Etihad Airways: Signal Loss & Perishable Inventory
01 — Client & Context
Etihad Airways is a global airline managing digital acquisition for direct bookings and Etihad Guest loyalty membership. The challenge is structural: airline inventory is perishable (empty seats expire), OTA commissions to Expedia and Skyscanner erode margin, and post-iOS14 signal loss broke the retargeting models that direct-booking campaigns had depended on.
Engaged as part of Zapcom's integrated marketing team for Etihad, managing the full performance marketing and loyalty acquisition portfolio.
02 — The Challenge
Signal Loss & Broken Retargeting
iOS14 wiped approximately 40% of "Add to Cart" and fare search signals. Travellers who searched for flights could no longer be reliably retargeted. The standard dynamic ad model — re-engage people who looked at a route — was broken and expensive. Attribution models were producing unreliable ROAS numbers.
OTA Competition & Perishable Inventory
Every booking through Expedia or Skyscanner costs Etihad a commission. Every empty seat on departure is revenue that disappears permanently. The two problems compound: signal loss makes efficient direct booking harder, pushing more volume to OTAs, while routes with empty seats need rapid, targeted advertising to fill them cost-effectively.
03 — Strategy & Technology
Two structural interventions: replace cookie-dependent retargeting with first-party PNR data, and restructure the budget allocation model to systematically build the loyalty data asset alongside performance.
The 20/35/45 Budget Architecture
Restructured budget allocation away from a pure performance model into a tiered funnel designed to systematically grow the first-party data asset:
Destination marketing. Awareness at the route and destination level to seed the consideration funnel before purchase intent crystallises.
Etihad Guest membership acquisition. First-party data acquisition at $8–$14 CPL. Every loyalty member becomes a cookie-free retargeting asset.
High-intent direct booking. Performance budget routed to audiences seeded by the loyalty graph — bypassing cookies entirely.
The PNR Data Loop
Integrated Sabre and NDC booking data into the measurement stack. Used the Passenger Name Record (PNR) as the global deduplication key — allowing accurate attribution across the booking funnel without relying on browser cookies. Routing: GTM Server-Side to Meta CAPI. This created a closed measurement loop that produced reliable ROAS signals despite iOS14 signal loss.
Predictive Inventory Ads
Evolution from standard dynamic ads to predictive inventory ads: bidding strategy adapted to bid higher on routes with seat availability pressure. Routes approaching departure with empty seats received elevated bid multipliers — turning perishable inventory into a bidding signal rather than a problem.
04 — Key Metrics
What They Said
"It was an absolute pleasure working with Sankalp during his time as Head of Marketing. Throughout our time together, he consistently demonstrated a deep passion for the business, unwavering dedication to his team, and a genuine commitment to collaboration. Sankalp's professionalism, creativity, and enthusiasm for marketing shone through in every project he led. His contributions had a meaningful impact, and his positive energy was truly appreciated across the organisation."