIFFERENTIATE / IGNORE, with documented rationale and RASM impact estimate	100% of High-tier LCC routes assigned response mode within 72 hours; response mode reviewed every 21 days	Y	N
Phase 3 3.1	Define route fare floor against unit cost recovery	Pricing Strategy Manager	SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO)	Route-level CASM (cost per available seat mile) from finance cost allocation module; load factor target from SkyCAST forecast	Minimum acceptable fare floor per route and cabin class, approved by Finance	Fare floor covers variable cost per seat at target load factor ≥100% on 100% of routes; floor breach rate <2% of all filed competitive fares	Y	Y
3.2	Construct ATPCO fare basis codes and rule conditions	Pricing Analyst	ATPCO Fare Management Portal	Approved fare level and floor from Step 3.1; target O&D pairs; advance purchase and change fee structure	Draft fare record with Fare Basis Code and complete ATPCO Category 3, 5, 14, 15, and 16 rule set	Fare rule filing completeness ≥98% (zero missing ATPCO categories); internal peer review completed within 4 hours of draft creation	N	Y
3.3	Configure NRM inventory availability and bid-price thresholds	Revenue Management Analyst	Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM)	Approved fare record; booking class assignment; O&D demand forecast from SkyCAST	Updated booking class authorization levels (AU) and bid-price thresholds in NRM for all affected O&D pairs	Inventory control update applied within 2 hours of fare approval; AU accuracy ±2 seats vs modelled optimum at D-90	N	Y
3.4	Apply channel-specific fare availability configuration	Pricing Analyst	NDC API Gateway	Approved fare record; channel distribution matrix (GDS / NDC / direct web)	Channel-differentiated fare availability configuration in NDC API Gateway and Amadeus Altéa PSS	NDC-exclusive fares available within 4 hours of ATPCO filing; GDS display parity ≥95% across Sabre, Travelport, and Amadeus within 8 hours	Y	Y
Phase 4 4.1	File competitive fare in ATPCO and validate GDS mirror	Pricing Analyst	ATPCO Fare Management Portal	Peer-reviewed fare record and complete rule set from Step 3.2	ATPCO filing confirmation with batch-processing timestamp; GDS mirror latency report across Sabre, Travelport, and Amadeus	Fare live in all three GDS within 8 hours of ATPCO filing; zero Category 15 validation errors; filing confirmed in ATPCO audit log	N	Y
4.2	Activate competitive fare in Amadeus Altéa PSS	Revenue Management Analyst	Amadeus Altéa PSS	ATPCO filing confirmation from Step 4.1; NRM authorization levels from Step 3.3	Fare live in Altéa PSS for direct and indirect bookings; PSS-NRM inventory sync confirmed	PSS activation within 1 hour of ATPCO confirmation; zero inventory sync discrepancies between Altéa and NRM authorization levels	N	Y
4.3	Issue pricing action bulletin to sales and accounts	Revenue Strategy Manager	Salesforce CRM	Activated fare details; competitive context briefing from Step 2.3 response mode classification	Pricing action bulletin distributed via Salesforce CRM to Sales, Agency Relations, and Corporate Account teams	Bulletin issued within 2 hours of fare activation; 100% of key account managers and top-50 agency contacts notified; read-receipt tracked in Salesforce	N	N
Phase 5 5.1	Monitor booking velocity on LCC-contested routes	Revenue Management Analyst	Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM)	Daily booking curves by route, fare class, and departure date from NRM booking pace module	Booking velocity report versus LCC-free baseline curve; stimulation delta by departure date and O&D	Booking pace ≥95% of target curve by D-14; seat load factor ≥83% at D-7 on High-tier LCC routes	N	Y
5.2	Compare RASM and PRASM against LCC benchmark	Revenue Strategy Manager	AWS Redshift	Booked revenue and ASMs flown per route; LCC benchmark fares from ATPCO ACI prior-period dataset; Amadeus SkyCAST RASM actuals	RASM versus benchmark scorecard with revenue gain or loss attribution by route and competitive response mode	RASM on contested routes within 5% of network average; PRASM improvement >2% versus pre-strategy baseline after 21-day observation window	Y	N
5.3	Trigger strategy review or escalate to pricing committee	Revenue Strategy Manager	Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM)	RASM scorecard from Step 5.2; booking velocity report from Step 5.1; updated LCC fare intelligence from Step 1.1	Strategy continuation approval, or pricing committee escalation package with revised response mode recommendation and fare adjustment proposal	Strategy review cycle completed within 21 days of activation; escalated routes resolved by pricing committee within 5 business days; route RASM restored to within 5% of network average within 45 days	Y	Y

