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    IBS Software iFly RES / iFly DCS

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    yousuccessBy Updated:No Comments9 Mins Read7 Views

    Market Position and Product Profile

    IBS Software iFly RES is a next-generation cloud-native Passenger Service System (PSS) that incorporates a fully integrated Departure Control System (DCS) rather than treating departure processing as a separate airport application. Unlike many legacy airline platforms where reservations and DCS evolved independently, iFly RES was designed as a unified platform with shared data, a common passenger record and integrated retailing capabilities.

    One of iFly RES’s most significant differentiators is that it is marketed as one of the first Passenger Service Systems with native Offer and Order Management, built around IATA’s NDC and ONE Order initiatives. Rather than centering operations on traditional PNRs and electronic tickets alone, the platform increasingly treats customer orders as the primary commercial object, positioning airlines for future retailing models.

    IBS positions iFly RES for:

    • Low-cost carriers (LCC)
    • Hybrid airlines
    • Regional airlines
    • Medium-sized full-service airlines
    • Leisure carriers
    • Growing national airlines
    • Digital-first airlines
    • Airlines modernizing legacy PSS environments

    Unlike Navitaire, whose historical strength is ticketless low-cost operations, or Altéa and SabreSonic, which evolved around traditional network carriers, iFly RES deliberately bridges both worlds by supporting conventional airline operations while embracing modern airline retailing.

    Vendor Overview

    ItemDetails
    VendorIBS Software
    HeadquartersKochi, India
    Founded1997
    Primary productiFly RES
    DeploymentCloud-native SaaS
    Product typeIntegrated Passenger Service System and Departure Control System
    Native DCSYes
    Native Offer & Order ManagementYes
    NDC SupportYes
    ONE Order SupportYes
    Primary marketLow-cost, hybrid, regional and medium-sized airlines
    Major competitorsAmadeus Altéa, SabreSonic, Navitaire New Skies, Hitit Crane, Radixx, InteliSys amelia

    IBS states that iFly RES currently supports more than 40 million passengers annually, more than 200 connected tour operators, 50+ online travel agencies and metasearch partners, and over 30,000 connected agent users.

    1. What iFly RES Is

    Unlike traditional architectures where reservations, inventory and departure control are separate products, iFly RES combines:

    • Reservations
    • Inventory
    • Passenger servicing
    • Offer management
    • Order management
    • Ticketing
    • Airport processing
    • Departure control
    • Retailing
    • Ancillary merchandising
    • Customer profiles
    • Digital servicing

    IBS describes iFly RES as a unified Passenger Service System with integrated Departure Control capabilities and a shared seat map across commercial and airport operations.

    Simplified architecture:

    Digital Channels
        │
        ├── Website
        ├── Mobile App
        ├── Contact Centre
        ├── Travel Agencies
        ├── OTAs
        └── NDC Distribution
                │
                ▼
            iFly RES
 ├── Reservations
 ├── Inventory
 ├── Offers
 ├── Orders
 ├── Pricing
 ├── Customer Profiles
 ├── Ancillaries
 └── Departure Control
         │
         ├── Check-in
         ├── Seats
         ├── Boarding
         ├── Baggage
         └── Flight Close-out

    2. Cloud-Native Architecture

    One of iFly RES’s strongest competitive advantages is that it was designed as a modern SaaS platform rather than being migrated from legacy mainframe systems.

    IBS describes the platform as:

    • Cloud enabled
    • Modular
    • API driven
    • Open architecture
    • Real-time
    • Highly available
    • Omnichannel
    • Customer-centric

    Unlike many older airline systems that rely heavily on proprietary messaging, iFly RES exposes a broad API ecosystem for digital distribution and servicing.

    3. Offer and Order Management

    Perhaps the defining characteristic of iFly RES is its native support for:

    • IATA NDC
    • ONE Order
    • Offer Management
    • Order Management

    Traditional airline systems revolve around:

    • PNR
    • Electronic Ticket
    • EMD
    • Fare construction

    iFly RES gradually replaces these with:

    • Customer Offers
    • Airline Orders
    • Unified customer records

    This aligns the system with IATA’s long-term retailing strategy.

    IBS states that iFly RES is certified for both NDC and ONE Order and was designed around these standards rather than retrofitting them later.

    4. Reservations and Inventory

    Core reservation capabilities include:

    • Flight schedules
    • Inventory
    • Fare management
    • Dynamic pricing
    • Availability
    • Reservations
    • Customer records
    • Booking modifications
    • Group bookings
    • Corporate bookings
    • Multi-city itineraries
    • Codeshare reservations
    • Ancillary sales

    Unlike legacy inventory systems built around static fare classes, iFly RES supports:

    • Dynamic pricing
    • Personalized offers
    • Continuous pricing
    • Context-based merchandising

    IBS emphasizes that customer profiles and AI-assisted merchandising are central components of the platform.

