A Conversation with PKX Thomas, COO, Cleartrip.com

A read-up on their swanky new app on the iOS platform, and a look-see at their impressive website later, we were sure of where we were headed. Cleartrip.com is a name that instantly brings to mind the image of pocket-friendly holidays tickets - that you might've indulged in too.

A quick rush through the busy lanes of Mumbai, and some interesting bits on the city’s mill days, courtesy an enterprising cabbie, we reached the Cleartrip office. We were ushered in, and in the walk through the large space we could see dozens of heads, buried in work, probably helping ‘you’ make that trip memorable, and of course, keeping their motto in mind, simple.  We were there to meet Mr. PKX Thomas, and were eager to know more about him and the popular site. Below is our tete-a-tete with Mr. PKX Thomas, COO, Cleartrip.com.

PKX Thomas, COO, Cleartrip.com

Could you tell us a bit more about the profile you manage at Cleartrip?
Well! My profile at Cleartrip is multi-faceted.  In a way you could say what jobs nobody else does, is done by me (chuckles).  Technology has been an integral part of my profile here at Cleartrip, and fascinatingly it has been my steady passion, too. Apart from that, I do look after the business side of things, too. I look at the things on the product side, too. Also, HR operations are taken care of by me. So, in that sense, I don lots of hats.

What idea led to the beginning of Cleartrip?
Cleartrip was started between Stuart (Stuart Crighton, CEO), Hrush (Hrush Bhatt, Founder & Director), and a few others. At the time we began operating, the space was virtually empty. Booking a ticket, for most parts was a paid thing. If I wanted to book a ticket to some place I would have look out for a travel agent, whom I would expect to do the needful. I joined Cleartrip, somewhere around the same time as Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers joined as investors to Cleartrip, i.e. end of July, 2006.

In India, the concept of booking a ticket online is still in its infancy stages, in such a situation, what were the risks you had in your mind before taking the plunge?
People are now changing their view pertaining to the idea of buying a ticket. We are experiencing a growth rate, which is currently higher than that of the airline industry.  More and more people are now looking at websites like that of ours as a convenient option to buy their tickets from. The transition from offline to online is happening steadily.

Book while on the go..

Also, users have now understood that the online medium adds more transparency to the whole buying process. Like earlier, if you approach a travel agent to book your ticket, you were forced to believe the price he quoted, simply because there was no way you could cross-check. However now, that is not the situation. If the agent quotes you one price, you can visit us, and get the same trip costing you much lesser.  However, having said that, these dual markets will continue to exist. The online medium is self-serviceable – you search, you pay.

However, the challenge that remains is that people have got used to conventional means of buying a ticket. The risk here was that when booked online, the ticket comes in an email, the print out of which has to be produced at the counter at the railway station, or the airport. It most definitely lacks the look, and feel of the good old ticket. Initially there was a lot of uncertainty about whether that particular format would be accepted. But, today, it is accepted everywhere. Also, the ease of the usage of our travel website instills the confidence in the user.  In many ways, during the pre-purchase period, we empower the user to make the decision.  Then comes the decision, in that, you will always pick something that’s more cost-effective, and not something that’s plain exorbitant.

Additionally, if for any reason, the user feels the need to change his purchase decision, then the quality of the services provided, refund given for the same, et al further helps us to build the confidence of the user.