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INDUSTRY NEWS & PEOPLE  August 2006
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ANA Speeds Narita Passage
All Nippon Airways has opened a separate security lane for first-class passengers and top-tier members of its frequent-flyer program in the new South Wing of Narita Airport’s Terminal 1 in Tokyo. The new priority lane will allow eligible customers, plus one companion each, to proceed to immigration without further delay.
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BA Sets December Debut For New International Flights
British Airways will introduce daily morning flights between New York’s JFK Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport on Dec. 1, the same day it plans to launch new service between Heathrow and Calgary in Canada. Two days later, on Dec. 3, it will increase flights from Heathrow to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from seven to 10 each week.
The JFK-Heathrow flight will depart New York at 8 a.m. and arrive in London at 7:45 p.m. The return flight will leave London at 6:55 p.m. and arrive in New York at 9:35 p.m.
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BCD Portal Adds Info Sources, Cell Access, Itinerary Download
BCD Travel will migrate users of its current portal to an improved model this fall, offering them expanded content, added integration of booking tools and expense management systems, greater stability and an easier-to-use content-management systems. Enhancements also include Active Itinerary 2.0, which allows corporate travelers to download itineraries to Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and other time-management systems.
Much of the new content will be accessible via cell phone or other mobile device. It includes flight-status alerts from FlightStats; interactive maps and directions from MapQuest; and customized reports from AccuWeather. Other portal content includes detailed guides for cities and airports; streaming news feeds; health and safety information; and information on cultural events, restaurants and entertainment displayed according to a traveler’s preferences.
The product is compatible with all major self-booking tools.
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Carey Offers Group Discount
Carey International is offering two hours of free ground transportation consultation services plus 10 percent off their group reservation spend to meeting planners who use their American Express Card for a meeting or event booking.
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CharterX Buys Wyvern
CharterX Corp., an online distributor of air charter services, has acquired Wyvern Consulting, a provider of aviation safety auditing, consulting and information services. Together the companies will deliver Safety Intelligence, an information system providing in-depth safety analysis to air charter buyers worldwide. Wyvern will continue to operate as a separate entity, providing ongoing operator, aircraft and crew analysis and consulting services. Walter D. Lamon, founder of Wyvern, will continue as president.
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Concur Enhances Cliqbook, Links It To T&E System
Concur Technologies has launched an “end-to-end travel management and expense reporting solution,” integrating its expense reporting and reimbursement system to the Cliqbook travel management service, now enhanced with new airport parking and air carrier content as well as added value features in its hotel booking system.
Cliqbook customers can now book reservations at 53 Park N’ Fly airport locations around the U. S., offering them savings of up to 50 percent off standard airport parking rates. A direct connection with Virgin Blue Airlines, which serves all major Australian destinations, enables business travelers to book Virgin Blue fare categories not available through any GDS. Cliqbook’s hotel-booking features now include hotel mapping, which allow customers to capture specific detail on hotel location and geography, and hotel ratings. Also, a new price-per-day feature shows hotel charges for each day’s stay so travelers can modify their stay to reduce costs.
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Cvent Releases Budget Module For Management Of Events
Cvent, a provider of web-based event registration and event management, has released an enhanced budgeting module which allows planners to build fixed event budgets and variable cost-per-attendee budgets. The reporting package includes executive summary of costs incurred, reports for revenue collected across one event or multiple events, spending reports for budget items across events and customizable reports.
Other features include payment tracking and multi-user functions such as task assignment, executive summary dashboard and e-mail alerts.
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Eurostar’s New Amadeus Pact Links Rail & Airline Booking
Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service linking the UK with the continent, has signed a global technology and distribution partnership with Amadeus. The agreement marks the first time users will be able to book Eurostar alongside air on the same system. Eurostar is currently available on Amadeus to users in the US, and will become available in the UK in early 2007.
In the near future, Eurostar will extend the agreement to additional markets, allowing more users to access its inventory.
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Expedia Offers Help Finding Lowest Airfares, Gas Prices
Expedia.com has introduced its Gas Station Locator, which helps travelers locate the gas station with the least expensive gas nearest their rental car drop-off location. Found on the Expedia.com cars page, the Gas Station Locator features a drop-down menu of the nation’s top 50 airports and allows the user to search for relevant gas stations by city. Upon selecting an airport location, the user is presented with up to five stations nearest the airport with the current price of regular unleaded gas at each.
The Fare Alert is a downloadable tool that conducts regular searches on Expedia.com and automatically alerts users on their computer desktop when an airfare is found below their designated price.
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Galileo Offers Agencies Protection From Airline Fees
Galileo International has launched its Galileo Content Continuity Program, an optional program that protects travel agencies from airline service fees while addressing airlines’ desire for reduced distribution costs. Effective Sept. 1, Content Continuity will assure participating customers have the complete set of fares and inventory available through all other channels while protecting against airline service fees. All Galileo-connected agencies in the U.S. are eligible to participate in the program.
In exchange for the benefits and protections provided by the program, Galileo said travel agencies participating in Content Continuity agree to “certain financial terms,” likely a reduction of GDS incentives.
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Hertz Expands Toll Road Bypass Program To NYC Market
Hertz is offering PlatePass, an electronic toll payment system that allows renters to bypass cash toll lanes and use the E-Z Pass electronic toll collection lanes, to customers in the New York area. Hertz offers PlatePass to customers renting at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports, as well as all 13 Hertz locations in Manhattan. PlatePass was introduced earlier this year in Houston, where all rental vehicles are automatically enrolled and ready to use.
Customers will be charged a usage fee of $2.25 per day (only on days they use the system), up to a maximum of $6.75 per week, plus the amount of tolls incurred. The total will be charged to the customer’s credit card after the rental car is returned.
The PlatePass system requires the rental of a small electronic device which can be picked up at the Hertz rental counter. The device works wherever E-Z Pass is accepted — on toll roads throughout the Northeast corridor and bridges and tunnels into Manhattan.
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HRG Portal Integrates T&E Management With Travel
HRG North America has integrated travel and expense management into its new web-based portal, producing a personalized electronic travel assistant capable of delivering a wide range of services from travel booking and trip information to customized reports and expense management. The technology helps travelers and travel managers track travel and purchases, using data from numerous sources; then integrates it into a customer’s established financial systems. The system has multilingual and multi-currency capabilities.
HRG Expense Management is powered by Spendvision, which operates in a secure environment and is able to manage low value, high volume expenses. It can be delivered as a stand alone technology as well as through the HRG Portal.
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Lanyon Expands RFP Control
Lanyon Inc. has launched an expanded version of its corporate travel management software solution, RFP Control Center. Already used by several major consortia, the expanded corporate RFP Control Center solution includes such features as:
• Rating bids against key criteria to reveal conformity to corporate guidelines;
• Ability for travel managers to control hotel and chain contact lists;
• E-mail and notifications with these contacts;
• Customized file export capabilities;
• Robust reporting;
• Renegotiation process control, including bulk rate updates and pseudo city code validations.
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Marriott Outfitting Its Lobbies With Kiosks For Airline Check-in
Marriott International has begun rolling out lobby computer stations with printers that allow guests to check in to their airline flights and print out boarding passes before leaving for the airport. The company is targeting September for the check-in service to be in place at every U.S. and Canadian hotel, more than 400 in total.
At the kiosks, users click on the icons of the major airlines and are taken to the selected carrier’s web site to complete the check-in process and print a boarding pass. The service will be available at all Marriott and Renaissance hotels in the U.S. and Canada.
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MasterCard Offers Benchmarking Tool Powered By Aberdeen Data
MasterCard Worldwide has launched the MasterCard Purchase Optimizer, an online tool that enables companies to evaluate their travel, purchasing, fleet and card programs by benchmarking them against industry practices, promote efficiency and cut costs. The tool is powered by AberdeenGroup, a Boston-based research organization, based on its analysis of the practices of hundreds of companies.
To complete the online interactive evaluation, a program manager must provide basic information about the company’s travel, purchasing, fleet and card programs via the online questionnaire. Program administrators at companies with more than one program, such as fleet and corporate travel, can input data for each of their card programs into the tool. Following completion of the online evaluation, consolidated and customized reports are e-mailed to the company’s card program contacts.
Companies can download the benchmarking tool for free at www.mastercardbusiness.com.
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Maxjet Web Site Lists Connecting Domestic LCC Flights
Maxjet Airways, an airline offering all-business-class transatlantic service, has introduced an airline connection section on its web site. For those originating in the U.S., Maxjet recommends connections from London’s Stansted Airport to several European cities that are operated by low-cost carriers. For the European traveler, recommended connections from low-cost and legacy carriers are listed from Washington Dulles and New York JFK to more than 40 U.S. cities.
The site also features step-by-step airport connection guides for Stansted, JFK and Dulles.
All listed connections involve the purchase of two tickets and rechecking baggage.
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TravCom Integrates AgentWare’s Non-GDS Search Into CRM Tool
AgentWare has signed an agreement with TravCom to integrate its Trip Console application with ClientMajic, TravCom’s customer relationship management (CRM) and client database tool for travel agencies. As part of an additional marketing agreement between the two companies, TravCom customers will also be able to obtain preferred pricing for Trip Console.
The combination will allow ClientMajic users to search, book and report on non-GDS bookings facilitated by Trip Console and then seamlessly integrate transaction data into TravCom’s back-office operations ~ minimizing the opportunity for manual error and increasing productivity and profitability.
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Virgin Atlantic Flies At Dawn
Virgin Atlantic Airways has introduced “The Daybreaker,” a fourth daily flight between New York and London Heathrow that leaves New York at 7:30 a.m. The return flight departs London at 6 p.m. and arrives in New York at 9 p.m. the same day.
