Threedot was founded to provide advisory services to the companies willing to make a difference, restart the industry and help it serve its purpose in a more resilient and sustainable manner. The focus of the company is on strategy and transformation, in the commercial, financial and digital areas of air travel.
The Threedot story
Air travel is a force for good.
It brings people, goods and
businesses closer together.
Air travel came a long way since it was formed as a global industry in 1944, yet the Covid crisis and climate change have brutally reminded us that this industry still has a lot to deploy to sustainably serve its purpose. Thanks to over 40 years of personal travel experience and after 15 years of serving the air travel industry, Eric Léopold became aware of the value of air travel and the incredible resilience of the industry. As he launched Threedot in 2021, air travel is fighting for survival, but it has the potential to emerge stronger. Yes, people will travel abroad soon again.
As a humble contribution Eric Léopold drafted a White Paper summarizing his proposals for the restart of the industry.
Published in December 2020 this white paper is called “30 proposals for airline capabilities post-COVID-19 crisis”. It’s a reflection to stimulate the debate on the direction the airline industry should take following the COVID-19 crisis, its renewed purpose and the proposals to achieve it. This white paper is based on Eric’s experience in the last 15 years dealing with the air travel industry, including one-to-one interviews with industry thought leaders and his work in the capacity of Director, Industry Strategy Airline Capability at IATA where his task was to create the industry strategy for airline capability following the COVID-19 crisis.
His proposals are the priorities he identified to achieve the success of the air travel industry. They address the challenges that an entire industry faces and that a single player cannot solve alone. This white paper describes the rationale for the proposed priorities, while each priority will require a specific industry business case. Any player in the marketplace may decide to take the lead on each industry priority. Disclaimer: the views expressed in this paper are entirely Eric’s and do not represent the views of his former employer, IATA, its airline members or Strategic Partners.
Restarting the industry, a Threedot White Paper
About Eric Léopold, founder and managing director of Threedot.
Eric is passionate about travel and technology. He believes that air travel is a force for good and launched Threedot to help the air travel industry achieve its purpose. Prior to Threedot, he spent 15 years in leadership roles at IATA. He started his career developing internet startups, after graduating in Electrical Engineering, Computer Sciences and Business Administration.
Eric Léopold
Founder and Managing Director of Threedot
After 6 years developing internet startups, Eric joined IATA in July 2005 where his first role was to define and roll out a new standard for boarding passes. The current standard, known as ATB2, used a magnetic stripe as a technique to store data on a piece of paper. Not only the mag stripe printers and readers cost more than simple ink printers, but they imposed that passengers queue at check-in counters to get such boarding passes. Eric set-up the working group that designed a barcode format that could not only be printed at home (PDF417) but also be displayed on the screen of a mobile phone (QR code). He proposed a deadline by 2010 to reach 95% of boarding passes containing the barcode. As the deadline was approved by IATA member airlines, Eric led the global project to ensure that airline systems could issue the barcodes and that airport equipment could read them around the world. The project scope covered hundreds of airlines, hundreds of airports, equipment manufacturers, software developers, ground handling companies and many other players. In 2010 the target was achieved and today passengers use barcodes on their phones as boarding passes.
In 2010 Eric was promoted to oversee all standards related to passenger services. These standards, like the e-ticket or the barcoded boarding passes, cover passenger and baggage operations of airlines between themselves (interline) or with travel agents (distribution) or with airports (passenger experience, facilitation). His priority was the simplify the way airlines do business together and serve their customers. He led a program called Simplifying the Business. In 2011 his team launched the World Passenger Symposium which ran until 2017 and became a leading industry event. At the first event in Singapore in 2011 he launched a new program called New Distribution Capability and got the first NDC standard adopted a year later.
In 2013 Eric was asked to lead the newly formed Transformation department. (to be continued)
In 2020 Eric was appointed to define the industry strategy for airline capabilities, in the context of the developing pandemic.
Eric left IATA at the end of 2020 and launched Threedot in February 2021.
After 6 years developing internet startups, Eric joined IATA in July 2005 where his first role was to define and roll out a new standard for boarding passes. The current standard, known as ATB2, used a magnetic stripe as a technique to store data on a piece of paper. Not only the mag stripe printers and readers cost more than simple ink printers, but they imposed that passengers queue at check-in counters to get such boarding passes. Eric set-up the working group that designed a barcode format that could not only be printed at home (PDF417) but also be displayed on the screen of a mobile phone (QR code). He proposed a deadline by 2010 to reach 95% of boarding passes containing the barcode. As the deadline was approved by IATA member airlines, Eric led the global project to ensure that airline systems could issue the barcodes and that airport equipment could read them around the world. The project scope covered hundreds of airlines, hundreds of airports, equipment manufacturers, software developers, ground handling companies and many other players. In 2010 the target was achieved and today passengers use barcodes on their phones as boarding passes.
In 2010 Eric was promoted to oversee all standards related to passenger services. These standards, like the e-ticket or the barcoded boarding passes, cover passenger and baggage operations of airlines between themselves (interline) or with travel agents (distribution) or with airports (passenger experience, facilitation). His priority was the simplify the way airlines do business together and serve their customers. He led a program called Simplifying the Business. In 2011 his team launched the World Passenger Symposium which ran until 2017 and became a leading industry event. At the first event in Singapore in 2011 he launched a new program called New Distribution Capability and got the first NDC standard adopted a year later.
In 2013 Eric was asked to lead the newly formed Transformation department, comprising global standards and change programs for airline distribution and payment. Eric served as Secretary for industry committees covering airline distribution and digital transformation. He was invited to showcase the key industry programs at IATA’s Annual General Meeting. During seven years his team designed and delivered products and services widely adopted in the air travel industry. Eric’s distribution team launched advisory groups comprising the largest TMCs and Corporate Travel Managers. His payment team rolled out an electronic wallet across all IATA accredited travel agents to secure and accelerate payments. His innovation team launched IATA’s Travel Tech Accelerator, in partnership with Plug and Play, bringing together innovative airlines and travel tech startups.
In 2020, in the context of the developing pandemic, Eric was appointed to define the industry strategy for airline capabilities. In this role he interviewed many thought leaders who helped him assess scenarios for the restart of the industry.
Eric left IATA at the end of 2020 and launched Threedot in February 2021.
