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  • Kayak for Business Launches Premium Offering for SMEs

    Kayak for Business Launches Premium Offering for SMEs

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    Kayak for Business has added a premium option to its travel management offering for small and midsized businesses, which includes such features as group bookings, around-the-clock agency support and corporate rate access, Kayak announced.

    The new offering comes with a flat fee of $20 per trip, with no minimum spend or subscription required, according to Kayak. For that fee, Kayak has added a number of features not available in the free version, which includes basic travel management and reporting capabilities. Those features are “designed to address the specific challenges SMBs encounter, streamlining the planning process and saving time for both employees and travel coordinators,” according to Kayak for Business SVP Eva Fouquet.

    On the booking side, the premium offering enables users to book directly on the Kayak platform rather being directed to different travel sites, and users can book on behalf of colleagues and guest travelers as well, according to Kayak. The platform also can manage group hotel bookings and unused ticket vouchers.

    Premium program users get access to special corporate rates on select hotels and car rental supplies and can add corporate rates or enroll in special corporate programs within the platform, according to Kayak.

    In terms of service, travelers using the premium version have access to agent support at any time, and companies also get support with account management, change management and team training, Kayak said. Companies receive reporting that can track and analyze monthly expenses.

    The offering has integration capabilities, including with Emburse and duty-of-care providers, in addition to the Expensify and Slack integrations offered in the free version, Kayak said. With payment, premium users can pay by shared company cards and set up direct billing for rental cars.

    Kayak for Business, which launched in 2019, currently reports 30,000 customers. Besides the SME offering, it has developed an enterprise offering for large companies, powered by BlockSkye’s blockchain technology, that it developed through close collaboration with its first enterprise client, PwC US.

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  • GlobalStar Partners with M&E Platform Qondor

    GlobalStar Partners with M&E Platform Qondor

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    GlobalStar Travel Management has partnered with meetings and events ERP platform Qondor, giving agencies and travel management companies in the network access to the platform, the network announced.

    The platform “will help our TMC partners to centrally manage and control the many disparate components that make up a typical meeting request from start to end,” GlobalStar executive director of IT and supplier relations Julian Russell said in a statement. Norway-based Qondor combines the various aspects of the M&E management workflow—event request, budget proposals, contracts, registration, invoicing and reconciliation and reporting—into a single platform.

    “Many agencies do not have a solid platform in which to build and grow their M&E business,” Qondor COO and cofounder Nils Olav Rislå said in a statement. “In our experience we see that M&E needs are frequently deprioritized in favor of corporate travel, often leading to inefficient processes and lack of overview.”

    Qondor reports that it is helping to manage more than 30,000 events for more than 20,000 clients this year. The GlobalStar network operates in more than 2,500 locations across more than 55 countries.

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  • Travelport Plus Adds Emirates NDC Content

    Travelport Plus Adds Emirates NDC Content

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    Travelport is making New Distribution Capability content from Emirates, including servicing capabilities, available on its Travelport Plus platform, the company announced.

    The integration gives Travelport agency customers access to Emirates’ NDC offers and ancillaries and servicing capabilities including modifications and cancellations, according to Travelport. The content and servicing currently are available for agents in Australia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and the U.K.; availability will expand to other countries “in the coming weeks,” the company said.

    A Travelport spokesperson said it is the first global distribution system to launch Emirates’ NDC content and servicing. The carrier in May announced an NDC content and servicing agreement with tech provider Spotnana.

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  • Concur Survey: Buyers Brace for ‘Challenging’ 12 Months Ahead

    Concur Survey: Buyers Brace for ‘Challenging’ 12 Months Ahead

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    Business travel managers were nearly unanimous in declaring 2024 a “more challenging” year, facing demands including budget reductions, expanding responsibilities and a more demanding traveler population, according to an SAP Concur-sponsored survey of 600 travel managers across six global markets.