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• • Alert Level Raised To Red For U.S.-UK Commercial Flights
The Department of Homeland Security has raised the threat level to Severe, or Red, for U.S.-bound commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom after the arrest there of "a significant number" of extremists alleged to have been plotting to blow up several transatlantic airliners over U.S. cities. A similar alert level has been implemented in the UK. At the 4 a.m. announcement of the alert, DHS said it had no indication of similar plotting within the U.S. Nevertheless, the threat level was raised to High, or Orange, for all commercial aviation operating in or destined for the U.S.
Due to the nature of the threat, U.S. authorities are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels and lotions from being carried onto flights. In the UK, according to a British Airways announcement, passengers will be allowed to carry only specific items onto flights: passports, tickets and visas pertinent to the journey; pocket-sized wallets and purses; prescribed medicines essential for the duration of the flight except those in liquid form; spectacles or sunglasses but not cases; contact lenses without bottles of solution; and keys but no electrical key fobs. Those traveling with infants may carry baby food, milk and sanitary items essential for the flight.
On both sides of the Atlantic, passengers are being told to expect long security lines.
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ACTE Negotiates 20% Discount On Runzheimer Benchmark Data For Its Members
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has signed an agreement with Runzheimer International that gives ACTE members a 20 percent discount on Runzheimer's Travel Management Network (TMN) annual membership fee. TMN provides access to daily travel price information for lodging, meals, and ground transportation for 300 cities (200 U.S. and 100 international) as well as airfare for 950 city pairs. A membership to this service also offers access to a sample agency agreement, RFP templates, management tools and resources, travel alternative information, and white papers.
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ACTE To Hold Forum In Frankfurt
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) will hold a forum in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 27, covering issues such as pricing trends, fuel spikes, consortium purchasing, the centralization of travel services and the current state of globalization. Visit ACTE’s website to register and for more information.
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ACTE's Singapore Conference Opens Next Week
Registration is available online for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Asia-Pacific Regional Education Conference, being held Aug. 23-23 at the Ritz Carlton-Millenia Singapore. The theme of the conference is "Balancing Act: Global versus Local." Speakers will discuss various aspects of corporate travel management in international business, including traveler safety, increasing costs and change management in a multi-cultural setting.
The program includes Frank-Jurgen Richter, former director of the World Economic Forum, Asian Affairs, on the region's rise to economic power; Simon Bond, regional head of Proximity Asia, on the future of internet technology; Stephen Scott, director of Xchanging Australia, on translating global strategy into local success. A panel discussion will focus on how companies are dealing with contagious diseases and the health of their traveling executives.
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Aeromexico Adds Chicago-Mexico City Flight
Aeromexico will add a third daily flight between Chicago and Mexico City, beginning Sept. 1. With the new flight, Aeromexico will offer departures from Chicago at 8:40 a.m., 3 p.m. and 1:40 a.m. and return flights departing from Mexico City at 9:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8:20 p.m.
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Air France Increases Fuel Surcharge Till Crude Goes Below $65
Air France has announced that, effective today, it is increasing its fuel surcharge by 1 euro on domestic flights, 2 euros on medium-haul flights and 7 euros on long-haul flights. The increase will be withdrawn as soon as the price of the barrel drops below $65 for 30 consecutive days.
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Air France, Northwest Ready To Begin Detroit-Paris Codeshare
Northwest Airlines will begin to implement a codeshare agreement with Air France
on Sept. 2, for flights between Detroit and Paris. The codeshare will be expanded later this fall to include seamless connections for Northwest customers to numerous destinations throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East, served by Air France from its Paris hub, as well as connections for Air France customers to destinations throughout the USA from Northwest’s Detroit hub.
Northwest and Air France are members of the Skyteam alliance.
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AirPlus Enters Brazilian Market
AirPlus International has partnered with Bradesco, Brazil’s largest private bank issuer, to provide international companies in Brazil with a complete corporate payment solution that also delivers detailed and accurate data at the company, traveler and trip-specific levels. The core product of the partnership is the BRADESCO Cartao Passagem Bradesco (CPB), a central billing solution for purchase of air tickets from all major international airlines.
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AirTran Says Alert Has Helped Cut Back Boarding Times
AirTran Airways says that, on average, it has shaved four minutes off the time it takes to board a flight now that passengers have fewer carry-on items because of last week's security alert. Checked baggage has increased 20 percent across its system. The airline's ticket counter lines have returned to normal, so passengers are once again being advised to arrive 90 minutes before departure.
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Alaska Airlines Returns To Normal Carry-on Policy
Alaska Airlines has lifted its recommendation that passengers check all baggage and is returning to its normal carry-on policy of one small bag and one personal item per passenger. TSA rules prohibiting all liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on luggage are still in effect. The airline also continues to recommend transporting carry-on luggage in a clear plastic bag for easier screening. Arrival at the airport two hours before departure time is also advised; however, earlier arrival is not necessary.
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America's Best Inns & Suites Enters Argentine Market
America’s Best Inns & Suites has opened two hotels in northeastern Argentina. The first, America’s Best Inn Empedrado, is located on the Parana River in Corrientes; the second, America’s Best Inn Paso de la Patria, is located in Mariano Moreno y Mitre, Corrientes. A third property – America’s Best Inn San Gara – is currently under construction on the coast of the Parana River in Ituzaingo, Corrientes and planned to open in November.
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American Express Cardholders Offered Free Spa Service At MEX Airport
Marquis Reforma, a member of Leading Hotels of the World in Mexico City, has partnered with American Express to offer spa services inside the new Platinum Centurion Club lounge, near Gate 31 at the Mexico City International Benito Juárez Airport. The spa offers 15-minute complimentary treatments to members of American Express Platinum Centurion Club.
The partnership marks firsts for both companies. American Express is the first company of its kind to offer spa services to its privileged members. Likewise, Spa Marquis is the first spa in Mexico City to offer auxiliary services inside the airport.
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AmericInn Debuts Coffeehouse Breakfast Concept In Montana
AmericInn International has opened the AmericInn Lodge & Suites in Havre, Montana, the first property to include its new coffeehouse-style breakfast concept. Like all AmericInns, its uses the company's SoundGuard construction, which incorporates masonry blocks and other noise reducing materials between every room to deliver a quiet room environment. It is the company's 208th property. Another 22 are currently under construction.
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ANA Launches Online Booking Site For Packaged Travel
ANA and Rakuten Inc., which operates Japan's busiest online shopping site, have launched a joint venture to sell Internet travel services to the general public.
Customers assemble travel packages themselves, combining any of ANA’s 900 daily flights with a choice of 20,000 lodgings, car rental and other services.
The new company, called Rakuten ANA Travel On-line, will begin selling the packages in October.
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ANA Prepares To Plant Third Forest In CSR Program
All Nippon Airways (ANA) undertakes its third reforestation project on Aug. 24 as part of a series of corporate social responsibility activities under the guidance of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement - International (OISCA). Up to 20kg of seed will be used to start a forest of about 800 Jack Fruit and other trees whose produce is used in Thai cooking.
OISCA is a UN-sanctioned organization established in 1961 to contribute to environmentally sustainable development. Earlier ANA reforestation projects in the program have been in Matsuyama, Japan; Myanmar; and the Thai island of Phuket.
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Avis Budget Unveils German-, Japanese-language Assistance In North America
Avis Budget Car Rental has introduced translation assistance services for customers from Japan and Germany traveling in North America. The new service is available free of charge via telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can reach the service by calling 1-800-890-0046, referencing their rental agreement number.
The will receive directions in Standard German or Japanese to any location within the U.S. and Canada (hotels, restaurants, local attractions, doctors, hospitals, etc.); get current road and weather conditions; communicate with Avis and Budget personnel; get flight information; and many other requests.
Avis and Budget already offer multi-lingual services in French (1-800-675-1467) and Spanish (1-800-874-3556).
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Avis Passing Out Free Toothpaste At Top 25 US Airports
Avis Rent A Car is placing a Crest Smile Pack — full-size toothpaste, rinse and dental floss — on the seats of all its Preferred renters' cars at 25 of the top U.S. airports to help out travelers as they comply with new TSA regulations prohibiting liquid and gel items in carry-on luggage. The offer will continue while supplies last; more than 25,000 of the packs have been set aside for the program.
Participating airports includes those in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Nashville, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
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Avis Unveils Enhanced On-demand Statistical Reports
Avis Rent A Car System has unveiled significant enhancements to its Avis Interactive reporting tool, including the ability for travel managers to customize and schedule the e-mail delivery of reports. The service, which is free to contracted corporate customers, includes reports that show which travelers are booking outside of contracted guidelines, as well as data on car type rented, credit card used, and booking source. Additional new features are:
* A custom company-specific dashboard showing the prior month's total rental transactions, total rental expense; percentage of intermediate rentals, and percentage of prestige service rentals.
* Ability to choose from pre-made reports
* Ability to design and run customized reports from three years of rolling data.
* User friendly navigation and design with help menus on every screen.
* Reports can be exported to Excel spreadsheets or a PDF with advanced charting capabilities.
* Access to data 24/7/365.
* Tracks travelers' rental activity globally.
* Choice of currency.
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British Airways Flights Returning To Normal
British Airways says it will operate a full schedule on Friday, Aug. 18 after building back up over the week following last Friday's thwarted terrorist plot.
The airline plans to operate a complete longhaul schedule at Heathrow today although 19 shorthaul departures have been cancelled. Its operation at Gatwick will operate a full schedule. Flights remain subject to some delays, however, and customers at both airports are being advised to check-in online before leaving for the airport to help reduce congestion.
