Imagine if every airport was a hub rather than an endpoint to a journey. It might sound a little ‘out there’, but with Kiwi.com’s ‘Virtual Interlining’ initiative, airports can now position themselves as virtual hubs.
During a webinar hosted by AviaDev on Wednesday 21 October, Kiwi.com’s Head of Airport Partnerships, Patrick Zeuner, explained how Virtual Interlining can help stimulate visitor demand and passenger growth, as well as passenger spend.
Virtual Interlining connects carriers who do not normally cooperate, significantly reducing the cost and hassle 
of multi-segment journeys for the passenger, explained Zeuner. To ease the process of passengers having to collect any baggage, check-in and pass through security again, Kiwi.com has developed a number of solutions such as its ‘Hosted Stopover Programme’, optimised Minimum Connection Times and Transfer Experience optimisation to enhance the transfer process.
The online travel agency has already partnered with the likes of Milan Malpensa Airport in Italy on it’s Fly to Milano campaign and Budapest Airport in Hungary to support self-connecting traffic.
The Fly to Milano campaign saw transferring passengers encouraged to stay overnight with a free hotel stay and Consuela Scionti, Business Innovation Manager, Aeroporti di Milano, revealed the virtual interlining initiative also increased awareness for the airport and Milan as a destination on a global scale. Meanwhile, Balazs Bogats , Head of Airline Development at Budapest Airport said that having lost all its transfer traffic as a result of COVID-19, Virtual Interlining has presented his airport with the “opportunity to optimise those passengers who are now self-connecting through the airport.” Bogats also revealed that according to his calculations (based on IATA’s forecasting) around 7 million seats will be missing from eastern and western Europe in 2021 compared to 2019 figures. “There is certainly market potential for passengers to self connect and as the fastest growing market segment currently, I’d like to think that virtual interlining will help with our recovery,” he added.
The good news for regional and smaller hubs considering becoming ‘virtual hubs’ is that it doesn’t really matter what size the airport is. “It could be a small airport with limited connectivity” said Zeuner, explaining how Kiwi.com used its virtual interlining model to facilitate connections from long-haul flights arriving at Providence Airport with ongoing domestic flights. “Even a smaller airport with 3 million passenger capacity will benefit from those passengers transferring through their airport… It’s a win-win situation for all concerned – the airport, passengers and Kiwi.”
And in terms of the infrastructure needed? It’s minimal and depends on each airport’s requirements offered Zeuner. Budapest for example set up a transfer desk for self-connecting passengers, it’s beneficial but not always necessary, especially with the increased demand and roll out of self-service kiosks . “Factoring in consumer and customer behaviour and language needs is important,” he added. “Language can be a barrier so you need to think about where your connecting passengers are coming from so you can communicate with them easily.” Connectivity in terms of the carriers serving an airport is also key. “We’re always looking for airports with some low-cost traffic established,” Zeuner concluded. “That price competitiveness is key.”