    In terms of budget, 42 percent of respondents said their job will be more difficult over the next 12 months due to company directives to cut travel costs. Within the Asia/Pacific region, that percentage was 48 percent, according to the survey, which was conducted by Wakefield Research April 5-26. Some of those cuts are coming at the expense of sustainability initiatives, with 36 percent of travel managers indicating it would be difficult to meet expectations for more sustainable travel options with inadequate budgets. 

    About a third of travel manager respondents said they have been asked to take a more strategic role at their company but have not received any additional training or education to do so, the survey indicated. That was more common for travel managers in the Americas and the Asia/Pacific region compared with Europe.

    The most frequently cited challenges for the year were increased safety concerns and employees not using company booking tools, each cited by 38 percent of respondents. A companion survey of 3,750 business travelers across 24 markets showed 64 percent prefer making changes directly through suppliers rather than through company tools.

    Business travelers surveyed were largely positive about business travel itself, with 76 percent saying they enjoy it and 67 percent considering it essential for career advancement. However, about a two-thirds said they have not had equal opportunities to take business trips compared with their colleagues—an increase of 4 percentage points for the same question in Concur’s 2023 survey—based on a variety of factors including seniority, age, gender, accent and whether they work from the company’s office.

    Many travel managers, meanwhile, are seeking greener pastures, with 41 percent saying they likely would look for a new position in the next 12 months.

    “Even among those looking to remain in their current role, 41 percent intend to push for changes to that position,” Concur said in the report, “demonstrating that staying put won’t necessarily equate to staying silent.”

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  • BlockSkye Promotes Zitur, Hires Former CWT Exec Magnuson

    BlockSkye Promotes Zitur, Hires Former CWT Exec Magnuson

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    Travel industry blockchain technology provider Blockskye has hired former CWT executive Erik Magnuson as COO alongside its promotion of Dave Zitur to the company’s president.

    Zitur, a former executive with Travel Leaders Group, has been with Blockskye “since its inception” and served as COO prior to his promotion to president, which is a new position at Blockskye. The promotion “reflects his significant contributions to the company’s growth and dedication to enhancing customer value through cutting-edge blockchain technology,” according to the company.

    Magnuson, who was with CWT from more than 12 years and most recently was CWT’s VP of product management, is succeeding Zitur in his former role. The appointments are effective immediately, according to a Blockskye spokesperson.

    Blockskye’s technology powers Kayak for Business’ new Enterprise solution, building off its pioneering work with PwC U.S.

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  • Sabre, Latam Open Pre-Launch NDC Registration

    Sabre, Latam Open Pre-Launch NDC Registration

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    Sabre has opened pre-registration to travel agencies to access Latam’s New Distribution Capability content when it becomes available later this year. Sabre announced in October that it would provide such content beginning in 2024. 

    Agencies have until July 15 to complete the process prior to activation, according to Sabre.

    Once Latam’s NDC connection to Sabre is live, Sabre-connected agencies will be able to access the carrier’s NDC and EDIFACT content through Sabre systems including its Offer and Order API, Sabre Red 360 and its GetThere corporate booking tool. 

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  • Survey: Corp. Travelers Willing to Splurge on Dining, Entertainment

    Survey: Corp. Travelers Willing to Splurge on Dining, Entertainment

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    U.S. corporate travelers spend an average of $700 of their own money out-of-pocket per trip, with that money most frequently going toward dining expenses, according to a Booking.com for business survey of 502 U.S. professionals who travel for business.

    The survey, conducted from Nov. 22 to Dec. 4 in 2023, showed U.S. domestic travelers typically spend $500 of their own money per trip, while international travelers spend up to $2,000 per person. Sixty-three percent said they spend out-of-pocket on dining expenses. Other frequent expenses in the survey include entertainment (57 percent), tips and gratuities (55 percent) and souvenirs or gifts (48 percent).

    Travelers were less willing to spend their own money on upgrades, according to the survey. Only 23 percent said they spent out-of-pocket for room upgrades, and 18 percent said they spent their own money on airline seating upgrades.

    Career development was the most frequently cited benefit of business travel in the survey, listed by 42 percent of respondents. That was followed by networking (38 percent) and gaining knowledge (32 percent).