    5. Departure Control

    Unlike Radixx, where Go is a separate DCS product, iFly RES includes integrated departure control.

    Published capabilities include:

    • Passenger check-in
    • Boarding
    • Boarding passes
    • Seat assignment
    • Shared seat map
    • Airport retailing
    • Baggage acceptance
    • Airport servicing
    • Flight close-out
    • Advanced check-in

    The integrated seat map removes synchronization problems often encountered when reservations and airport systems maintain different seat databases.

    6. Passenger Check-in

    Supported channels include:

    • Airport counters
    • Web check-in
    • Mobile check-in
    • Self-service kiosks
    • Transfer desks
    • Gate processing

    Passenger validation includes:

    • Booking confirmation
    • Travel documents
    • Payment status
    • Seat assignment
    • Baggage allowance
    • Ancillary purchases
    • Special Service Requests
    • Loyalty status
    • Government requirements

    Because departure control shares the same commercial database, changes made shortly before departure are immediately visible.

    7. Airport Retailing

    Airport retailing is an area where iFly RES differentiates itself.

    The DCS supports real-time merchandising at airport touchpoints.

    Agents may:

    • Sell baggage
    • Upgrade seats
    • Sell meals
    • Add insurance
    • Sell lounge access
    • Collect change fees
    • Offer upgrades

    IBS explicitly identifies airport retailing as one of the platform’s core advantages.

    8. Dynamic Pricing

    Unlike traditional reservation systems that rely on predetermined booking classes, iFly RES incorporates dynamic pricing.

    Pricing decisions may consider:

    • Customer value
    • Shopping context
    • Demand
    • Ancillary combinations
    • Customer profile
    • Business rules

    IBS states that the pricing engine supports virtually unlimited price points rather than fixed fare ladders.

    9. Digital Distribution

    iFly RES supports:

    • Airline websites
    • Mobile applications
    • Call centres
    • Travel agencies
    • NDC distribution
    • Traditional GDSs
    • Online Travel Agencies
    • Metasearch engines

    IBS reports connectivity with more than:

    • 200 tour operators
    • 50 OTAs and metasearch platforms
    • 30,000 travel-agent users

    10. APIs

    IBS strongly emphasizes APIs.

    Public documentation mentions:

    • Rich API catalogue
    • Real-time APIs
    • Proprietary APIs
    • NDC APIs
    • Order APIs

    One technical document references:

    • 135 booking-related API functions
    • 38 check-in API functions

    These APIs support both commercial and operational integrations.

    11. NDC

    iFly RES was one of the earliest Passenger Service Systems to receive IATA NDC certification.

    IBS has participated in IATA’s NDC working groups and designed iFly RES around XML-based airline retailing standards.

    Supported capabilities include:

    • Air Shopping
    • Offer creation
    • Service pricing
    • Ancillary merchandising
    • Order creation
    • Airline retailing
    • Third-party distribution

    12. ONE Order

    IBS markets iFly RES as ONE Order capable.

    ONE Order reduces dependence upon:

    • PNR
    • Electronic Ticket
    • EMD

    Instead, customer journeys are managed through unified airline orders.

    This simplifies:

    • Customer servicing
    • Airport processing
    • Distribution
    • Settlement
    • Ancillary management

    Although industry-wide adoption remains gradual, IBS positions itself ahead of many legacy providers in this area.

    13. Customer Profiles

    Unlike traditional PSS platforms centred on bookings, iFly RES places customer profiles at the core.

    Profiles may contain:

    • Purchase history
    • Preferences
    • Loyalty
    • Behaviour
    • Travel history
    • Merchandising eligibility

    These profiles drive:

    • Personalized pricing
    • Dynamic offers
    • Airport retailing
    • Cross-channel servicing

    14. Scalability

    IBS reports:

    • 40+ million passengers
    • 30,000+ connected agents
    • 200+ tour operators
    • 50+ OTAs

    The company does not publicly publish hard technical limits for:

    • Concurrent users
    • Booking throughput
    • Check-in throughput
    • Boarding transactions
    • API rates

    Airlines should request benchmark results for comparable deployments.

    15. Known Airline Customers

    Publicly announced iFly RES customers include:

    • Jin Air
    • T’way Airlines
    • SunExpress
    • Flybe (new airline launch)
    • SkyUp Airlines
    • Vanilla Air

    These deployments include reservations, ticketing and integrated departure-control operations.

    Airlines should distinguish between:

    • Current production customer
    • Historical customer
    • Migration announcement
    • Full PSS deployment
    • Module-specific deployment

    16. Pricing

    IBS does not publish pricing.

