Marco D'Onofrio is Sales Manager, with over twenty years of experience gained in international environments with renowned tour operators (Club Med) and airlines such as Air One, Alitalia, in the Global Team of JV Alitalia, DeltaAirlines and Airfrance KLM.
During his career he has developed his B2B / B2C knowledge in Sales Development and Key Account Management, Trade & Corporate Relations, Marketing Management.
A revenue-oriented and goal-focused professional with a thorough knowledge of the Travel and Aviation Business, accustomed to working in multicultural environments. He has developed skills management of cross-functional teams and multitasking assignments in both the Leisure and Corporate fields.
Currently it is Sales and Marketing Manager of the Air Arabia airline and is a lecturer for the Accademia del Lavoro in Advanced training course on Sales & Marketing Management - Aviation, Tourism and Travel Industry, IATA recognized.
We met and interviewed him to learn more about his business and the sector in which he operates.
Advanced Training of Effective Negotiation Techniques. In light of the last two years above all, how has the air travel sector changed, both on the airline and passenger side?
The airline sector is currently in recovery, after the pandemic with effective and widely available vaccines, the airline sector is in strong recovery with large input of capacity and new routes. A wave of optimism especially in Europe with a return to pre-Covid numbers driven by the end of health restrictions and the launch of the Summer routes.
The pandemic has meant that air transport changed its skin and adapted to the times; therefore Boom of E-commerce that the Airlines have not ignored, becoming large retailers, enhancing the main direct sales channels, or websites, both quantitatively with much more content, and qualitatively, or proposing them graphically in a more innovative way to the final customer. Although the 60% of tickets is sold through travel agencies, the brokerage market is always growing
more thanks to OLTA (online travel agency). Clearly, airline marketing has also changed and evolved.
With the spread of smart working and the computerization of users and processes in the world of work, even the final consumer is increasingly connected and accessible on social networks. All components that contribute to forming the ideal habitat for Companies to communicate their values, products and services.
Air transport, tourist travel can we give some data about the last few years?
The Aci Association that brings together the European Airport system estimates that a full recovery will take place in 2024, anticipating the previous forecasts by one year. Returning to the numbers, however, European airports will have around 540 million fewer passengers than in 2019, resulting in an overall loss of over 3.7 billion passengers since the start of the pandemic. The good news is that if last October Aci Europe expected to close 2022 with a -32% of traffic volumes compared to 2019, now the estimate has dropped to -22%.
Finally, as has now been established, the partial recovery of traffic is driven by leisure and the enormous capacity deployed by low cost carriers, Ryanair and Wizz Air in the first place, and in this regard Ryanair surpasses ITA / Alitalia also in the offer of seats on national flights and is the leading airline in Italy. At the same time, the Hungarian Wizz Air also gallops, which in the same period almost equals easyJet, the third airline in Italy. In general, the 63% of the offer will be in the hands of low cost companies. This is also a record, thanks to the fact that intercontinental routes - in the hands of traditional carriers - are still at a minimum and are reopening for this Summer after a long stop.
What turnover does this world move and how many job opportunities does it offer?
We have already mentioned that 2022 for Italian tourism and air transport overall marks a net increase over previous years, even if we are still far from pre-pandemic levels.
The openings allowed the season to recover earlier than the previous year and kept a constant positive gap and the presence of tourists and air and holiday bookings, however, vary a lot according to the type of destination: cities of art, leisure and seaside destinations in sharp recovery, business travel with ups and downs.
Monitoring OTAs for the next 6 months gives us a clear picture of how much operators are betting on 2022.
Not only is the average price constantly growing over the next few months, but the overall level is approximately 9% higher than in 2021. (source DATA APPEAL STUDIO 21/22)
In the Corsera Economia survey of February 2022, the OAG data is reported, where it is reported that in the first six months of 2022, airlines made 49.3 million seats available on flights - national and international - departing from Italy . An increase of 249% compared to the first half of 2021, a period that recorded an increase in infections and the extension of the restrictions introduced in autumn 2020 with the second wave. But that's only 12.4% lower than in the first half of 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic, a sign that companies believe in a massive return of passengers. The recovery is even more evident when we note that at the European level the drop in places offered in January-June 2022 (on the pre-Covid period) is 21%, almost double that of Italy.
In the first six months of 2022 the low cost segment wins hands down: the 67% of seats offered in Italy is in the hands of low-cost carriers, the remaining 33% to traditional ones. A historical record. Which becomes even more evident if we compare the first semesters. In 2019 there was a slight advantage of traditional companies, in 2021 the relationships were reversed (51% low cost)
Many are the figures requested above all by the new Low Cost Companies present in Italy and which have invested with new and multiple routes, Ita itself is recruiting Commercial and Marketing profiles, and in the Airports in particular the Data Analyst and Marketeer figures are growing up. Startups of PR Agency and multichannel Marketing have doubled and there is no doubt that developing a market and an internal tourism also in the Hotellerie sector these figures are finding more and more space by virtue of what we have explained previously. I repeat myself but the concept must be clear, Marketing after and during the Pandemic has changed and evolved and with it the occupations related to this sector.
With the spread of computerization, the final consumer is also increasingly connected and reachable on social networks. All components that contribute to forming the ideal habitat for companies in the tourism sector to communicate their values, experiences, products and services.
What are the professionals related to airport marketing and to what extent are such specific profiles required by companies?
The course aims to train professionals able to use tools and techniques to improve the commercial and communication processes of companies and organizations in the tourism world and beyond, with particular attention to the activities and tools of digital marketing and social communication. In particular, the possible career opportunities for participants are those of Analysts, specialists and managers for companies or for digital companies, Data analysts, specialists and managers for media companies (or media departments of companies), digital communication and Brand / product specialists. manager; all company profiles and which have also become very useful in airport contexts.
What skills should those who want to work in this sector develop or refine?
Our student is a professional connected to Social with an innovative approach, who is at ease with Digital, an operative and fast figure, with a marked Emotional Intelligence. The Marketeer is one who looks ahead where others simply see. A creative thinker who tries to anticipate changes and knows how to be ready when they occur.
What do students learn during your courses?
We would like to offer a path that aims to provide tools to know the macro-reference framework within which companies operate, recognizing the strategic role that Marketing and Sales play in the current competitive scenario.
In the course we will discuss some of the marketing strategies adopted by airlines that help increase their revenue and stay afloat in the current competitive scenario;
Our aim is to explain how airlines market their products. We will cover best practices and marketing approaches that address real-world cases, with examples taken from current business cases and actions. We will provide participants with ideas, tools and skills to conceive, plan and plan marketing activities, in line with the company's choices and objectives; know the sector and the market and know how to measure performance; but also to explain how a marketing plan is drawn up in which the online and offline sales channels are managed in an integrated way.
