Security Bsides Las Vegas 2024

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An adversarial approach to Airline Revenue Management
.ical
2024-08-06 –, Firenze

Richard Brason is oft quoted with the quip that the quickest way to become a millionaire in the Airline Industry is to start as a billionaire. An Industry constrained by high fixed capital costs, bi-lateral capacity treaties, airport slots and curfews, labour etc; Airlines use the practice of revenue management to fill planes, maximise earnings and keep competitors at bay.

But you’re not interested in an economics talk – this is a hacker con. I’m here to provide a birds-eye view and introduction into how fares and ticketing work, debunking some myths while outlining system constraints and limitations that introduce vulnerabilities.

As an outcome, attendees should gain an introductory understanding of airline industry pricing, published fares and terminology. With most blogged 'deals' patched quicker than RCEs, the deeper understanding of not what but how, facilitates a progression for those interested to interact on more specialised discussion forums.

The following topics are in scope for this presentation subject to timing and refinement with Mentor

  • Regulatory Landscape/ Freedoms of the Air

    • Codeshares & Wet/dry-leases
    • Market concentration & fortress-hubs

  • Myths - eg. “The price just went up” - You’re buying a fare not a flight - likely inventory dropped, fare expired or rules eg. Advance purchase invalidated the price.

  • Ticketing

    • Process of buying ticket/redeeming coupon.
    • GDS Distribution Systems
    • Fare Classes & Rules (and ways around them)
      • IATA Zones & Subzones
      • Rules
        • RoundTrip/SingleTrip/Direct/Non-Stop
        • Mileage vs Routing rules
        • MPM (max permitted mileage)
          • Ticketed Point Deductions
        • HIP Higher Intermediate Point
        • Seasonality (eg. Only applied to first outbound sector)
        • Stopover vs Transfer
      • Ticketing/eTicketing
        • Plating/Validating/Operating Carrier.
    • Ticketing Weaknesses
      • Fuel Surcharges / Dumps
      • Hidden city (mainstream skiplag controversy)
      • Pricing and allowed routing misfilings (eg. Some Europeans use commas as decimals, Guam considered part of Continental US, EU remote island possessions etc)
        • When is a mistake a mistake?
      • ADMs

  • IROPS (Irregular Operations) and how to have a less shit time (or even benefit)

    • Endorsements / IATA 735D / Rule 120 etc
    • Compensations
      • EU264/ Montreal Convention / Terms of Service
    • Ways to benefit
      • Rebooking into full fare on other airlines.
      • Original Routing Credits/mileage(Double Dipping)

  • Loyalty Programs & Award Travel

    • Types of Schemes - Distance, Zonal + now Revenue.
    • Conceptual overview of Manufactured Spending
    • Arbitrage opportunities (your preferred domestic carrier is not always the best)
The speaker’s profile picture
Craig Lester

Craig relocated interstate for his first tech role 18 years ago, where a need for travel developed into a hobby interest. Once a mileage runner, he was called crazy by some for doing long-haul weekends away. His technical career has spanned from Data & Carrier Networking into Security, where he currently assists SOC teams with detection and analytics.