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  • Cirium: May On-Time Performance Drops

    Cirium: May On-Time Performance Drops

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    After rebounding in April, the May on-time performance for North American carriers again reversed course, dropping 5.3 percentage points month over month to 74.4 percent, according to the latest report from aviation analytics company Cirium. 

    Each of the 10 carriers in the report posted a decline from April, and none of the North American carriers placed among Cirium’s global top 10 airlines for on-time performance.

    Delta Air Lines remained in first place in North America with a May on-time performance of 81 percent, followed by Alaska Airlines at 79 percent and WestJet at 77.6 percent. It’s the second month in a row that WestJet, which typically comes in the bottom half of measured carriers, landed among the top three performers.

    The carrier with the largest average month-over-month decline was American Airlines, down 10.2 percentage points, which placed it as the second-lowest performing airline in North America for May. Spirit declined 9.2 percentage points, and Southwest dropped 8.2 percentage points. 

    The carriers with the lowest declines were Air Canada at 1.2 percentage points below its April average and Alaska, down 1.4 percentage points.

    [Report continues below chart.]

    North American carriers in May canceled 11,491 flights, not quite double the 6,217 flights canceled in April. 

    Completion factors for North American carriers mostly held steady, with Alaska and JetBlue each at 99.61 percent and Delta at 99.6 percent. 

    A flight is considered on time if the aircraft arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival time.

    RELATED: Cirium: LCCs Show Strong April On-Time Improvement

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  • Study Shows Corp. Travel Benefits for Revenue, Retention

    Study Shows Corp. Travel Benefits for Revenue, Retention

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    Most CEOs plan to increase their travel budgets this year, as the C-suite sees business travel as valuable not only for revenue generation but for employee morale, according to a TravelPerk-commissioned report published on Thursday.

    The Value of Business Travel Report—which included 2,000 company decision-makers outside TravelPerk’s customer base, 540 of whom were C-suite leaders, along with 4,600 business travelers and 625 travel managers and admins within the TravelPerk customer base—showed that 62 percent of CEOs expect a year-over-year increase of their travel budgets.

     U.S. companies were the most bullish in the survey, with 61 percent of companies planning to increase budgets. Less than half of European companies said the same, however, including 39 percent of companies in Germany, 46 percent of companies in the U.K. and 48 percent of companies in Spain.

    Surveys for the report were conducted April 10-17.

    Expansion into new markets was the top reason for increased budgets, cited by 47 percent of companies, according to the report. Other top reasons include more attendance of conference and events (45 percent) and a larger headcount (39 percent).

    For those companies that expect to reduce budgets this year—about a third of companies in the survey—increased travel prices was the top driver, cited by 35 percent of respondents. Other key reasons included company cost-cutting measures (30 percent) and environmental sustainability (27 percent).

    The survey also showed an appreciation of business travel for return on investment both on the financial and human impact sides. C-suite leaders in the survey attributed on average about a third of their companies’ 2023 sales growth to in-person meetings, and 95 percent of the leaders said their company would lose customers without in-person meetings—a loss of about 27 percent of their customer base, on average.

    Additionally, 82 percent of U.S. CEOs and 65 percent of European CEOs in the survey said business travel helps with employee retention, and 75 percent of HR decision-makers in the survey said adding business travel opportunities in job descriptions made them more attractive to applicants. Among travelers, 63 percent said traveling for work makes them more likely to stay with their current employer, and that increased to 76 percent among the subset of Generation Z employees.

    The report indicated that companies that increased their travel budget in 2023 had an employee turnover rate of 8.6 percent, which is below the Gallup average of 10 percent and 3.5 points lower than companies that reduced their budgets.

    “In today’s fiercely competitive landscape, companies recognize the immense value that business travel delivers,” TravelPerk CEO and co-founder Avi Meir said in a statement. “From the boost in employee engagement and revenue generated from in-person meetings, to conducting work that can only happen by being there, business travel is far more than just a cost center—it’s an investment in growth, innovation, and company culture.”

