Ivan Nepeivoda: «Lufthansa City Center agreement is a sign of our company’s efficient work»

«We save our clients` time and money» — this is how Maverik Lufthansa City Center agency formulates the main advantages of cooperation with it, briefly and to the point. Here companies are offered to settle all technical and organizational issues of their business trips on favourable terms, and the explanation to this is direct partnership with Russian and foreign suppliers. In 2013 Maverik Lufthansa City Center became ABT’s partner, and this event was the cause for a closer acquaintance with the company and its executive director Ivan Nepeivoda.

— Tell us about your company’s history and about the most important business development stages. What connects Maverik Lufthansa City Center and Lufthansa airline? As a matter of fact, apart from the name you have their corporate brand mark.

— «Maverik» tourist agency was established in 1997. We had a tough time at first and decided to start working in the air tickets segment. While being engaged in this area, we looked for new ways of business development. The business travel market in Rostov turned out to be almost free at the moment: no one really worked with this category of clients. As the result our business increased 500 times during two years! And if our company did not have even a single corporate agreement in 1999, in 2001 we worked with hundreds of companies. At the moment we handle about 2500 corporate agreements with companies from Rostov and Krasnodar. And we have offices there as well.

In 2006 Maverik’s success was noticed by Lufthansa airline, which casts itself primarily as a business trip carrier: we received a proposal to conclude a franchise agreement with Lufthansa City Center International. This agreement was not only the sign of our company’s efficient work, but also a very important and a responsible step for us.

— You have a business travel section on your site as well as a leisure section. What area do you consider top priority? Who are your main clients — private persons or corporate representatives?

— 70% of our clients are companies, 25% — travel agencies and tour operators. Maverik Lufthansa City Center consolidates seat blocks of different airlines, that is to say that we work mainly in the corporate sector.

— You mentioned Lufthansa City Center International. What are the advantages of cooperation with this company?

— Lufthansa City Center (LCC) — is a worldwide network of tourist agencies. Its headquarters in Frankfurt on the Main in Germany consolidates more than 600 offices in 83 countries with a total of more than 5500 employees. In Germany alone there are more than three hundred offices. Since the first office was opened in Dresden in 1991, the company has become one of the fastest growing tourist agency networks in the world. And there are figures to confirm that: in 2011 LCCI turnover amounted to 2,16 billion euro in tourism sector and 2,87 billion euro in business travel sector. Probably, the keystone for such a success is a very strong franchise concept that meets the standards of the changing world, globalization and market concentration.

All Lufthansa City Center international offices are absolutely independent and can efficiently combine their own experience and the knowledge of local markets with new opportunities offered by cooperation with this corporate network.

— Can you say that business travel in Russia has its specifics?

— I can hardly judge about Moscow and Saint Petersburg where the business travel market is concentrated for obvious reasons. But if we take other cities, I can point out that companies lack travel policy and there is a very strong personal attachment, that is personal contacts mean a lot, which can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage in our job.

— What special services do you offer corporate customers? What distinguishes you from other tourist agencies?

— Our company guarantees professional approach and an almost unlimited scope of business travel organization — from simple business trips to representative congresses.

On our site www.maverik.ru our clients can book air tickets to any destination in the world from their home or office 24 hours a day. This has become possible due to the PayOnline processing center which guarantees safe and high-quality service. You can pay for your ticket through our site quickly and easily, and what is more important, it is absolutely safe.

We have a wide agency network in the cities of the South Federal District and cooperate with more than 350 airlines from Russia, the CIS or abroad and we are one of top performers in air tickets sales. Besides, Maverik Lufthansa City Center is an agent of Russian Railways.

Maverik Lufthansa City Center also deals with hotel booking in Russia and abroad, transfers, visa support, and incentive tours.

Our company has often been honoured with Senator Agent, Best Business Agent certificates and the leading airlines` diplomas for its high service standards, it became IATA`s Accredited agent in 2004.

Our customers are the largest companies from Rostov-on-Don, the Rostov region and the South Federal District and include UNGK, Lukoil, Vimpelkom, Horizont Svyaz Servis, Agrokom group of companies, Gloria Jeans, Buderus, MediaMarkt, Danone, Lebedyansky, Donskoy Tabak etc.

— Maverik Lufthansa City Center has become ABT’s partner this year. What do you expect from cooperation with ABT?

— I hope cooperation with ABT will help bring the latest travel technologies and best practices to our region, to the province. I hope Maverik Lufthansa City Center will be the first to master them.