[UPDATE, April 23, 2024: American Airlines delayed new restrictions on how travelers can earn loyalty program points, to July 11 from May 1. The rules will affect some bookings through agencies AA does not qualify as “preferred.” According to a spokesperson, “This extension gives an opportunity for those agencies to complete the transition. We’ll continue…
What airlines want from their corporate customers and what they’re willing to give in return is changing. For many U.S. accounts, the request for proposals process and resulting contracts look very different than they did five years ago, especially for American and United clients. Airline corporate discounts are getting downsized or eliminated, and carriers want…
AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee caused a stir with a Jan. 29 column in which he relayed an anecdote about a customer of a large travel management company hearing from a travel advisor that their “booking tool withholds some flight options on purpose in order to drive more revenue from phone calls.” Reactions from multiple executive-level…
Alexandria, Va. – Amid a federal government solicitation process putting the management of upwards of $4 billion in annual travel spending up for grabs, the National Defense Transportation Association’s GovTravels conference attracted a record 1,100 attendees here last month. The U.S. General Services Administration has begun collecting information from interested travel and expense tech vendors…
American Express Global Business Travel expects to improve margins thanks to productivity gains, lower restructuring and debt costs, and a continued shift to proprietary online booking tools. It’s also looking for acquisition opportunities that executives and company documents released Tuesday called “accretive,” “incremental,” and “strategic.” Speaking under the condition of anonymity a year ago, one…
How much more can a travel management company make when corporate customers use its proprietary booking technology? Flight Centre Travel Group’s head of corporate travel wouldn’t specifically say, but his answer during a Tuesday evening conference call with equities analysts was instructive. With its own tools, the TMC has to cover maintenance and development costs….
In a Jan. 29 Business Travel News column, SAP Concur Travel president Charlie Sultan predicted that distribution changes would “disrupt” travel management company revenue streams and combine with tech investment pressures to prompt “further TMC consolidation.” He didn’t cover Concur’s role. Parent SAP considered buying CWT but decided against it last week, according to sources…
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