Les derniers articles pour Les Explorers:

juillet 02, 2008
Air-Valid : interview with Arnaud Bilquez, CEO




Smart and dynamic entrepreneur are always folks who change the rules and developp new market.

Well, Arnaud Bilquez, Air-Valid CEO seems a perfect exemple.

Enjoy this interview.

>> Arnaud, can you tell some information about you and the air-valid.com team.

Since years, I work in the Internet industry and I am a former entrepreneur in assurance infomediary services.
Now, I have the chance to work with 3 great developers and with a trusted advisor team who come from etourism and Internet industry.

>> Can you explain us the Air-Valid services?

Air Valid positions itself on the tourist market online as an "infomediary" aggregator of information, opinions and services to airlines passengers.

Air Valid has developed an expertise staff and a unique content.

- Information airlines identity card format: economic and factual information on more than 1,150 companies and supplied by companies

- Notes and opinions of passengers who actually made a trip

AIR VALID is the first data base of information about aeronautical companies which gathers this kind of services.

>> User Generated Contend could be very time consuming if you need to moderate all this passengers feedbacks. How do you manage this challenge?

Well, in my previous job (Assurance Internet services) I handle this challenge.
The ideal is not moderate comments.

We must therefore find relevant automatic process.

For Air Valid, our database is now self-partly maintained thanks to our partners.

The information CIEs are updated by the airlines CIEs
The opinions of consumers are generated primarily by online travel agencies partners (OTA)

Let me explain:

The airline companies update of their information through a secure and private login on the AIR VALID site. AIR VALID provides a quality control service which directly addresses and verifies the requests by the airline companies prior to updating their information on the website

The traveller feedback, based on the "Questionnaire" developed by AIR VALID on the "feeling of comfort and safety", is obtained in partnership with hundreds of travel agencies. The agencies provide their customers with the opportunity to complete this questionnaire after their return voyage. AIR VALID provides their partners with a 30 question form, with a possible score from 0 to 20 for each question. No passenger comments are solicited beyond the question scores
Other feedback is derived from the AIR VALID site.

AIR VALID will only accept feedback information after having confirmed that the passenger had indeed taken the flight that he/she wishes to comment on.

>> Well, smart way, how many feedbacks do you receive?

Air Valid now has a base of information on nearly 1138 regular airlines, charter and low cost.

This information is disseminated on nearly 40% of search queries tickets aircraft through the integration of these data on sites and information systems for visibility before or after booking sites: Go Voyages, Promovols, BDV, Ebookers.

And soon our partnerships with Voyages SNCF, Thomas Cook, will lead us to almost 60% visibility.

Through existing partnerships with travel agencies online, we gather each day between 200 and 300 opinions on the feeling of comfort and safety from passengers who actually made a trip. We have so far approximately 55,000 notices harvested in 9 months on nearly 170 airlines.

>> What is the Air-Valid business model?

We have various revenue streams:

- Classical advertising traffic with qualified lead: it's around 70 % for our business model

- Revenue with partnership and classical banners: it's around 15 %

- Monthly subscription fees from OTA partners who use our services. It's around 15 %

We are offering a great marketing and infomediary services, both for end users and our partners (OTA, Airlines CIEs). Our expertise in providing certified information about airline companies is unique on the market and could generate others revenue streams.

Also, others business opportunities will be available during our international development.

>>You cover the whole Airlines World with the Air Valid database, but do you have any priorities in the market?

We will also launch versions in Spanish and in English around October and we are focusing on closing deals with 2 partners in the US markets. Stay tuned!

>>What are your tastes for:

Travel destination: Ile Maurice

Hotel : St Gérant, of course ;-)

Business: I like to work with a trusted network of people I know since years.

>> Any others information for the readers or potential business partners?

As I already say,AIR VALID will only accept feedback information after having confirmed that the passenger had indeed taken the flight that he/she wishes to comment on.

Meaning our reviews are 100 % certified.

Please enjoy our services with Air Valid web site or with our OTA partners.



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