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British Airways Slashes Europe Fares
British Airways estimates that it has increased the number of seats available at its $55 one-way fare to selected European destinations by about 500 percent. The fares are offered out of Gatwick Airport. The airline says more than 900,000 fares will be priced from about $55 one-way (including taxes and charges); a further 700,000, from about $64.
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BTC Analysis Outlines Aftermath Of Foiled Terrorist Plot
The Business Travel Coalition has released an analysis of the after-effects of the foiled plot to blow up US-bound airliners from the UK. "This near-catastrophic development will likely have a permanent impact on U.S. policy, and as such, on corporations that purchase commercial air transportation services, travelers and airlines. Among the possible after-effects cited in the analysis:
* In light of the approaching national election, a re-examination of our aviation security mission will likely be undertaken.
* Corporations will feel more intense need to know where their travelers are, and will more forcefully require them to make travel arrangements through a company-designated travel agencies.
* If all overnight bags, as well as all other carry on items are ordered checked, many airport baggage systems will fail under the workload; airlines would incur higher labor costs; and business travelers' airport time will be extended by the need to check bags and then retrieve them at the flight's end.
* If laptops are banned from airplane cabins, business travelers’ productivity would be dulled with possible cuts in travel.
* Longer airport lines will reinforce some travelers' trip avoidance preferences.
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BTC To Broadcast Midwest BTA's GDS Panel Over Internet
The Midwest BTA's Sept. 8 panel discussion on the future of distribution will be broadcast live over the Internet by the Business Travel Coalition. The panel will be moderated by Kevin Mitchell, Chairman of the Coalition, who is also keynote speaker for the Association's Education Day program, being at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago.
Panelists include Michael Koetting, executive vice president of Carlson Wagonlit Travel; Tony D'Astolfo, vice president of travel services at Rearden Commerce; Brian Houser, vice president of travel agency marketing at Sabre Travel Network; and David Cerino, chief marketing and product officer at Farelogix.
Registrations for in-person attendance have already pushed the event into larger quarters at the hotel. That option is still available at the Midwest BTA's web site: www.midwestbta.org. The broadcast will be available at http://powerlink.powerstream.net/002/00267/20060908MBTA/20060908MBTA.asx (The discussion will also be archived at the same URL for three months.)
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BTC White Paper On GDS Reform Draws Immediate Response
In the first 24 hours after publishing "Straight Talk: Global Distribution Reform – Avoiding the F-Word," the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) has recorded 604 downloads of the white paper. A travel manager's online forum, organized by BTC to focus on GDS Reform, has been joined by 150 travel managers in the same time frame.
The white paper exhorts airlines' corporate customers to act now before American Airlines and the Sabre GDS sign an agreement that may lead the air travel industry into a position that is detrimental to their bottom lines. It includes an Executive Summary, written for non-travel industry executives, for corporate travel managers to use with their senior management teams to educate them and engage them in this most important of travel management priorities.
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Candlewood Suites Opens In Lincoln, Neb.
InterContinental Hotels Group has opened the newest addition to its Candlewood Suites portfolio of extended-stay hotels in Lincoln, Neb. The hotel’s complimentary amenities include high-speed internet access; free local phone calls; free on-site guest laundry; a 24-hour fitness center; the Candlewood Cupboard, where a variety of items can be purchased on the honor system at any time; the Gazebo Grill where guests can enjoy cooking; and a free lending library where movies and music are available for use in guestrooms.
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Candlewood Suites To Open In Virginia
InterContinental Hotels Group has revealed plans for a 100-room Candlewood Suites hotel in Manassas, Va., just south of the Dulles International Airport. The new extended-stay property is expected to open at the end of 2007
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Carlson Wagonlit Completes Acquisition Of Navigant
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has officially completed the acquisition of Navigant International Inc., doing business as TQ3Navigant. The agreement to purchase Navigant was originally announced on April 27, 2006. Coinciding with the Navigant acquisition is the finalization of the acquisition of Accor’s 50-percent stake in CWT by Carlson Companies and One Equity Partners (OEP).
With the acquisition complete, former employees, suppliers and clients of Navigant will begin to see their day-to-day activities gradually combined with those of CWT.
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Cendant Completes Spin-offs Of Hotel And Real Estate Divisions
Cendant has completed the spin-offs of Realogy Corp., its real estate business, and Wyndham Worldwide Corp, its hotel subsidiary. Wyndham has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WYN. Cendant has submitted a proposal, to be considered at its annual stockholders meeting scheduled for Aug. 29, to change Cendant’s name to Avis Budget Group.
Cendant has already agreed to sell its travel distribution business, Travelport, to the Blackstone Group for $4.3 billion. The sale is expected to close sometime this month.
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China Southern Expands Domestic Route Network
China Southern Airlines has launched three new domestic routes from the capital of Beijing. The new destinations are Shanghai (aka Hongqiao), Hangzhou and Chengdu. This is the airline's first route between Beijing and Shanghai.
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China Southern Launches Online Check-in
China Southern Airlines is now offering seat selection and printing of boarding passes from its website, www.cs-air.com/en. The system is being rolled out first to members of its Pearl Club program for fares booked Guangzhou to Beijing, Changsha, Shanghai and Wuhab. After a test period, the system will apply to all flights originating from Guangzhou, then to all worldwide China Southern flights.
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Continental Changes A Dozen 737 Orders To Extended Range Version
Continental Airlines has converted 12 existing firm orders for Boeing 737 aircraft, scheduled for delivery in 2008, into 12 new Boeing 737-900ERs, extended-range twinjets that fly about 500 nautical miles farther than the existing 737-900. Delivery remains for 2008. The aircraft will be configured with 20 first class seats; coach will carry approximately 153 passengers.
Continental still has firm commitments for 65 Boeing 737s and has the ability to convert more of those orders for the 737-900ER.
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Continental Plans Service To Honduras
Continental Airlines plans to offer nonstop Saturday service between Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport and Roatan, Honduras, beginning Dec. 16, pending government approval. The flight will be operated on a Boeing 737-700, with 12 first class and 112 coach fares.
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Corporate Solutions Group To Manage Annual CTD Conference
The Corporate Solutions Group has agreed to take over the management of the annual CTD Conference, subsequent to the sale of its former management company, Partnership Travel Consulting, to HRG Group. The conference is scheduled to take place on Nov. 29 in Sonoma, Calif. The founder of the annual conference and of Partnership Travel Consulting, Andrew Menkes, has been organizer of past conferences; he will remain this year as a speaker.
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Delta AirElite Business Jets Adds Flexjet 25 Card To Program
Delta AirElite Business Jets has renewed its partnership with Bombardier Flexjet and Jet Solutions, and will now be offering the Flexjet 25 jet card. Delta AirElite’s Flexjet Membership program, which was introduced in October 2003, has been popular with members desiring a specific aircraft for their travel needs by offering access to a dedicated fleet of Bombardier Flexjet program aircraft. Now with the Flexjet 25 jet card, members will have even greater choice and flexibility.
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Delta Buying N.Y.-London Route From United
Delta has reached an agreement with United Airlines to acquire the route authority to serve London’s Gatwick Airport from New York’s JFK Airport. The agreement, which is subject to U.S. Department of Transportation approval, would allow Delta for the first time to operate daily, roundtrip flights between the two airports. The first daily, roundtrip flight would begin later this year. Delta plans to add a second flight next spring.
The route sale will also result in United discontinuing its JFK-London Heathrow service at the end of October
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Delta Courts Hispanic Market, Connects Boston & Williamsburg
Delta Air Lines will begin flying nonstop between Boston and Newport News/Williamsburg, Va. on Nov. 15 on two daily flights operated by Delta Connection carrier Comair, using 50-seat regional jets.
The airline will add 16 new routes this winter from its West Coast gateway at Los Angeles International Airport to accommodate soaring demand in the Hispanic market. The expansion will include new nonstop flights to two Central American destinations — Liberia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala City — plus nine in Mexico: La Paz, Acapulco, Loreto, Mazatlan, Culiacan, Manzanillo, Zacatecas, Hermosillo and Torreon.
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Doubletree Resort To Be Built In Thailand
Hilton Hotels has signed an agreement to manage a 358-room golf resort and spa in Sriracha, Thailand. The Doubletree Golf Resort & Spa Near Sriracha is anticipated to open in early 2008. Located 25 minutes from downtown Pattaya and 60 minutes from downtown Bangkok, the resort will offer views of the Gulf of Thailand.
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EOS Taps Into Sabre GDS, Airline Management Products
Eos Airlines has chosen the Sabre GDS to provide connectivity to travel agencies, plus Sabre Airline Solution's reservation, loyalty program, data analysis suite and revenue integrity products for further management and e-ticketing capabilities.
* SabreSonic Res will enable Eos to efficiently grow revenue and manage every channel of distribution. Its revenue integrity module optimize revenue by identifying and correcting passive bookings.
* The Sabre Traveler Loyalty System will provide a scalable frequent flyer program.
* Sabre's WiseVision Data Analysis Suite focuses on MIDT data for network planning, marketing and sales goals.
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Expedia Begins Processing Bookings Through Sabre
More than two years after signing a distribution deal with Sabre, Expedia has begun processing reservations through the Sabre GDS for Expedia.com and Expedia Corporate Travel. At the same time, Expedia and Sabre announced an extension of their existing relationship to 2012.
Expedia also has a GDS deal with Worldspan.
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FCm Completes Formation Of Core Asian Network
FCm Travel Solutions has completed the consolidation of its core Asian network following the announcement of new partnerships with Falcon Travel Service in Taiwan, and with East Sea Travel & Air Service, which is based in Vietnam with additional offices in Cambodia and Laos.
