| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Travel industry , Retailing , Software Development , Information Technology |
| Founded | 2002, by Tom Douramakos and Brett Proud |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, CAN |
| Key people | Tom Douramakos (President) & (CEO) Brian Reddy (CFO) & (SVP, Corporate Development) Brett Proud (EVP, Global Sales & Client Support) |
| Products | POS terminal , Application software |
| Revenue | $18.6 million CND (2009)[1] |
| Net income | $0.2 million CND (2009)[1] |
| Employees | 50-201 in 4 countries |
| Website | www.guestlogix.com |
GuestLogix Inc., (TSX: GXI) is a publicly traded Toronto-based technology company. The company, which began in 2002, provides onboard retail solutions to the passenger travel industry. GuestLogix Inc. manufactures, develops and provides full analysis of POS and software systems to help increase ancillary revenue income, or non-ticket revenues.
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In 2002, company founders Tom Douramakos and Brett Proud launched GuestLogix Inc. in Toronto, Ontario.[2] Since then, GuestLogix Inc. has been considered a leading force behind the technology platforms of the airline industry's Ancillary Revenue systems.[3] GuestLogix currently is under contact to serve over 950 million passenger trips annually[4] amongst its contracted customers. The company is set to cross the 1 billion mark by the end of their 2009 fiscal period.
Ancillary revenue refers to the revenues generated by airlines from non-ticket sales such as onboard meals, extra baggage fees, hotel and car reservation fees, onboard entertainment and duty-free merchandise sales. This tactic has become an important financial component for low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Europe and is being adopted by all types of air carriers throughout the world. Ancillary revenue has been defined as, “Revenue beyond the sale of tickets that are generated by direct sales to passengers, or indirectly as a part of the travel experience.”[5] Ancillary revenue has been further defined to include these categories: 1) a la carte features, 2) commission-based products, and 3) frequent flier activities.[6]
While much of the new a la carte services have been implemented during a time when rising fuel costs have made it difficult to lower the ticket prices on base air fares, the theory remains the same: Passenger travel services are aiming to curb internal costs by decreasing the overall ticket prices while giving passengers the option to pay only for the services they use on-board.[7] This, while increasing the amount of service options available to passengers to essentially capitalize on an increase in average revenue per passenger.
The latest portable POS device to be designed by GuestLogix Inc. is the OnBoard PowerSeller 2.[8] The device is manufactured through GuestLogix' hardware partner ITWell in South Korea.[2] The device has an integrated printer, magnetic swipe (card) reader, barcode scanner, and IC (integrated chip) reader and can handle transactions in credit cards, debit cards, loyalty program redemptions, cash tracking and other customer-specific currency.
The OnBoard PowerSeller 2 was created to replace the OnBoard PowerSeller which still operates on several large airlines throughout North America. The original OnBoard PowerSeller includes the same software applications and transaction processing, however increased security standards with the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) created the need to develop a more compliant device for consumers. The OnBoard PowerSeller 2 is the first and currently the only POS device to meet these increased standards within the travel industry.[9]
There are currently no other devices in development known to the public.
GuestLogix Inc. also develops its selling platform in-house. The Mobile Virtual Store has been developed for the inventory, supply chain, price management, retail and sales analysis processes.
On June 3, 2009, GuestLogix announced its launch of a new merchandising arm branded as OnTouch allowing airlines to sell theme park passes, theatre tickets, catalogue merchandise and other virtual items while in-flight.
Channel Partnerships:
LSG Sky Chefs - provides airline catering, in-flight equipment and logistics for more than 300 airlines. Their catering services have been integrated into the software for the OnBoard PowerSeller 2.
Newrest - is a specialized caterer within the food industry supplying various markets including Airlines, Retail, Industrial Catering, Support Services and Duty Free.
Compass Group - the world’s leading foodservice company. The company operates across the following core sectors of Business and Industry (B&I), Defence, Offshore & Remote Site, Healthcare, Education, Sports & Leisure and Vending with an established brand portfolio.
Thales - is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide.
Merchandising Partners:
Sky Mall - provides in-flight shopping catalogues with products ranging from jewellery to electronics. GuestLogix has now integrated the catalogue into the OnBoard PowerSeller 2 for purchases directly on the aircraft. The official deployment of this service has yet to be announced.
vegas.com - is the single largest city-destination travel website offering consumers tickets to events, attractions and tours throughout Las Vegas.
TicketSwitch - is one of the largest entertainment ticket distributors, managing over 5,000 events in 256 cities across 6 continents.
TicketOps - an e-ticketing company based in Toronto, Ontario that provides tickets for attractions at Canada's Wonderland, the CN Tower and Royal Ontario Museum. Through GuestLogix's system, passengers on certain carriers can now purchase tickets while in-flight if their final destination is Toronto. This service has been launched through GuestLogix Inc.'s InFlight Box Office.[10]
Shubert Organization - is Broadway's leading theatre owner and ticket service provider throughout the US. In-flight passengers can now purchase tickets to several Broadway shows through the OnBoard Power Seller 2 while aboard certain air carriers travelling to New York City. This service has been launched through GuestLogix Inc.'s InFlight Box Office.[10]
CityPass - an American-based attraction voucher program serving New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto (Ontario), Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Hollywood, Southern California, and Houston.
Heathrow Express - is a high-speed, high-price train operation serving passengers travelling to and from London Heathrow International Airport and downtown London, UK. The partnership is the first of its kind allowing GuestLogix airline customers to sell prepaid vouchers to passengers on all flights into London Heathrow Airport. The goal is to create extra income for the airline.[11]
POKEWARE - is a free set of protocols, an ad exchange, and a client-server program. The partnership is the first of its kind allowing GuestLogix airline customers to click on various objects within the videos that play on IFE screens for real-time search results. The company will create new revenue streams for airline partners.[12]
Visit Britain - is the tourist arm of the British Government offering tourists deals on attraction and tour passes as well as other vistitor-based services and products throughout England.
Jetera - is an advertising agency specializing in personalized ad creation delivering offerings to consumers based on personal and specific demographic profiling.
Mobiletrails UK - offers a unique, interactive travel expert, known as Travel Buddy via the passenger’s mobile phone. It provides travellers with local information specific to their destination.
GuestLogix Inc. currently serves passengers travelling on:
- Air Canada
- AirAsia X
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- Continental Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- easyJet
- Estonian Air
- Frontier
- Germanwings
- Jazz Airlines
- KLM
- Midwest Airlines
- Ryanair
- Saudi Arabian Airlines
- Southwest
- Spirit Airlines
- United Airlines
- US Airways
- WestJet
- and provides service to ACES (Atlantic City Express Service) rail carrier out of New Jersey and London Midland and Cross Country rail carriers in the UK.
Additional air and rail transit customers, including 2 more of the top 10 air carriers in the world, have been signed on to GuestLogix' client list and are currently in various stages of the deployment process. Those yet to be fully deployed are contractually not disclosed.[13]
GuestLogix Inc. went public in August 2007[14] and was traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (Symbol: "GXI") until the closing of February 26, 2010. On March 1, 2010, GuestLogix began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the same stock symbol.