PROS Gains Travel Tech Sales Uplift With United Airlines Deal
Photo Caption: A rainbow of light on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Scoot, an airline that uses tech from PROS. Source: Scoot Tigerair.
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About four out of every ten passengers boarded worldwide have their trips touched by tech from the vendor PROS. The company's recent win in selling more enterprise software to United, along with this year's new products, acquisitions, and R&D spending, may catch the eye.
PROS (Pricing and Revenue Optimization Solutions) only makes about 45 percent of its revenue from selling enterprise software to airlines. Yet the Houston-based company has been spending significantly in a long-term bet on airlines as software buyers.
"PROS already touches 45 percent of all passengers boarded globally, meaning their trips involve use of our platform behind the scenes," said president and CEO Andres Reiner. "We plan to grow that. Our strategy has been, 'how do we help airlines thrive in the digital era across every aspect of their business?'"
The company has made relevant acquisitions. Earlier this month, PROS bought Everymundo, a software maker primarily for airlines, for $80 million. In 2019, it bought Travelaer, an airline tech vendor, in a deal valued at about $12 million.
While the pandemic has caused many airlines to pause tech projects or renegotiate pricing with PROS, the crisis has also spurred some carriers to rethink their approach to technology, opening up a chance for new sales. It has 1,600 employees, with about 700 of those in research and development and 40 data scientists.
United Airlines is one example. The Chicago.-based carrier is implementing a PROS tool to help its sales teams configure, price, and quote terms for contracts with corporate customers buying business travel. United says it's the first U.S. airline to do this for passe
