Experts
Shawn Richards
Ink Innovation
Organised by
IATA
Ink joined the IATA Offers and Orders Transformation Forum 2025 to discuss how airlines can move beyond a commercially led view of transformation. During a roundtable with airlines, the conversation focused on the role of Operations, the practical demands of Delivery and the complexity of servicing third-party products. Shawn Richards later shared his reflections on why Operations must be involved early if airlines want Offers and Orders to work across the full passenger journey.
Looking ahead: What should airlines do now?
01
Be realistic but bold
Not every airline will become a retailer of third-party content overnight. Curation, clarity, and accountability are key. Start small, but design for scale.
02
Engage Operations early and often
Identify Delivery touchpoints now. Involve your Ops teams in discussions about system replacement, service workflows, and exception handling.
03
Design for the ecosystem
Don’t treat third-party fulfilment as an afterthought. Build integration points and data-sharing protocols into your Order Management strategy from the start.