Airlines to mine customer data in marketing drive

Berlin

AIRLINES are waking up to the possibilities offered by the reams of customer data they have on file and will use this to make more targeted offers in the future, two of the world's largest carriers said.

"The airlines know so much more about individual customers, it's such an exciting opportunity," Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of low-cost carrier Ryanair, said at a travel conference in Berlin on Thursday.