Oneworld enters conventions market, buyers mixed about alliances' offers

OneWorld has joined other global air alliances in competing for large convention groups, although data shows international meetings are actually getting smaller. 
 
Like Star Alliance Conventions Plus, Oneworld Events, launched at IMEX last week, offers a “one-stop solution” to planners with a meeting of minimum 500 pax travelling from at least two regions.
 
The solution comprises discounted flights on its member airlines, an easy-to-use online booking system for attendees, online real-time management reports 24/7 for planners and a promotional toolkit to build attendee awareness, among others. Attendees earn miles as usual, while planners earn credits for travel on participating Oneworld airlines.
 
Jose Maria Alvarado, Oneworld Alliance’s director-sales, said Oneworld Events was superior to the others because “we are easier to use and faster to market”.
 
He said timing and technology made it feasible to launch this solution now. “ICCA data shows 3.5 million delegates attend these kinds of conferences and events around the world every year, spending around US$1.5 billion on air travel,” he said.
 
But a check with ICCA also shows that 75 per cent of international meetings are attended by fewer than 500 pax, with the average size hovering between 230 pax and 256 pax from 2003 to 2012.
 
This explains why Star Alliance and Skyteam also offer solutions aimed at small meetings (e.g., Star’s Meetings Plus targets events with minimum 50 international passengers from at least three countries).
 
Asked if Oneworld Events would lose out because of this, Michael Blunt, Oneworld’s vice president corporate communications, said: “Most of our member airlines will continue to offer their own MICE products, and our feeling is that these individual airline offerings are better suited to this end of the market, while our new Oneworld Events product is ideal for the large-scale conference or event.
 
“Our 500 delegates number is a guideline only, rather than a firm cut-off limit. We will of course look at exceptions so long as many hundred of international delegates are expected to attend.”
 
Blunt insisted there is “a big market for big conventions and events in many parts of the world”. “In the past few months, Oneworld has been approached by organisers arranging conferences for 1,000 to 5,000 delegates in venues ranging from Buenos Aires, Singapore and Vienna,” he said.
 
Kitty Wong, president, K&A International, Taiwan, remains sceptical about the effectiveness of alliances’ MICE solutions. “It’s hard to force all the airline members in the alliance to offer the same deal, i.e., the best market price or 50 per cent off the tariff, especially when the meeting is smaller than 500 pax and the reality is, most meetings are.” Wong said she was talking to two airlines directly for her bigger conventions of more than 3,000 pax to be held in the next few years and even then, “although I know the key guys, I’m not sure if I can get a better deal”.

Sumate Sudasna, head of CDM Thailand, agreed the fares were “hardly attractive compared to market prices”, but added that the solution could work if it made the event host’s life easier.
-TTG Asia.