FCm's Asian operation now has a presence in China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos — collectively termed by Anthony Grigson, its global executive general manager, as "the most strategic of Asia's corporate travel markets." East Sea Travel & Air Service, established in 1995, currently has a 10 percent share of the corporate travel markets in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Falcon Travel Service was formed in 1975 and is one of the longest-serving travel agencies in Taiwan. Based in Taipei, the company currently employs more than 50 people and services major clients including Toyota, Panasonic, Disney and the Australian Commerce and Industry Office in Taiwan.
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Flight Centre Taps TRX's CORREX For Oz Operation
Flight Centre Limited has selected TRX's CORREX ticket processing technology for its business lines originating in Australia. Flight Centre operates more than 1,200 leisure and corporate travel agencies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong.
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Gaylord Gets Green Light For Projects In San Diego And Maryland
The Unified Port of San Diego Board of Commissioners and City of Chula Vista have approved a letter of intent from Gaylord Entertainment that outlines plans for a 1,500-to-2,000-room resort and convention center hotel on the Chula Vista bayfront. The hotel will anchor a multi-use development on 550 acres of waterfront property on San Diego Bay.
Gaylord has also received approval from the Prince George's County Council of a request for additional economic incentives to fund an expansion at the Gaylord National in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Gaylord will proceed with a 500-room expansion, increasing the hotel’s room count from 1,500 to 2,000 rooms. The Gaylord National is expected to open at the end of first-quarter 2008, and the 500-room expansion is expected to open at that time, also. Situated on the banks of the Potomac River and just outside Washington, D.C., the Gaylord National will be part of the 300-acre National Harbor development.
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GlobalStar Adds Hong Kong's Swire Travel to Network
Hong Kong-based Swire Travel has formally joined GlobalStar Travel Management after a year of due diligence and collaboration. Swire has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei, and is considered one of the most reputable travel management companies in the Chinese market. Its managing director is Andrew Leung.
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Golden Tulip To Open Dusseldorf Hotel
Golden Tulip Hospitality plans to open the Tulip Inn Dusseldorf - Arena in January. The 282-room hotel will be Golden Tulip’s fifth in Germany. The property will be five-minute drive from the international airport and 10-minute drive from the city center.
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Grand Heritage Hotels Puts GH Code On GDS Systems
Grand Heritage Hotel Group is completing the transition to its Private Label booking code (GH) on the four major GDS and will use the new code to increase brand awareness for its growing network of independent luxury hotels and resorts. It will continue to use Pegasus’ HotelFactory central reservation system (CRS), Pegasus’ call center voice services, and online and GDS distribution.
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Group Travel Planet Accesses Harrah’s Inventory
Group Travel Planet, an online group-booking engine and provider of group-booking technology to Orbitz, SideStep, and Amadeus, has connected to the Hotel Booking Solution Inc. (HBSI) Demand Partner Network to access real-time group rates and room inventory from Harrah’s Entertainment. The integration of the Group Travel booking engine into HBSI means group travel planners can seamlessly search and book available hotel rooms at participating Harrah’s hotels at discounted group rates. In addition, the connection allows groups to manage every aspect of their group hotel reservation online, including adding and dropping rooms, making deposits and payments by check or credit card, submitting rooming lists and allowing individual group members to reserve and pay for single rooms from their group’s room block.
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Groupology Targets SMERF Meetings Market
Groupology LLC has signed with Pegasus Solutions to use its PegsTour and UltraDirect electronic distribution products, establishing a strong position in the meetings market with special interest in the SMERF (social, military, educational, religious, fraternal) segment, estimated to be in excess of $45 billion annually.
Groupology is a new, online group travel company being launched by the David Green Organization. It has developed technology that automates the group booking process, minimizing unqualified leads to suppliers and allowing for group collaboration and seamless access to related products and services. This technology will be complemented by Pegasus’ single interface, which combines PegsTour and UltraDirect technologies, linking tour operators and hotel reservation systems, and providing a viable electronic link between wholesale/tour operator booking technologies, intermediaries and hotel reservation systems.
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Hilton Garden Inn To Make European Debut
Hilton Garden Inn will open its first three hotels outside the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2006. One, the 141-room Stuttgart NeckarPark, will be in Germany. The two others will be in Italy: the 282-room Hilton Garden Inn -- Rome Airport and the 121-room Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli.
The three properties will offer traditional brand amenities like complimentary high speed Internet access in guest rooms and remote printing to the hotel’s complimentary 24-hour business center.
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Hilton Reaches Agreements With Two Labor Unions
Hilton Hotels has struck a tentative agreement with the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council on a new contract relating to the Hilton New York and Waldorf-Astoria hotels. The agreement, which is subject to ratification by the Trades Council’s members, has economic terms identical to the contract the Trades Council signed earlier this summer with the New York Hotel Association. That six-year contract calls for hourly wage increases of 4 percent per year for the first three years, and 3.5 percent for the final three years.
Hilton also announced a five-year agreement with national labor group Unite Here. Terming the pact "a partnership for future growth,” Hilton and Unite Here have agreed to work together where it makes strategic and economic sense, including card check agreements where appropriate. They will also work together toward labor peace in other cities with collective bargaining this year and during the five-year period of the agreement.
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Hogg Robinson Buys Former BTI Partners In Eastern Europe
Travel management company Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has acquired BTI Czech Republic and BTI Slovakia, which will now trade as HRG Czech Republic and HRG Slovakia. The acquisition bolsters HRG's presence in Eastern Europe. It already owns travel management firms in Hungary and Russia.
BTI Czech Republic and BTI Slovakia were founded as Global Express in 1990 by current managing director Jana Prochazkova. Their acquisition brings the number of countries in which Hogg Robinson has wholly owned entities and joint ventures to 23.
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Homewood Suites Expansion Nears 200 Mark
Hilton opened four new Homewood Suites properties in July as the hospitality company diversified its portfolio with locations near airports, shopping districts and tourist attractions. The new sites include one across from the Fargo Dome in North Dakota; a Wichita, Kan. facility near the Great Plains Nature Center; another near Indianapolis's Conseco Fieldhouse and minutes away from the convention center; and the fourth in Irving, Texas, near the DFW Airport and just 10 miles from Six Flags theme park.
The Homewood Suites by Hilton brand now has more than 179 hotels open with another 120 in the pipeline.
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HRG Acquires Ian Flint Consultancy
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has acquired Ian Flint & Associates, a consultancy known for its strategic procurement of travel for major blue chip clients. Its founder, Ian Flint, has been named head of HRG's global consulting, reporting directly to the HRG Board and charged with developing a global consulting strategy.
Prior to founding Ian Flint & Associates in 1989, he worked for the Forum group of hotels, a division of InterContinental Hotels, as director of commercial sales and marketing, and later as national director, North America for the parent company. He also worked for Thomas Cook Limited.
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HRG Acquires Third East European TMC
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has strengthened its presence in Eastern Europe with the acquisition of BTI Polska. The company will trade as HRG Polska and is expected to have migrated completely to the HRG brand by the end of November. The acquisition brings to 24 the number of countries in which HRG has wholly-owned and majority-controlled companies.
As with earlier acquisitions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Polska acquisition involves a TMC that was formerly a Hogg Robinson partner under its old BTI banner. HRG's CEO, David Radcliffe, noted a 12-year history with Polska in announcing the acquisition, adding "BTI Polska's expertise in corporate travel and its specialist knowledge of the events and meetings market will add to the range of services we are able to offer to our clients."
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HSMAI To Hold Annual Show For Meeting Planners
For meeting and event planners seeking to polish their skills and increase resources for organizing events, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will hold its 17th annual Affordable Meetings National show, on Sept. 6 and 7 at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center. Details and a complete program schedule are at www.affordablemeetings.com.
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Hyatt Stocks Up To Help Fliers Who've Lost Gels, Toothpaste
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts has increased the supply of liquid and gel personal products at its on-property sundry stores in response to security bans on those products for airline flights. The company has also instructed the staffs of the stores to maintain longer hours for the convenience of late-arriving guests.
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Iberia Strikes Distribution Deal With Worldspan
Spanish carrier Iberia has signed a three-year participating-carrier agreement with Worldspan. The agreement provides for Iberia to distribute its full content through the Worldspan GDS to travel agencies, websites and corporations worldwide. Full content includes Iberia schedules, availability and fares, including web fares.
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IHG Debuts Booking, Travel Management Tool For Small & Midsized Companies
InterContinental Hotels Group has launched Business Choice, a hotel reservation and travel management portal designed for travel planners at small- and medium-sized enterprises. Business Choice enables travel managers to create and customize their company’s own travel portal, which centralizes travel policies and the online reservation channel in one place. Customized links to preferred travel providers, such as airlines or rental car companies, can be added.
The portal enables travelers to book hotel reservations without a credit card; instead, direct-billing agreements with individual hotels are utilized. Business Choice also provides a centralized location where travelers can access their company’s negotiated hotel rates, make or change reservations online, and review their corporate travel policies and notices.
IHG is offering Business Choice to members of its Priority Club Rewards program. Participating hotels are offering bonus points to travelers who make reservations on the Business Choice portal.
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InterContinental Opens Four More Hotels In China
InterContinental Hotels Group opened four hotels during the one-month period from June to July 2006. The openings of the Crowne Plaza Changshu, Crowne Plaza Fudan Shanghai, Holiday Inn Jasmine Suzhou and Holiday Inn Seaview Qinhuangdao bring IHG’s portfolio of hotels in China to 57. Its goal is to have 125 hotels open in China by 2008.
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JetBlue Signs Pacts With Galileo And Sabre
JetBlue Airways has signed new five-year agreements with Galileo and the Sabre Travel Network. Both agreements promise access to all of JetBlue's published fares and inventory for the respective GDS's agencies, including Sabre's Travelocity subsidiary. An agreement was reached in April for the Travelport for Business online booking tool. Travelport later also became the corporate name of the parent of the Galileo GDS.