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Process Attributes

Identification

Process IDNP-RM-15

L1 DomainNetwork Planning & Scheduling

L2 ProcessRevenue Management

L3 NameLCC Competitive Pricing Strategy

L4 Steps16 across 5 phases

Decision Gates6 (all with iteration loops)

Exceptions10 documented

Swim Lanes (Roles)

Revenue Analyst

Revenue Strategy Manager

Pricing Analyst

Network Revenue Analyst

Pricing Strategy Manager

Revenue Management Analyst

Systems & Tools

ATPCO Automated Competitive Intelligence (ACI)Sabre PRISM Competitive Fare ShoppingAmadeus SkyCASTAmadeus Revenue Management (NRM)OAG Schedules AnalyserSAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO)ATPCO Fare Management PortalNDC API GatewayAmadeus Altéa PSSSalesforce CRMAWS Redshift

Key Performance Indicators

Ingest LCC published fares from ATPCO feedFare update latency ≤4 hours from ATPCO filing; coverage ≥80% of LCC-filed fares

Scrape LCC direct-channel fares via fare shoppingShopping coverage ≥95% of LCC-overlap routes completed within 24 hours; intraday refresh on routes with >50 weekly LCC departures

Flag routes exceeding LCC penetration threshold100% of routes with LCC market share >25% flagged and tier-assigned within 48 hours of data refresh

Calculate fully-loaded fare differential vs LCCFully-loaded fare gap calculated within 2 hours of trigger event; model accuracy ±5% vs actual LCC checkout price

Assess LCC seat capacity deployment on overlap routesCapacity share delta vs prior 4-week period reported weekly; >10% capacity increase by any LCC triggers immediate alert

Classify route competitive response mode100% of High-tier LCC routes assigned response mode within 72 hours; response mode reviewed every 21 days

Define route fare floor against unit cost recoveryFare floor covers variable cost per seat at target load factor ≥100% on 100% of routes; floor breach rate <2% of all filed competitive fares

Construct ATPCO fare basis codes and rule conditionsFare rule filing completeness ≥98% (zero missing ATPCO categories); internal peer review completed within 4 hours of draft creation

Airline-Specific Risks & Pain Points

LCC carriers increasingly use direct-channel-only fares not filed via ATPCO; ACI feed misses 20–35% of actual LCC selling prices on contested routes

LCC carriers revise fares multiple times per day; bot-detection mechanisms on Spirit and Frontier websites block automated scraping, requiring manual supplementation that introduces 12–24h lag

MIDT-sourced market share data lags 60–90 days; real-time share is modelled, not measured, creating tier misclassification risk on recently-entered LCC markets

LCC ancillary fee schedules are not available via any standardised data feed and change without notice; manual fee updates lag by up to one week, overstating or understating the real passenger cost differential

LCC carriers file schedule placeholders with inflated frequencies to hold airport slot positions; published seats overstate committed capacity by up to 15%, inflating perceived competitive threat and driving unnecessary yield dilution responses

Differentiation strategy (premium service, schedule convenience) is difficult to sustain on short-haul routes under 500 miles where LCC price advantage exceeds perceived product differential — risks revenue dilution without stimulation benefit materialising

Inputs / Outputs

Primary InputDaily ATPCO fare-change notification feed across all GDS-filed LCC fares

Primary OutputStrategy continuation approval, or pricing committee escalation package with revised response mode recommendation and fare adjustment proposal

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