Flight Booking Specialist

at  Hurtigruten

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Minimum 3-years’ experience in a similar role in the travel industry.
• Strong knowledge of travel operations and logistics, especially with experience in managing travel logistics in remote destinations with limited infrastructure.
• Professional experience in travel industry.
• Proficient knowledge of flight booking systems (Sabre and Amadeus), documentation procedures and other processes
• Excellent knowledge of GDS Systems; Agent Command Pages, Back office & Agency Management functions, Script & Software Development Kits.
• Excellent Industry knowledge and reservation skills for domestic and international reservations to include air, hotel, rail, and ground transportation
• Analytical skills and statistical background
• Proficiency in MS Office applications including Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Fluent English; other languages beneficial
• Intermediate Excel proficiency to conduct calculations and references in tables.
• Comfortable learning new software and systems.
• Clear and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage tasks and responsibilities in an ever-changing environment.
• Experience working in a multi-national organisation with a global guest mix.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize work independently, with ability to follow specified working schedule and tasks
• Strategic mindset, but comfortable drilling down into details and data
• Structured and analytical approach to problem-solving and decision-making
• Highly collaborative and a dedicated team player, with ability to collaborate across functions to deliver on business goals
• Clear and effective communication
• Effective and inspirational leadership and collaboration

DESIRABLE KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Experience with research, analysis and presenting key findings.

HX SPIRIT:

• Passionate Explorers: We are proud of our history and are driven to create more.
• ‘Can-do’ Mindset: We jump-in and proactively contribute to the greater good.
• Humble Leadership: We have a short distance between leaders and teams.
• Genuine Interactions: We want all people to be their true selves.
• Supportive & Collaborative Teams: We are curious and generous with our knowledge. We Trust.
  Passionate Explorers - We are proud of our history and are driven to create more.
  ‘Can-Do’ Mindset - We jump-in and proactively contribute to the greater good.
  Supportive and Collaborative Teams - We are curious and generous with our knowledge. We Trust.
  Genuine Interactions - We want all people to be their true selves.
  Humble Leadership - We have a short distance between leaders and teams.
  Since 1896, HX have championed sustainability in the expedition cruise sector. From launching the world’s first battery-hybrid expedition cruise ships to banishing heavy fuel oil and single use plastics from our fleet. We are at the forefront of driving sustainable practices in expedition cruises that prioritise greener travel.
  For nearly 130 years we have been committed to continuously improving what we do for our guests but also for the people we work with.
  We are a group of explorers who want to seek out the very best journeys for our guests but also for ourselves. We take our guests on big life-changing adventures, from the stunning wilderness of the Arctic to the incredible creatures on the Galápagos Islands all on our purpose-built expedition ships. Our HX fleet explore hundreds of destinations in over 30 countries across 5 continents.
  Our ambition is strong and lofty – we want to become the number one sustainable expedition brand in the world. But we recognise we need passionate explorers, with can-do mindsets, humble leadership skills which bring people together for genuine interactions in a supportive and collaborative way.
  As a newly branded company built on a 130-years heritage, HX is at an exciting new chapter and as we embark on this new journey, we believe your skills and passion could thrive. We are looking for talented explorers who want to join us on our exciting expedition to growth and success. This could include travelling and working in amazing HX hubs both on sea and land. From our impressive new Headquarters in London to our state-of-the-art Customer Service Centre just opened in Prague as well as various offices across Europe, the US and APAC.
  One thing you’ll find whether on sea or land is a group of people, all connected with the same mindset and purpose - we want to explore more, champion sustainability and become the world’s very best expedition cruise operator.

A BIT ABOUT THE ROLE:

At HX our purpose is to awaken people to the beauty and fragility of the planet, with adventure that reignites a sense of wonder. We take curious travellers to incredible destinations, sustainably and in true expedition-style. We bring them off the beaten track, to special destinations across the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos, British Isles, Alaska, Northern Norway, and Central / South America.
As one of the core teams at HX, the Air Product Team owns a critical part of the guest experience, enabling us to help our guests reach destinations around the world. The Flight Booking Specialist is responsible for supporting our front line sales team members, who will be booking flights via Amadeus, with any extraordinary bookings that require an advanced skillset. This role will also work closely with the Air Systems Manager and collaborate with them on the development and maintenance of the Amadeus digital flight booking system which will work within our Seaware voyage booking platform.
You will be asked to immerse yourself in the HX destinations, guest expectations, vendor relationships, and nuances needed to be effective in this role. Onboarding for this position involves extensive independent learning, an inquisitive and collaborative mindset, hands-on learning of various systems, and building relationships internally and externally. Attention to detail and clear communication is required every step of the way. While the team primarily follows standard working hours, there is a need for flexible hours to work across time zones.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Be a subject matter expert in all Air-related systems, reports, and procedures including GDS, booking systems, and payments and invoicing.
• Work with front line booking agents, when needed, to support complex booking challenges.
• Collaborate with sales team on unique booking requests, especially airline specific group booking contracts (eg United flights on EWR – GOH route) where independent contracts exist.
• Be available to support mass booking change events, such as those that occur during unexpected voyage cancellations or large scale airline changes.
• Support the implementation of Air-related systems and tools (Amadeus, GDS, Seaware etc.), supporting handling of technical issues as needed to support our strategic business needs
• Develop tools and reports to monitor air operations, fares, and trends
• Supervise and support projects related to air operations and services
• Improve processes, procedures, systems, and tools in order to optimize air operations and provide necessary training, together with team leaders
• Collaborate closely with stakeholders working with the Air Product team, including Revenue Management, Accounting, Sales, and Digital
• Partner with finance to ensure effective cost controls by reviewing invoices for accuracy, approving invoices in a timely manner, and reporting of estimates compared to real costs.
• Proactively train and respond to questions from travel consultants and B2B commercial teams, to ensure our front line sales team understand the design of our air products and our unique value proposition (vs competitors) in these products.
• Provide training, introduction, and support various stakeholders to increase Air Product knowledge.
• Monitor trends within and outside of the expedition cruise segment to inform product design focus.