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John Q. Hammons Opens Meetings Facility In Arkansas
John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts has opened the John Q. Hammons Center, a 125,000-square-foot conference facility in Rogers, Ark., that is connected to the Embassy Suites Hotel Northwest Arkansas. The meetings center is one part of an expansion plan for the property. A 152-suite hotel tower is currently under construction and is scheduled to open next summer. The tower will adjoin the current hotel and meetings center and will feature a full-service spa on the first floor.
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JPMorgan Introduces United Travel Card
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Airlines have introduced the United Travel Card, a private-label program that provides eligible cardmembers with same-as-cash financing during a 90-day promotional period.
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Kayak Site Presents Trending Graph For Cheapest Flights
Kayak.com has launched a "Best Fare Trend" graph that allows users to track and identify the cheapest airfares found within the past 90 days on its web site. The graph will display price fluctuations for a specific route on a single departure date or over various dates, so travelers can be confident they've found the lowest fare.
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Korean Air Adding Las Vegas Route
Korean Air launches service between Seoul and Las Vegas on Sept. 23, saying that the new route will be especially convenient for Asia-bound travelers from Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver. Las Vegas is the airline's 13th North American gateway.
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Laptop Lane Centers Sold To Outsourcing Specialist
The Laptop Lane airport business centers have been sold to Regus Group, a worldwide provider of outsourced workplaces. Laptop Lane operates 14 business centers and retail outlets at eight airport locations across the United States, including Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Oakland, and Philadelphia.
Laptop Lane airport business centers offer fully equipped, private offices with PC workstations, Internet access, phones with long distance and conference-call capabilities, printing, copying, faxing, and package shipping. Each Laptop Lane location also has a retail outlet that sells a variety of business and travel-related accessories.
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Le Meridien Hotel Brand Launching Global Growth Campaign
The Le Meridien hotel brand has announced that its first new build property after its acquisition by Starwood will be the Le Meridien at Tempe Town Lake, part of a mixed-use, master-planned project, Hayden Ferry Lakeside, in Tempe, Arizona. The Le Meridien brand is on an aggressive global growth path, particularly in the U.S., Asia-Pacific and Latin America. It currently has more than 120 properties in 52 different countries, almost 70 percent of them in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
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Leading Hotels Adds 24 New Members Around the World
Leading Hotels of the World says it has accepted 24 new hotel members after receiving a record 355 applications. The new members the Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate in South Africa; the Schlosshotel Hugenpoet, in Germany's Ruhr Valley; the Kempinski Hotel Giardino de Costanza in Sicily; the Hotel Casa Fuster near Barcelona; the Gran Hotel at Panticosa Resort in the Spanish Pyrenees; and The Heritage House on California's northern coast.
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Leading Hotels Migrating To TRUST's Voyager CRS
The Leading Hotels of the World is undergoing a massive global migration to a TRUST International's Voyager CRS. The cutover is scheduled for Nov. 30, just in time for rate-loading for the 2007 season; after that, all member hotels will use the same reservations platform. The migration project began in April.
The new system was selected after extensive evaluation of technology and service providers. In-depth focus groups with management personnel from the 430 members of The Leading Hotels network agreed that the Voyager CRS offered superior functionality for building and updating rates online, and that the highly integrated and user-friendly platform would meet the needs of the geographically diverse group.
Concurrent with the CRS project, Leading Hotels' voice reservations operation for the United States, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean will be relocated from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Winter Park, Fla.
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Marriott Expands In Beijing, Debuts In Barcelona
Marriott International plans to open its second Renaissance-branded hotel in Beijing in 2008 under a management agreement with Beijing R&F Properties Development. When opened, the 540-room Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel, will be the 8th hotel in Marriott’s Beijing portfolio. It will be situated on the southern edge of Beijing's central business district as part of the massive R&F City 1.6-million square meter mixed-use development.
Marriott International has introduced its Renaissance brand to Spain with the opening of the 259-room Renaissance Barcelona Airport Hotel. The location is a short drive from the new Fairground (Fira II), soon to be one of Europe’s largest exhibition sites, and a 10-minute drive from the city center with its famous Gaudi attraction, La Sagrada Familia. Daily complimentary roundtrip airport shuttle service is available.
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MAST Travel Network Contracts ABC Hotel Program
The Illinois-based MAST Travel Network has contracted ABC Corporate Travel Services' Premier Hotel Program for its 140 offices located throughout the Midwest. Terms of the agreement include fully commissionable hotel rates at more than 20,000 participating properties worldwide; hotel program accessibility via all GDS, CD-ROM and Internet; a Block Space Program offering more than 2,500 rooms per night to support travelers when hotels and/or cities are sold out; and access to ABC promotions, discounts, property- and chain-specific specials, news, updates, and brand information from ABC’s preferred suppliers around the world.
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MAXjet Plans Nov. 2 Launch Of London-Las Vegas Route
MAXjet Airways will launch twice-weekly nonstop service between Las Vegas and London Stansted on Nov. 2. Ticket sales begin tomorrow. The new route will ease connections between London and the U.S. West Coast, points out MAXjet CEO Gary Rogliano.
The all-business class airline has also revised its existing schedule with later departure times from New York, Washington, D.C. and London, effective Oct. 1. "The later departure time will give passengers more time to complete business in the U.S. and to avoid rush hour traffic, but still arrive in London the following day in time for a business lunch," says Rogliano.
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Maxjet, With One New Plane On The Way, Plans Further Expansion
Maxjet Airways plans to add two more aircraft to its fleet in early 2007, expanding to five 767s. That includes a third aircraft, which is expected to enter service in September. In addition, the company is having ongoing negotiations for additional aircraft to be brought into the operations in 2007.
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Mexican Airlines Signs Up With Worldspan
Mexicana Airlines has signed a new multi-year pact with Worldspan, agreeing to list all published schedules, availability and fares, including last-seat availability and Web-based fares. In addition to distributing Mexicana's full content, Worldspan will continue to support the airline's use of Worldspan's progressive IT solutions for airlines. Mexicana utilizes Worldspan's Rapid Reprice technology, a solution for repricing airline tickets when traveler itineraries change.
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Microtel Inn Adds 19th Property In Georgia
Springfield, Ga.'s Southern Hospitality Group has opened a new Microtel Inn & Suites hotel in Rincon, Ga., 11 miles from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. This brings the number of Microtel Inns & Suites hotels in the State of Georgia to 19.
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Midwest Connect Fleet Adds Two Regional Jets
Skyway Airlines, doing business as Midwest Connect, has agreed to acquire two Fairchild 328 regional jets formerly operated by Atlantic Coast Airlines. The aircraft are configured with 32 reclining leather seats, arranged with single seating on one side of the aisle and two-across on the other.
The aircraft will be put into revenue service after completion of maintenance work, refurbishment and painting in the Midwest Connect livery.
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Midwest Introduces $25 Confirmed Standby Option
Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect passengers whose travel plans change now have the option to purchase a confirmed standby seat on an earlier or later Midwest flight for a $25 fee, plus any difference in government-imposed fees. Request for the new service can be made within three hours of the scheduled departure of the new flight.
The new option applies to all refundable and most nonrefundable tickets, as well as award tickets. Travel must depart from and arrive in the same cities as the original ticket, though intermediate stops may vary. Midwest will continue to offer its existing standby option at no charge. Under that option, passengers may stand by for a flight earlier or later the same day, but are not guaranteed a seat will be available.
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Names In The News
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has appointed Patricia Rasore as its first Latin American representative. From her base in Buenos Aires, Rasore will evaluate the educational requirements of ACTE members in the region, structure a professional enrichment program to meet those requirements and serve as a primary conduit of ideas from ACTE’s Latin American members to the industry. Prior to accepting the ACTE appointment, Rasore was the manager of business development for Synergi, a global network of corporate travel management. Also, ACTE has named Julia Jufri regional manager for Asia-Pacific. She will be working closely with Kenneth Phua, ACTE’s regional director for Asia-Pacific, to develop educational efforts, including ACTE’s hotel curriculum, throughout the region. Jufri joins ACTE from the Singapore Marriott Hotel. She will be based in Singapore.
BostonCoach has named Michael Moskowitz regional sales manager, responsible for managing existing relationships, cultivating new partnerships and overseeing new business opportunities in the New York metropolitan area. Most recently, Moskowitz was responsible for global sales at Bermuda Limousine in New York.
Boutique Hotels & Resorts International has appointed Koji Okada regional director for Japan, based in an office just opened in Tokyo. Okada has had sales director positions with the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka and Montien Hotel Bangkok.
eLong, an online travel agency in China owned by Expedia Inc., has announced that its board of directors has elected Barney Harford as chairman. Harford is president of Expedia Asia Pacific and has been a board member of eLong since August 2004. eLong founder Justin Tang is stepping down as chairman in order to devote more time to his investment activities. He will remain a member of the eLong board of directors. Also, Tony Shen has been appointed interim CFO of eLong, replacing Derek Palaschuk, who has resigned to “pursue other entrepreneurial opportunities.”
JetBlue Airways has named Martin St. George vice president, planning. St. George is responsible for the route selection, analysis and network strategy. Prior to joining JetBlue, St. George was managing director of marketing planning for United Airlines.
Maybourne Hotel Grouphas named Stephen Alden CEO. Alden was with Starwood, spending more than a decade developing and globalizing the St. Regis brand. Maybourne, based in London, owns and manages the Berkeley, Claridge’s and the Connaught.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotelshas announced that CEO Tony Potter has decided to leave the company to relocate outside the U.K. for family reasons.