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  • Amgine Integrates with Cvent for Group Air Booking Automation

    Amgine Integrates with Cvent for Group Air Booking Automation

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    Corporate travel AI automation platform Amgine is integrating
    into Cvent an automated group air booking tool for travel management companies.

    With the integration, Amgine’s APIs pull data from a meeting
    registration form and automatically deliver a trip proposal to the traveling
    attendee, including flight options and seat maps, within minutes of the
    request, according to the companies. Travelers can then self-select their
    preferred option, which will align with corporate travel policies.

    TMCs can also have Amgine route the itinerary choices to an
    agent for review before sending them to the traveler if they prefer.

    The workflow replaces a usual manual process in which
    traveler registrations are exported at specific intervals to an Excel
    spreadsheet, from which an agent creates PNRs and itineraries for each
    individual traveler. That can take an experienced travel agent five minutes per group
    traveler, Amgine CEO Greg Apple told BTN. “An average agent needs eight minutes.” And because they will want to wait until there’s a critical mass of registrants to export their lists in a manual workflow, registered attendees can wait days, possibly weeks, to get their itineraries. “That’s not a good experience,” said Apple. 

    As a result, group air request processing is “one of the most
    repeated requests we receive” from TMC clients, Apple said. “We know how tedious it can be for corporate agents to
    sift through hundreds of thousands of rows of a spreadsheet for just one
    event.” He said post-pandemic staffing issues drove a number of TMCs to the product.

    In terms of payment and ticketing, profiled
    travelers are still the easiest to handle through the Amgine-Cvent workflow.
    Non-profiled travelers get trickier due to payment, which can’t just be entered
    into the Amgine tool.

    “That’s a point of contention for us because
    it’s PCI compliance,” said director of implementation and training Bryan
    Fernandez. In those cases, however, the TMC or traveler can proceed with the
    booking, but it won’t be ticketed until the TMC receives payment. The corporate client can specify to the agency how to handle such bookings, either charging to a central bill or, at worse, requesting a form of payment from the attendee. 

    In terms of reporting on those meetings itineraries and
    travel spend, the data flows to the TMC and also to Cvent. It is associated
    with a meeting or event code, according to Apple, which allows the host organization
    to tie the spend picture to the individual event.  

    Cvent will make the Amgine app and the integration for group
    air bookings available for download by TMCs in its app marketplace this month.
    TMCs will have to sign up to be an Amgine partner in order to use the
    automation. Apple told BTN that the company already partners with some big TMC but
    couldn’t name them. He did specify a number of BCD affiliates, however, Atlas
    Travel, Christopherson Business Travel and Travel Inc. Apple also hinted at
    more innovations to come over the summer.

    “I’ll tell you more in July. I’m under wraps because we’re
    in partnership with Travel Inc. on this, but they’re a very innovative TMC and
    they’re giving us all these use cases to solve.” Apple said the company was also working on a project with Bizly.

    The Amgine platform is among a number of products attempting the fill the group travel gap. Others include AmTrav Gather, Groupize and Spotnana Events. 

    – Elizabeth West contributed to this report

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  • PredictX Adds AI Air Sourcing Tool

    PredictX Adds AI Air Sourcing Tool

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    Analytics technology provider PredictX has launched an AI-powered air sourcing insights tool that aims to help corporate travel managers optimize their air program performance, the company announced.

    The Air Sourcing Navigator analyzes data from the PredictX platform—which includes data from more than 200 pre-built connectors including travel management companies, expense management platforms, credit cards, online booking tools, global distribution systems, HR systems and the general ledger—and finds negotiating opportunities for travel managers with their airline programs. This might include the chance to renegotiate a better deal on certain routes, carriers or classes of travel, according to PredictX.

    In addition, the tool incorporates natural language processing technology from PredictX’s AI assistant, Sheri.ai, to aid travel managers in understanding the data. A travel manager, for example, could ask the tool to provide a graph to explain how a negotiating decision could bring savings.

    The company plans to release AI-enabled sourcing tools for hotel and ground transportation programs later this year, according to PredictX CEO Keesup Choe.

