A new sector of Internet services continues to take off with the Monday
addition of Points.com Web content to Tenzing Communication’s inflight
email and Web service offering
Even though the company itself isn’t doing so well on Wall Street, the
inclusion of Points.com to Seattle-based Tenzing’s fold is good for the airline
Internet service provider (ISP), which has been busily signing up content
partners the past year in efforts to drive up customer numbers. The ISP,
partly owned by European giant Airbus Industrie, is in fierce competition
with Boeing Co., which offers its own online service called Connexion.
The ISP offers limited Web surfing and access to email for airborne
travelers, an industry that many expect will gain popularity in the coming
year.
Points.com lumps together frequent-flyer type miles and points accumulated
by travelers worldwide from different international companies, ranging
from SkyMiles at Delta Airlines to Marriott Rewards points at Marriott
Hotels. These miles and points are converted to a common “currency” rate
for use among all the program partners.
The company has had a rough time convincing investors of its relevance,
with a very narrow business model that focuses on a very small niche in the
otherwise-lucrative airline industry: the loyalty services of miles and
points.
Selling at just 28 cents a share on the Canadian Stock Exchange, its
addition to Tenzing’s service might be the shot in the arm it needs to
succeed; that, or prove to be enough of a service to get acquired by
another company.
John Wade, Tenzing executive vice president, said the agreement is a
logical inclusion to its selection of Web sites, which includes Yahoo!, the
Wall Street Journal and FT.com.
“We’re very pleased to be able to include Points.com as yet another
addition to our growing network of partners both terrestrially and
in-flight,” Wade said. “With pointsxchange, Points.com offers an
innovative new service that’s a perfect fit with our select premium content
and also highly relevant to our partners, airlines and customers.”
Officials also said, though they wouldn’t specify, that they were in talks
to expand their business relationship. It’s a deal that makes sense, given
the nature of both its business operations.
Points.com clearly depends on the airline industry, along with
airline-connected services like hotel and car rental accommodations, for
its existence. Inclusion on Tenzing’s airline-specific Web service gives
them much-needed access to the business travelers who make up the bulk of
its customer base.
The company itself is managed by airline industry executives like Rob
MacLean, who was Canadian Airlines vice president of North American sales
before starting up Points.com as president, and Bill Thompson, Points.com
vice president of partner relationships, who was in sales at American Airlines.
On the other hand, Tenzing, an international ISP with a similarly small
customer base to cull, is looking for strong partnerships with content
providers and companies that can drive up sales to its per-day Internet
connectivity service. A service that brings all those many different
frequent-flyer miles and lodging points together is popular with many
travelers who don’t normally keep track of such things.