Radisson Hotels and Resorts International Latin America has appointed Edgar Garin to the position of vice president of development. Garin served as director of development for Lexington Services and Vantis International since 1997.
Starwood has elected Adam Aron to its board of directors. Aron stepped down as Vail Resorts’ CEO earlier this year, after serving as its chairman and CEO since 1996. He has since created Miami-based World Leisure Partners, a personal consultancy on leisure-related and/or luxury products and services as well as consumer marketing issues.
Swissotel Hotels & Resorts has named Stephanie Hilgers director, partner marketing. Hilgers will oversee the conceptualization and execution marketing strategies with existing partners such as Gulf Air and Emirates in the Middle East and Delta and American Airlines in the U.S. In addition, she will “drive the development of new partnerships with lifestyle brands of similar brand attributes and positioning.” Prior to her appointment with Swissotel, Hilgers was Hyatt’s regional director of sales for Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia.
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Names In The News 8/10/06
Corinthia Hotels International has appointed Tony Potter as CEO. Potter recently left that same position at Millennium & Copthorne plc. He joins the company as it sets out on a rapid growth phase and plans to plans to redefine the Corinthia brand within the upscale five-star category.
Courtyard and Residence Inn by Marriott has introduced Roger Radtke as the new general manager for the two Austin hotels, located in the heart of downtown at the corner of 4th and Trinity.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has announced that its chief administrative officer, Donald M. Himelfarb, will retire effective Dec. 31. Himelfarb will step down from his current position as chief administrative officer on Sept. 1, and will serve in a transitional role through the end of the year.
Garber Travel says Joseph Ondrus, previously director of secure flight at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will join its executive team as senior vice president on Aug. 14. He will be responsible for global client and partner relations, sales and business development activities, and the internal initiatives and technologies that support these areas.
Runzheimer International has added Nhut Doan to the staff of its Business Vehicle Services unit as a business development consultant, responsible for the Great Plains Region. Previously, Doan held business development positions at Sopheon, Lowry Computer Products, and Automatic Data Processing.
Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services has appointed Tim Reilly as national sales director, and Brian Fogarty as account executive. Reilly is based in the company's new sales office, in Iselin, N.J.; Fogarty, at Tristar's U.S. corporate headquarters in Beverly, Mass. Reilly most recently was regional manager of sales for parts and repair services for Sears Holdings' Mid Atlantic Region. Fogarty was regional territory manager for the Eagle Elevator Company, Boston.
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Names In the News 8/17/06
American Leisure Holdings has announced that Jeffrey M. Scott has accepted the position of president of its Hickory Travel Systems subsidiary. Scott was most recently general manager / vice president of sales and client services for THOR Inc., a Cendant company.
Choice Hotels International has promoted Fran Taloricco to vice president, franchise sales of conversion brands; and Brad LeBlanc to vice president, franchise sales of new construction brands. Conversion brands include Clarion, Quality Inn, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn; new construction brands are Cambria Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay. Choice also has hired Phil Beilke and promoted to Cathy Poinsett to be senior directors for Cambria Suites brand management. Donald Griner will transition from Choice's senior director, product development to senior director, Cambria Suites design and construction. Beilke formerly was senior director with the Hilton Hotels and the Embassy Suites brand; Poinsett has been a senior director for marketing communications at Choice.
Carlson Marketing has named Steve Some its senior vice president of marketing, subsequent to the acquisition of TQ3Navigant Performance Group (NPG). Some, formerly president of NPG, will be based in New Jersey and concentrate his efforts on East Coast clients. The merged companies offer meetings and events services around the world.
Oakwood Worldwide has named Rebecca Tann to vice president of marketing, responsible for advertising, media and market research as well as driving market development to increase business among the company's vertical markets. Tann’s most recent position was vice president of marketing for the Regus Group, an independent provider of outsourced workspaces and video conferences facilities.
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Names In The News 8/24/06
Accor North America has promoted Jessie Burgess to director of information technology, responsible for leading the design, installation, maintenance and support of the voice and data network infrastructure. His duties include long term network growth, capacity planning, and implementation of all technologies related to network hardware, PBX/voice equipment, and data communication circuits.
Choice Hotels International has promoted Cynthia Lakas to the newly created position of vice president, database and direct marketing. In this role, Lakas will focus on strengthening the company’s database and direct marketing strategies to fully leverage the company’s guest information and consumer marketing efforts to increase business delivery and reservations contributions to Choice properties.
Rosen Hotels and Resorts has named Roslyn Powell as national sales manager for Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, which is scheduled to open its doors on Sept. 9.
For the past three years, Powell has been Rosen's director of Midwest accounts based in Chicago, for the past three years.
Runzheimer International has named Mark Lowry business development consultant for its new Global Mobility Services unit. He will be responsible for introducing new companies to Runzheimer for in the Northeastern United States and in Eastern Canada.
Silverjet plc, a low fare, all-business class airline that will operate between London and New York, has appointed Andria Piekarz president of its U.S. operation. Piekarz's 18 years of past experience includes the development of STA Travel, a specialist in independent and youth travel.
Westminster Hotel, in Livingston, N.J., has appointed Tara C. Barbera sales manager for the SMERF (Social, Military, Educational, Religious and Fraternity) market. She most recently was business transient sales manager at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, N.J.
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Names In The News 8/31/06
Accor North America has named John Weeks, formerly vice president of Mitsui Supply Systems, its new senior director of supply chain management. Weeks’ responsibilities include developing purchase strategy, supplier relations and product sourcing. The company has also hired Mark Pearson as senior director of franchise development, responsible for developing the Red Roof Inn, Studio 6 and Motel 6 brands in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.
Amtrak's Board of Directors has appointed Alexander Kummant as president and CEO, effective Sept. 12. Kummant previously served as a regional vice president of the Union Pacific Railroad, and most recently was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Komatsu America Corporation. Kummant fills a position that has been held by David J. Hughes on an interim basis since November 2005. Hughes will continue to serve with the railroad in a yet-to-be-specified capacity.
Avis Budget Car Rental has promoted Becky Alseth to senior vice president of marketing. Since joining the company in 2004, she has held the position of vice president of branding for Avis and Budget.
Expedia Corporate Travel has named Jean-Pierre Remy, CEO of Expedia Corporate Travel Europe, to succeed departing CEO Cheryl Rosner. "Over the past year, Cheryl has helped build Expedia Corporate Travel into a strong sustainable business, stabilizing and growing the operation and expanding its footprint globally," says David Dennis, senior communications manager at Expedia. "Cheryl’s strength and passion is starting and building businesses and she has put Expedia Corporate Travel in a solid position to continue to expand under Jean-Pierre’s leadership."
GDSX Ltd. has promoted Douglas Clark to vice president of software development, with global responsibility for software development in addition to the information technology functions. The company specializes in the automation of quality control, reservation finishing and travel fulfillment services.
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has appointed Maria da Cunha CMP to vice president of operations for its Events & Meetings Management division, responsible for management-related operations and sales throughout Canada. She rejoins HRG after a four-year period as director of business development for Navigant Performance Group. Previously, da Cunha spent a decade with HRG Events & Meetings Management (formerly BRAVO Meeting Management Solutions). HRG’s Events & Meetings Management division has also appointed Frankie Khng, previously with BCD Travel, as event manager in Singapore.
Sabre Holdings has announced the appointment of Scott Alvis as president and general manager of SynXis, its hotel distribution technology and services unit. Alvis most recently was the vice president of enterprise marketing for Sabre Holdings. During that time, he guided the corporate strategy, market research and human factors efforts for Sabre Holdings.
Southwest Airlines has announced that Greg Wells will become the senior vice president of operations, effective Sept. 1; it is a new position. Wells will be responsible for ground operations, including on-time performance. He will continue as the company's emergency director, overseeing the airline's response in the event of a crisis.
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NBTA Task Force Publishes Guide To Distribution Debate
A special task force of the NBTA Data Protection Committee has published "Understanding the Current Air Travel Distribution Debate: A Guide for Corporate Travel Professionals." Before enumerating the needs of travel managers and making recommendations to the various constituents involved in the debate, the paper lists the "real issues facing NBTA members:"
* Access to full inventory;
* Management of data;
* Data privacy controls;
* Ownership of data; and
* Removing costs from the entire distribution system to be benefit of all.
A wide range of industry professionals (travel managers plus representatives of a data services provider, TMCs, a GDS and an airline) worked on the paper.
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NBTA: Market Share's At Risk In Unresolved GDS Deals
With 71 percent of 237 travel managers reporting that some portion of their air travel transactions involve either American Airlines bookings made through Sabre or Delta Air Lines bookings made via Worldspan, the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has warned the four companies that their inability to reach distribution agreements is likely to result in a significant shift in market share.
Currently, there is no agreement between American Airlines and Sabre. The GDS's opt-in program goes into effect on Sept. 1; at that point, a $3.50 per-segment fee goes into effect for booking on airlines — notably American — that have not joined the program. Similarly, Delta Air Lines and Worldspan are in ongoing discussions regarding their relationship, though a deadline is not immediately pending.
In a survey conducted before NBTA's Aug. 16 online seminar on the new GDS programs, travel managers indicated they are ready to drive changes in their companies’ access to booking services. Twenty-two percent said they were already working with their travel management companies understand how to determine which channel to use for fare searches and bookings; 54 percent said they were "very interested" in such capabilities. "That level of control would enable travel managers to drive cost-savings by moving to cheaper distribution options and potentially working directly with airline partners to share savings," points out the NBTA.
Among other tactics the travel managers mentioned:
* Fewer trips, cited by 24 percent;
* Increased phone/video/web conferencing, 25 percent;
* Increased use of low cost carriers, 21 percent.
