Total commissions paid to travel agencies by U.S. airlines in 2017 reversed a 20-year trend and jumped 15 percent year over year, according to U.S. government data. The data reflect a fight for market share as the Big Three enjoy strong demand and healthy balance sheets. On domestic U.S. tickets, commission dollar volume in 2017 rose for a third consecutive… Read More »
Festive Road is a travel consultancy for the social media age. It’s got excellent communicators. Heck, it has The Company Dime as a partner (see disclosure, below). When it comes to TMC sourcing, the U.K.-based firm’s announcement this week of a simpler approach met with a ho lot of hum from competitors on both sides of the Atlantic.… Read More »
Corporate travel policy has taken a lot of grief lately. It’s too long, so nobody reads it. It’s not traveler-centric. It doesn’t incorporate “behavioral economics.” Its ability to control behavior is a “myth.” Some generalizations are less true than others, and corporate policy is often misunderstood. That doesn’t mean companies can stand pat. The business environment is always… Read More »
Travel management sources said British Airways parent IAG should go back to the drawing board on recently discussed alternatives to its surcharge program, due to take effect Nov. 1. An IAG official offered no comment on news that the firm is in the market talking to travel management companies about an incentive program not unlike the one described… Read More »
Boston – Travel management professionals agree that to be effective, new airline distribution programs need to offer at least as much functionality as existing systems do. Based on expert commentary at last week’s Global Business Travel Association convention here, it would appear that a solution to be welcomed by all key parties is a ways off. Dozens of speakers… Read More »
U.S. authorities this week said an expanded “laptop ban” is “still on the table.” A prohibition on large personal electronic devices in passenger cabins on all transatlantic flights would decimate productivity. The International Air Transport Association estimated the impact at $1.1 billon annually. How did it come up with that number? Moreover, do corporate travel managers work out… Read More »
Prism data is the basis for corporate deals with the big U.S. network airlines. It will be for the foreseeable future. But it has limitations. The Airlines Reporting Corp. designed new tools for corporate buyers and agencies that better detail activity and marketplace benchmarks. This can prepare them for contracting. In an early use case of ARC Corporate… Read More »