Outcomes
A conservative four-year business case projected cumulative gross margin improvements of over 30%, a 17% increase in spend per passenger, and a 4% uplift in aircraft utilisation — with a 15% gross margin uplift already signed off for the Summer season. The client described the work as “highly thought-provoking.”
Background
With market share and profitability under pressure, the client recognised that Yield Management — the discipline of maximising revenue through smarter pricing and capacity decisions — needed a fundamental step change. Previous improvement attempts had failed to gain traction. Trust in the existing “black-box” pricing system had eroded, leading to inconsistent practices across the business and commercial outcomes that fell well short of potential.
The root causes ran deep: teams had a limited understanding of the commercial impact of their pricing decisions, there was little operational control over the process, and capability gaps existed at every level of the organisation. The potential of digital technologies was poorly understood and largely untapped, with knowledge siloed rather than shared across functions.
Curzon Approach
Curzon took a structured, collaborative approach — working alongside the client rather than delivering from the outside. We developed an analytical model to explore what a best-in-class Yield Management operating model could look like, and jointly created a maturity model that gave the team a shared language and a clear sense of ambition for where they needed to get to.
Through a series of facilitated workshops, we stress-tested the strengths and weaknesses of the existing operating model across process, people, and technology dimensions. This co-creation approach ensured the resulting vision had genuine ownership from the client team.
We then translated that vision into a practical blueprint: a structured roadmap, programme plan, and governance framework. Curzon actively supported the programme launch — working with the Programme Director and PMO to establish effective Programme Boards, a robust benefits case, and cross-functional engagement across the business.
