Singapore-based portal TripZilla has launched a flights meta brand FlyZilla which will work directly with airlines only and not online travel agents.
The move is described by Winnie Tan, CEO of TripZilla, as part of its overall business focus to work with brands not agents.
"At TripZilla, we believe direct bookings is the future. We want to work with the travel brands to help them engage their customers to grow direct bookings.”
By leaving OTAs out of the search results, FlyZilla will work exclusively with airlines, particularly low-cost carriers. LCCs are often left out of the meta results because they do not distribute via the OTAs whose marketing muscle allows them dominate the meta landscape.
Flyzilla will aggregate social media deals and email promotions, not only including them in the meta results but also offering users push notifications via its app.
"This feature is unique to FlyZilla as it conflicts with revenue models of other flight metasearch companies and OTAs." Tan noted.
Its own revenue model is concentrated on media sales rather than commissions, and the idea is that Flyzilla's "booking stage travel consumers" will increase the quality, reach and commercial appeal of its audience.
The decision to overlook the OTAs appears to resonate with its airline customers. "Initial discussions with the airline brands are very positive," Tan said. "Some have committed media buys and others have shown support by giving us flight tickets for running online giveaway campaigns to drive user traction. Airlines want to grow direct bookings, and we give the airlines a platform to brand, market and sell direct to travel consumers."
FlyZilla launched in beta this April and has handled one million searches in that time. The FlyZilla app - available on Apple and Android - has been downloaded 10,000 times.
It is focusing its attention on Singapore's "top 100 outbound routes" and is looking to move into other southeast Asian markets over time. TripZilla has a presence in Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Related reading:
TripZilla-owner Travelogy secures $200,000 investment round, eyes roll-out to other Asian markets (Tnooz, 2012)