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Northwest To Resume Talks With Mechanics
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), which represents striking mechanics at Northwest Airlines, says that it has agreed to resume contract bargaining with the airline. A bargaining session is scheduled for Aug. 15. The parties have not met in contract bargaining since November. AMFA has been on strike since Aug. 20, 2005, when Northwest imposed a contract.
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nuTravel Signs Distribution Deal With Travizon
nuTravel Technology Solutions has signed a 5-year distribution deal with Travizon, under which the travel management company will distribute nuTravel’s private label CTS corporate online booking tool.
nuTravel’s open architecture "has allowed us to incorporate self-booking efficiencies into a wide variety of our other travel offerings making a more complete, customer-friendly suite of services," says Lehi Mills, chief technology officer for Travizon. The technical synergy between the two companies has made integration "nearly plug and play," according to nuTravel.
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Omega Offering Air Security's MegaTrak Service
Omega World Travel has partnered with Air Security International to introduce MegaTrak, a new risk management solution that combines advanced security content and communications features. MegaTrak effectively tracks en route corporate travelers in real-time, wherever they are. The solution combines data from multiple reservation systems, produces special reports when significant events occur, and offers customized briefings for hundreds of business destinations. Omega’s US-staffed emergency service centers cater to MegaTrak users’ needs 24 hours a day, providing valuable information and assistance when it’s needed most.
The MegaTrak package's capabilities include:
o Travel tracking across the globe;
o At-A-Glance graphical map displays for all traveler locations;
o Determines the number of employees on any flight;
o Send briefings, alerts and emergency contact information automatically;
o Offers travel security policy consulting and benchmarking.
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Oneworld Adds Interactive Functions To Web Site
The oneworld global airline alliance has unveiled a new web site, designed to ease use for travelers around the world. Among its features:
* An interactive network map;
* Direct links to members' web sites for booking online;
* Specific sites, in local languages, tailored to key countries including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland, including pages dedicated to travel agents in each of these countries;
* Downloadable brochures in nine languages, plus sample itineraries and an interactive tool to help plan round-the-world journeys.
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Oneworld Adds Routes in Australian, West Africa
Three more destinations — two in Australia and one in West Africa — are lining up to join the oneworld alliance network. The two new Australian points are both in Queensland: Hervey Bay, gateway to the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, which affiliate QantasLink will link with Brisbane 32 times a week; and Biloela, which provides access to a number of mining projects in the centre of the state, which QantasLink will serve from Brisbane four flights a day. Both new routes will be launched on Oct. 29.
The next day, BMED, which flies as a franchisee of British Airways, will inaugurate service to Sierra Leone's Freetown. It will serve the West African city with three weekly flights on Airbus A321s.
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Pegasus Assumes Distribution Of Distinguished Hotels
Pegasus Solutions has finalized contracts with 37 upscale, independent hotels that were previously members of Distinguished Hotels to provide reservation and distribution services. Additionally, Pegasus has acquired the "DH" chain code used on the GDSs. Liquidation proceedings for Distinguished Hotels Marketing Ltd. began last month.
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Qantas Expands Aussie Airpass Destinations
Qantas Airways has added four new Queensland cities (Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone and Gove) to its Aussie AirPass, available for travel through Dec. 4.
The AirPass includes round-trip economy class air transportation plus three qualifying cities within Australia for one fare.
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RADIUS Partners With Travisa To Provide Travel Document Service
RADIUS has signed an agreement with Travisa Passport and Visa Service to provide travel document services to its customers. The company uses "the latest technology tools" to ease the document procurement process. It is based in Washington, DC and has offices in New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, and London. It is currently expanding internationally and has plans for future offices in Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, Vancouver, Ottawa, Barcelona, Rome, Dublin, Zurich, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, and Rio De Janeiro.
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RADIUS plans Global Implementation Of COMPLEAT Mid-office System
RADIUS has signed a multi-year agreement to provide GDSX’s COMPLEAT Travel Automation System to its network of travel management companies. COMPLEAT enables users to define and implement fully automated processes of touchless travel fulfillment, CRM and service delivery. It is able to process reservations across 31 countries.
Under the multi-faceted agreement, RADIUS will administer a global implementation of COMPLEAT to serve its multi-national clientele desiring centralized account management. For these accounts, COMPLEAT will fulfill the mid-office function for RADIUS’ Global Technology Platform. RADIUS’ member agencies will be able to license the COMPLEAT Travel Automation System to define and implement fully custom automated processes of touchless travel fulfillment, CRM, and service delivery for their local and regional account needs.
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RADIUS Will Offer Registered Traveler Program To Customers
RADIUS has entered into an agreement with a Registered Traveler provider called Clear that will give its customers a corporate discount on Clear's membership fees. RADIUS clients who wish to join Clear will be able to begin the enrollment process on the RADIUS Website or through their corporate travel portal. The next step will be to provide identification and biometric data such as fingerprints and iris images at Clear kiosks, which will be located in many large cities in the coming months. Once Transportation Security Administration approves the application, members will receive a Clear card in the mail.
Clear has been operational since July 2005 at Orlando International Airport and has been selected by Norman Y. Mineta San Jose, Indianapolis and Cincinnati international airport, where it will begin operations upon TSA approval. It ahs also been selected by the Toronto Pearson International Airport to operate a Canadian Program.
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Sabre Exports Hotel UpSell To UK Market
Sabre Travel Network has introduced the UK market to its Hotel UpSell product, which enables hoteliers to automatically offer upgrades when travel agents book hotel rooms in the Sabre GDS. The ability to offer higher-value products during the booking process has the potential of increasing commission payments, according to Sabre, which says U.S. agents using UpSell have increased revenue by 13 percent. Chains participating in the program include Radisson, Country Inn and Suites, Omni, Fairmont, Copthorne, Best Western, Regent International, Park Plaza and Park Inns.
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St. Regis Hotel Washington To Close For Renovations
The St. Regis Hotel, Washington, D.C. will close on Sept. 1 for a 10-month renovation. Elements of the makeover and reconstruction will include a complete renovation of all rooms and the addition of 15 suites. The number of guest rooms will be reduced from 193 to 178 to accommodate the additional suites.
All public areas, including the lobby, ballroom, fitness center and meeting rooms, will be renovated.
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StarCite and OnVantage Merge
StarCite and OnVantage have merged, forming a new company that will operate under the StarCite name and be headquartered in Philadelphia. The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2006. Terms of the merger were not disclosed. Customers of both companies will proceed under the current terms of their contracts, using their respective OnVantage or StarCite technology and service solutions, through December 2007.
StarCite's Michael Boult will serve as president and CEO; OnVantage's John Chang, as chairman; and John Pino, StarCite’s founder, as president of StarCite International, focused on international growth and partner strategies. Chang will drive the combined company's integration efforts. The company will also have offices in Santa Clara, Calif.; London; Dusseldorf; Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The new StarCite will continue to concentrate on on-demand meetings management, which it estimates to be a $300 billion global marketplace. Only about 3 percent of meetings spending is currently under management, according to Boult, making it a "virtually untouched frontier of corporate spending." The new StarCite, he adds, "has the opportunity to bring buyers and suppliers together electronically on an unprecedented scale, saving millions for corporations and delivering lucrative meetings business directly to hotels. We have doubled the resources we can devote to continuously improving our solutions, expanding our global footprint and broadening our ability to promote best practices in meetings management."
Its management expects the combined company to deliver more than $5 billion in revenue opportunities to its supplier database, up 50 percent from 2005, and to process more than 2.5 million attendee registrations per year, also an increase of 50 percent over 2005. Its technology will power private label meetings sites for hotel brands such as Adams Mark, Aramark, Carlson, Destination Hotels, Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt, LXR, Morgans, Omni, Starwood and Wyndham.
Among its partnerships with travel agencies and meetings management companies are such names as American Express Business Travel, BCD Meetings and Incentives, Conference Direct, Conferon Global Services, HelmsBriscoe and Maritz Travel Company.
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Starwood Adds Fifth Beijing Hotel To Growing China Portfolio
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is continuing its aggressive expansion in China with the signing of a management agreement for its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Beijing: Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian. The new property, scheduled to open in July 2009, will be the fifth Starwood property in Beijing, with two more to open in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Starwood has been expanding its footprint in China aggressively in the past 24 months. The company now operates 28 hotels in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, with 28 under construction.
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian will be located near the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, as well as the Haidian government district and major universities and research institutes. The 301-room property will feature 16,800 square feet of meeting space, three restaurants, health club, spa, indoor swimming pool and business center.
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Starwood To Operate Four Points By Sheraton Hotels In China
Starwood has signed agreements to operate the Four Points by Sheraton Tianjin, Zhongshan and the Four Points by Sheraton Hangzhou, Binjiang.
The Four Points by Sheraton Tianjin, Zhongshan will be located within a mixed-use development that will include retail outlets and residential units. The 300-room hotel, scheduled to open in 2008, will be located approximately 40 minutes by car from Tianjin Binhai International Airport. It will feature 7,500 square feet of meeting space and three restaurants.
The Four Points by Sheraton Hangzhou, Binjiang is also part of a mixed-use development and will be centrally located in the hi-tech district in Hangzhou. The 350-room hotel, scheduled to open in 2008, will be 30 minutes from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. It will have 17,100 square feet of meeting space and two restaurants.
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Starwood's First aloft Hotel Opens As Part Of Online Game Site
aloft, Starwood Hotels' newest brand, will debut as a 3-D computer-generated replica inside a virtual world in September in the new online game, "Second Life." The first brick-and-mortar version of the new brand is expected to open its doors in early 2008, with 500 properties worldwide expected by 2012.
