South African Airways (SAA) has experienced a 500% growth in online transaction volumes over the past year.
R1.8 billion was generated in e-commerce from the four South African airlines selling tickets online in 2005, according to a recent report from research firm World Wide Worx.
"The Web site now accounts for three out of every 10 passengers booked on SAA's services in SA," says Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA's head of direct sales. He declined to disclose the number of people who booked online last year.
Kulula.com saw a 25% growth rate last year, off a much higher baseline than that of SAA, according to Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
"During 2004 Kulula had just under 400 000 users making bookings online - this increased to just over 500 000 users in 2005," says Carl Scholtz, Kulula's executive manager for IT.
Goldstuck believes a number of factors contribute to the strong online air ticket booking industry.
"The product you are buying is basically a reference number - it's not something you have to view beforehand, so many psychological barriers associated with buying online disappear," he says.
Traditional bookings, he says, generally involve 'long-winded processes' with a lot of interaction with agents that is not really necessary.
The element of immediacy is also critical, he adds. "The moment you pay, you've got the product - there are few things online that can be delivered so quickly and efficiently."
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