    Typical commercial components include:

    • SaaS subscription
    • Passenger-based fees
    • Implementation
    • Data migration
    • Training
    • API integration
    • Digital channels
    • Airport deployment
    • Professional services
    • Support

    Indicative Market Position

    CategoryPosition
    ImplementationMedium to High
    SaaS feesNegotiated
    Enterprise complexityMedium
    Digital capabilityVery High
    Best valueMedium-sized growing airlines

    17. Principal Advantages

    • Native Offer & Order Management
    • Integrated DCS
    • Cloud-native SaaS architecture
    • Strong API ecosystem
    • Excellent NDC support
    • ONE Order readiness
    • Modern retailing platform
    • Customer-profile centric
    • Dynamic pricing
    • Strong ancillary merchandising
    • Shared seat map
    • Real-time servicing
    • Strong digital-distribution capabilities

    18. Principal Weaknesses

    • Smaller installed base than Altéa or SabreSonic
    • Fewer publicly documented global alliance deployments
    • Pricing not publicly available
    • Performance benchmarks not publicly disclosed
    • Large alliance-scale operations require individual validation
    • Complex interline scenarios should be tested carefully

    19. iFly RES vs Navitaire New Skies

    CriterioniFly RESNavitaire New Skies
    ArchitectureCloud-nativeHosted enterprise
    Offer & OrderNativeEvolving
    NDCNativeSupported
    ONE OrderNativeEmerging
    Airport RetailingExcellentStrong
    Dynamic PricingNativeSupported
    API EcosystemVery StrongStrong
    Traditional LCC HeritageModerateExcellent
    Best FitHybrid, digital-firstLarge LCC

    20. iFly RES vs Hitit Crane

    CriterioniFly RESHitit Crane
    RetailingExcellentStrong
    Departure ControlIntegratedIntegrated
    Weight & BalanceExternal/integration dependentNative Crane module
    Cloud ArchitectureMore modernModern SaaS
    Offer ManagementNativeMore traditional
    Digital APIsStrongerStrong

    21. iFly RES vs Radixx

    CriterioniFly RESRadixx
    Native DCSYesVia Radixx Go
    Offer ManagementNativeTraditional PSS model
    Dynamic PricingNativeSupported but less central
    NDCStrongSupported
    ONE OrderStrongLess mature
    Customer ProfilesCore architectureConventional
    API-first DesignStrongGood

    22. iFly RES vs Altéa

    CriterioniFly RESAltéa
    Global Alliance PresenceModerateExcellent
    Digital RetailingExcellentStrong
    Offer & OrderNativeProgressive adoption
    ImplementationMediumHigh
    CostMediumHigh
    Cloud ArchitectureModern SaaSEnterprise hosted

    23. Best-Fit Recommendations

    Excellent Fit

    iFly RES is particularly well suited for:

    • Digital-first airlines
    • Low-cost carriers
    • Hybrid airlines
    • Medium-sized full-service airlines
    • Regional carriers with growth ambitions
    • Airlines prioritizing NDC and ONE Order
    • Airlines seeking to modernize legacy PSS environments
    • Carriers focused on ancillary revenue and personalized retailing

    Conditional Fit

    It is also a strong candidate for:

    • National carriers undergoing digital transformation
    • Airlines introducing advanced merchandising and dynamic pricing
    • Carriers expanding international distribution through NDC-enabled channels

    These airlines should validate complex alliance, interline and high-volume operational scenarios during procurement.

    Less Suitable

    iFly RES may be a weaker fit for:

    • Very small charter operators requiring only basic reservations and check-in
    • Large global alliance airlines with extensive legacy interline ecosystems unless detailed operational validation confirms suitability

    24. Overall Assessment

    IBS Software iFly RES represents one of the most modern Passenger Service Systems currently available. Unlike many competitors that have progressively modernized legacy platforms, iFly RES was designed around digital retailing, cloud delivery, APIs, customer-centric architecture and emerging IATA standards.

    Its defining strengths include:

    • Integrated Departure Control System
    • Native Offer and Order Management
    • Strong NDC and ONE Order capabilities
    • Cloud-native SaaS deployment
    • Rich API ecosystem
    • Dynamic pricing
    • Customer-profile driven personalization
    • Real-time airport retailing
    • Unified reservations and departure processing

    Its primary limitations relate less to functionality than to market penetration. While iFly RES has an expanding customer base that includes airlines such as Jin Air, SunExpress, T’way Airlines, Flybe, SkyUp and Vanilla Air, it does not yet have the same breadth of publicly documented deployments among very large alliance carriers as Amadeus Altéa or SabreSonic.

    For airlines pursuing digital transformation, modern airline retailing and future-ready distribution based on NDC and ONE Order, iFly RES is one of the strongest platforms currently available. It is particularly compelling for carriers seeking to move beyond legacy reservation and departure-control models toward a unified, customer-centric commerce platform.

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