A virtual environment in which players create digital alter egos and exchange virtual currency for digitally rendered goods and services, the Second Life metaverse is currently inhabited by more than 350,000 people worldwide. Visitors to the game's web site will be able to enter an aloft hotel and interact with others as they get a sneak peek at its urban-inspired, loft-like guest rooms, landscaped outdoor spaces and energetic lounge scene.
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Sun Country Moves To JFK's Terminal 4
Sun Country, the LCC based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, is relocating to Terminal 4 at New York's JFK Airport. The move will help the airline expand its service, according to COO Jim Olsen. Sun Country will initially offer two daily flights to Minneapolis from JFK.
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Swissotel Restructures
Swissotel has been positioned as one of four distinct brands in a portfolio owned by Kingdom Hotels and Colony Capital. The other brands are Raffles, Delta and Fairmont (Kingdom and Colony purchased Fairmont earlier this year). Swissotel now bases its corporate office in Zurich, Switzerland, under the continued leadership of Meinhard Huck, managing director. Caroline Hunt, regional director of global sales for the Americas, leads the Swissotel national sales office in New York. She directs a team that includes Patti Elliot (director of global sales, meetings and incentives, Chicago), Jenny Lo Tucker (director of global sales, San Francisco) and Maria Mahady (director of global sales, New York).
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Teamsters Reach Five-year Agreement With AirTran
AirTran Airways and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 528, have reached agreement on a five-year contract agreement which will take effect on Sept. 1. The tentative agreement was reached before the amendable date of the previous contract. Membership ratification is expected within 10 days. The agreement has the full endorsement of the Union's negotiating committee.
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Topaz Schedules Fall Fare Construction Classes
Topaz International's Learning Center will offer beginning and intermediate classes in international fare construction in Chicago from Oct. 17 to 20.
Beginning classes, which takes place on Oct. 17-18, is designed for international agents who have not attended any manual fare construction classes. The course covers topics such as IATA geography, fare break points, mileage fares, neutral unit of construction, higher intermediate point construction and carrier exceptions.
The intermediate classes, which take place on Oct. 19-20, cover round-the-world fare construction and fares, back haul checks, surface segment calculations, differentials, refunds and reissues, and cost savings techniques.
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Travel Inc. Adds Continental Check-in To Its Web Site
Travel Incorporated, based in Duluth, Ga., has launched a dedicated web site that allows its customers to check in for their Continental Airlines flights online. It is the first co-branded airline/travel agency check-in web site, according to Monisa Cline, staff vice president of North America sales for Continental.
Continental is currently in discussions with other travel agencies to further expand this online check-in service.
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Travel Solutions To Use TRX’s Agent Desktop
Travel Solutions, a travel management company based in Westerville, Ohio, has signed a long-term contract to use TRX’s Selex Agent Desktop. Selex enables access to multiple sources of inventory through a web-based interface. The interface reduces or eliminates the need for travel agents to know native GDS formats.
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Travelport Sale Complete, Its Execs Eager For Independent Operation
Cendant Corporation has completed the sale of its Travelport business to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group for an estimated $4.3 billion. Fourteen percent of the new entity is being sold in turn to Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). With the transaction complete, Travelport's upper management indicates it is ready for an energetic advance on the global travel market, especially China and India.
"Clearly, the travel industry is driven by the winds of consumer demographics and rapidly growing new markets such as China and India," says Blackstone's senior managing director, Chip Schorr. "In this context, we expect Travelport's widely recognized brands, global reach and world-class management team will continue to bolster our view of Travelport as the most relevant company in the travel space." The company's portfolio of brands includes Orbitz, Galileo, ebookers and Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA).
The involvement of companies like ebookers and GTA — the former a pan-European online agency and the latter a UK-based wholesaler of hotel rooms, destination services and group travel — meant that the final transaction required the approval of European Commission regulators. That was successfully fast-tracked so that Blackstone and Cendant were able to meet their announced Aug. 23 deadline.
"Exciting opportunities are on the horizon for Travelport as we continue to leverage our unique portfolio of assets — from the highest quality products and services to our dedicated people and diverse geographic mix," says Jeff Clarke, it CEO and president. "As an independent company, we are fully committed to offering our business-to-business customers and consumers exceptional travel experiences. We look forward to growing and strengthening our leadership position in the travel industry while ... taking the company to the next level of profitable growth."
TVC is a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies, currently with $4.7 billion in capital under management. Its previous investments have included Expedia, Alteon Websystems, CNET and RealNetworks. This summer it also invested in FXall, an online foreign exchange company, and Global Market Insite (GMI), a provider of global market intelligence solutions.
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TravelSafe Insurance Extends Hurricane Coverage
TravelSafe Insurance has begun offering extended protection for trips that are canceled within 24 hours of departure due to a hurricane warning. The additional benefit is effective Aug. 8, 2006; to be eligible for coverage, travelers' policies must be in effect at least 15 days prior to the cancellation.
The Wyomissing PA-based company’s extended coverage also includes cancellation for certain mental, nervous or psychological disorders, cancellation in the event the traveler’s workplace is made uninhabitable due to burglary, fire, flood vandalism or natural disaster, and several extended benefits to cover airline change, re-issue or re-bank fees associated with frequent flyer tickets.
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Tri-Pen's TravelMaster System To Incorporate Concur T&E Reporting
Tri-Pen Management Corporation has contracted with Concur Technologies Inc. to supply its expense reporting system for users of the TravelMaster system.
By providing expense reporting along with the existing TravelMaster™ solution, Tri-Pen is helping its clients close the loop and complete the seamless management of the travel cycle.
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TRX Acquires Travel Analytics
Travel technology company TRX has acquired Travel Analytics, a Cleveland-based provider of spend-management services for corporations. Trip Davis, TRX’s CEO, says that the acquisition of Travel Analytics will “augment the technology and talent in our data-integration offerings for corporate travel clients.
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United Boosting Service To Asia
United Airlines is upping its service to the Asia Pacific region by adding 40 weekly, year-round flights and additional cargo capacity to its schedule during the next nine months. United will launch its first-ever service between Tokyo and Washington Dulles, reinstate daily San Francisco-Taipei service, expand San Francisco-Seoul service from seasonal to year-round and add three weekly flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong.
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United Renews Contract For ARC Data Used By CTDs
United Airlines has renewed its market data services agreement with ARC for the full marketplace version of the ARC Origin & Destination Sales Summary and ARC Itinerary Detail products. Built on the ARC COMPASS data warehousing platform, the O&D Sales Summary provides data on city pair markets for ARC-accredited agents and corporate travel departments (CTDs).
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US Airways Expands, Speeds Up Delivery Of New Aircraft
US Airways has added seven new Airbus A321s to an existing order for 30 Airbus A320 family aircraft. Deliveries of 15 A321 aircraft are expected to begin in July 2008 and run through 2010. Deliveries under the prior order were not scheduled to begin until 2009. The A321 aircraft will be configured to accommodate 183 passengers in two classes of service (16 first class, 167 main cabin). US Airways has certain conversion flexibility within the A320 family on the remaining 22 aircraft.
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Value Place Lines Up 500 Franchisees In 35 States
Value Place, a new extended stay brand, has announced the signing of more than 500 franchise commitments in 35 states — a milestone reached in less than two years. Collectively, the company and its franchisees have committed more than $2 billion to development of the brand, according to founder Jack DeBoer.
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Vegas CVA Fields Passkey For Group Events
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will offer Passkey's online group reservation service to all event planners coming to the city. Features to be offered by the CVA include:
a. Easy management of reservations and rooming lists
b. customized event websites for online hotel bookings
c. 24/7 access to event reports, including pick-up and pace reports
d. Reduction in attrition exposure and book-arounds
e. One-stop shopping for event registration and hotel booking
f. Ability to modify and cancel reservations online.
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Vegas.com Sets Up Shop In Burbank Airport
The Vegas.com destination site has set up a concierge service at Gate 4A, Terminal A of the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif. The service will offer ticketing and reservation services for show tickets, restaurant reservations, golf tee times, front-of-line nightclub passes, etc. This is Vegas.com's first airport location; it has more than 30 retail locations throughout Southern Nevada.
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W To Take Root In Istanbul
W Hotels has announced plans to open a new 130-room hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, in late 2007. The W Istanbul will serve as the centerpiece of the redevelopment of the landmark Akaretler Row Houses in the city's Besiktas district.
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WestJet Opens 2 More Airport Lounges In National Roll-out
Two more of WestJet's new airport guest lounges, being deployed across Canada in partnership with Penauille Servisair, open in September in Calgary and Vancouver. Lounges have already opened in Ottawa and Winnipeg. The roll-out is part of WestJet's ongoing strategy to improve business service, including convenient travel schedules and a relentless commitment to on-time performance.
Amenities and services provided by WestJet Lounges are designed to be especially appealing to business travelers. They offer comfortable leather seating, complimentary beverages and snacks, television and flight information screens, and access to business facilities including telephones, fax, wireless Internet and newspapers/magazines. Lounges are licensed, serving beer, wines and spirits at an additional cost. Access is available on a walk-up basis or pre-booked online for $14+ GST.
Penauille Servisair is the largest operator of common-use lounges in Europe.
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Worldspan Adds Aeromexico To Its GDS Customer List
Aeromexico has finalized a new multi-year agreement with Worldspan under which the airline will distribute its complete portfolio of published flights, schedules, availability and fares to travel retailers and corporations worldwide using the Worldspan GDS.
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Zoom Airlines Contemplated Low-cost Transatlantic Route
Canada's Zoom Airlines, which has just received an infusion of capital from sale of 7.5 percent of its shares to the Bank of Scotland, says it may start low-fare flights between New York and London next year. Zoom has a leased fleet of four 270-seat Boeing 767-300s. One more jet will be added in December, another two in April.
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