Flight Centre Travel Group

Small Accounts Aren’t Worth The Effort, So Claire Chatbot Seeks TMC Users

Three unidentified travel management companies have enlisted 30SecondsToFly’s Claire chatbot, according to co-founder Felicia Schneiderhan. Claire’s parent is de-emphasizing direct client servicing in favor of powering other business travel entities due to the cost and limited return of maintaining small-business accounts. Claire uses the Facebook, Skype, Slack, SMS and web platforms to communicate with users about…

After False Starts, Lyft And Uber Use TMC Partners For Deeper Corporate Travel Inroads

Lyft and Uber are feeling their way into the corporate market. Lyft had a rebate program. That’s done. Uber For Business had free and premium tiers. Now it’s all premium. Both fast-growing ride-hailing companies are aligning with corporate travel management companies but so far mostly for referrals. It’s clear these remain early days. Lyft has…

Consultant Exposes Markups By Certifying TMCs That Don’t Hide Them

A new Australia-based enterprise wants to help travel management companies prove they don’t mislead clients. Consultant Tony O’Connor and data company Airline Metrics in October created a joint venture to tackle the not-illegal, sometimes-documented, “under-discussed” practice of hidden travel agency markups. Called Airocheck, the entity’s first client is TMC Corporate Travel Management. Many say there’s nothing wrong…

Airbnb Adds Systems Integrations In Corporate Travel Courtship

Airbnb inventory is coming to corporate booking channels. Concur and Flight Centre this summer went public with their plans. Amadeus is considering if and how to link its booking tool. Airbnb’s self-reported data shows rapid growth even before these integrations. Anecdotal reports indicate increased corporate acceptance. Concur in July said “in the coming months” it…

Sabre Commits To AA NDC Plan, Heralding Shift In Airline Distribution Economics

Timing on global distribution system readiness to hook up New Distribution Capability connections for full functionality remains a mystery. Sabre, for one, has committed to achieving that goal with American Airlines. When GDSs do bring in the highest-level NDC functionality of, say, American Airlines, what will that mean for travel management companies that want to…

Flight Centre, Agents Pay For Overcharges

[UPDATE, July 25, 2017: Barrett received a suspended sentence of 15 months, according to reports.] Former Flight Centre agent Vanessa Barrett this month pleaded guilty to defrauding Australia’s Northern Territory of more than AU$110,000 by falsely inflating travel invoices. Barrett is one of more than a dozen agents Northern Territory police have investigated during the…

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