Airline Revenue Management and life have so much in common and vital lessons can be learned from Revenue Management which you can apply to your everyday life experiences.
1. Life, just like flights, is unpredictable.
Despite dealing daily with unpredictable flights, seasons and industries, the Airline Revenue Management analyst never stops managing their flights. We should adopt this mantra and never stop living our lives to the fullest, despite life’s unpredictability. Sometimes life, and flights, doesn’t pan out as we plan. Make adjustments and get on course again
2. Learn from history, but make sure it’s the correct history
The Airline Revenue Management analyst is making tremendous efforts on a daily basis to make sure it uses the correct history to predict the future of a flight. Sometimes the best move is to totally disregard a piece of history in order to get a more realistic picture of the future. Too many times a certain incident in history is completely shaping our thoughts and our future. Imagine your outlook if you disregard that period in your life. Maybe you should, just like the Revenue Management analyst, disregard that history to get a clearer picture of how your life should be.
3. Set boundaries, just like Revenue Management rules
One very important aspect of Airline Revenue Management is to set proper forecasting and optimisation rules for the different flights. Yes, it’s true that different flights have different rules, but there’s always a common theme in the way rules are applied. The Airline Revenue Management analyst uses these rules to ensure the flight is optimised within certain boundaries and to bring in some kind of predictability to the outcome. Setting rules and boundaries for yourself will greatly assist you in staying focus on your life goals.
4. Keep an eye on the changing environment around you
The Revenue Management analyst is constantly aware of the changing environment in which they operate. If there’s an event that might increase or decreases demand, they immediately react and fine-tune the settings of a flight to ensure revenue are maximised. Don’t be a victim of your changing environment, look for unique opportunities and make subsequent adjustments to maximise those opportunities that might arise.
5. Airline seats, like life, is a perishable product.
Airline seats are very perishable products. Once that aircraft has taken off, there’s no more opportunity to fill empty seats and to generate income, despite having the best strategies in place. Life is also perishable, yet full of opportunities….but there will be a point in time where opportunities have passed. Remember, you’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Take that shot and remember to explore and have fun.
6. You need strict self-discipline to stay focused and alert
The Airline Revenue Management analyst knows all too well that self-discipline and focus are essential ingredients to successfully manage a flight from 360 days before departure until the time of departure. If you lose focus 3 days before departure, you might miss out on great revenue opportunities. In life, we also need to stay focussed and alert and be prepared for turbulences no matter how organized we are.
7. Advice: learn to separate the wheat from the chaff
Advice from colleagues, departments and even outsiders are a daily part of life as an Airline Revenue Management analyst. A good Revenue Management analyst knows the value of listening to advice but they also know the value of being able to distinguish between good advice and bad advice. The advice we get from our parents, peers and other mentors requires our attention, but you need to learn what advice you’ll take and which ones you’ll let go. Strive to understand the bigger picture and the context in which advice is given to determine the significance you’ll attach to it.
8. In Aviation and life, some become more privileged than others.
I think we all know the feeling when heading to your cramped economy-class seat upon boarding a 12-hour flight and getting a glimpse of the super comfortable business class seats: “If only I was that privileged”. Fact is, you in your cramped economy class seat is just as much part of the journey as the person in the comfy business class seat. Revenue Management analysts know the key to maximising flight revenues is to have a good mix in business class and economy class. Both are important to achieve the best revenue results. In life, no man is an island and we need one another, despite our social status or class. We’re all in this together.
9. Record the lessons you learned.
A good Revenue Management analyst will keep a record of good and bad decisions when managing flights because they never know when it might be needed when a quick, but important, decision needs to be taken. We must also note the life lessons we learn along the way as this will guide us when faced with life’s difficult decisions.
10. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Life is a journey after all. There’s an African Proverb that states: “If there’s no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm”. Don’t be your own worst enemy.