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  • IATA to Form SAF Registry, with 2024 Production Set to Triple

    IATA to Form SAF Registry, with 2024 Production Set to Triple

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    Sustainable aviation fuel production in 2024 is “on track” to triple compared with 2023, but the 1.9 billion liters produced would account for just 0.53 percent of the global fuel the aviation industry needs for the year, the International Air Transport Association announced this week at its Annual General Meeting and the World Air Transport Summit in Dubai. 

    Still, SAF remains the most important lever in reaching the industry’s net-zero sustainability goals and is projected to account for 65 percent of CO2 emissions reductions by 2050, IATA senior VP of sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen said. The other levers are offsets and carbon capture (19 percent), new technologies (13 percent) and infrastructure and operations enhancements (3 percent).

    This would take SAF production from 500,000 metric tons to 500 million metric tons, if we manage to do this. That sounds almost not possible. But the world has achieved these types of challenges many times in the past.”

    – IATA’s Marie Owens Thomsen

    By 2050, Thomsen said SAF production must increase by a factor of 1,000. “That sounds staggeringly challenging,” she said. “This would take production from 500,000 [metric] tons to 500 million [metric] tons, if we manage to do this. That sounds almost not possible. But the world has achieved these types of challenges many times in the past.”

    Thomsen gave the example of wind and solar energy, noting that not long ago there wasn’t any of it around, and now it is the cheapest form of energy, “cheaper than any fossil fuel,” she said. “And the money engaged in that process is similar to the money we think will need to be engaged in our process. … Clearly what we need is strong and urgent public policies for it and as quickly as possible, and then we are convinced that [the production needed] is entirely possible.”

    “Incentives to build more renewable energy facilities, strengthen the feedstock supply chain, and to allocate a greater portion of renewable fuel output to aviation would help decarbonizing aviation,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said. “Governments can also facilitate technical solutions with accelerated approvals for diverse feedstocks and production methodologies as well as co-processing renewable feedstocks in crude oil plants. No one policy or strategy will get us to the needed levels. But by using a combination of all potential policy measures, producing sufficient quantities of SAF is absolutely possible.”

    IATA has identified nearly 140 announced renewable fuel projects with the capability to produce SAF by 2030. Europe had 58 projects announced. The Americas were next with 39 projects, followed by Asia-Pacific with 25, North Asia with 14 projects, and Africa and the Middle East with three projects.

    But not all projects announced necessarily will reach final investment decisions, according to IATA. Through the International Civil Aviation Organization, governments set a target of 5 percent CO2 emission reductions for international aviation from SAF by 2030. To achieve that, about 27 percent of all expected renewable fuel production capacity available in 2030 would need to be dedicated to SAF. Currently, SAF accounts for just 3 percent of all renewable fuel production, per IATA.

    “The interest in SAF is growing, and there is plenty of potential. But the concrete plans that we have seen so far are far from sufficient,” Walsh said. “[Governments] now need to implement policies to ensure that airlines can actually purchase SAF in the required quantities.

    IATA SAF Registry

    IATA also announced at its conference that it will establish a registry “to accelerate the uptake of SAF by authoritatively accounting and reporting emissions reductions from SAF.” The SAF Registry is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025 and currently has 17 airlines, one airline group, six national authorities, three original equipment manufacturers and one fuel producer in support of the project.

    “Governments need a trusted system to track the quality and quantities of SAF used,” Walsh said. “SAF producers need to accurately account for what has been delivered and effectively decarbonized. Corporate customers must be able to transparently account for their Scope 3 emissions. And airlines must have certainty that they can claim the environmental benefits of the SAF they purchased. The registry will meet all these needs.”

    The registry will have a wide geographic scope and allow airlines to purchase SAF regardless of where it is produced, according to IATA. It will be neutral with respect to regulations, types of SAF and other specificities. The association is working with certification organizations and fuel producers to standardize data for efficient processing.

    It also will “help airlines meet regulations,” ensuring compliance with SAF mandates and “providing transparency to authorities regarding emissions reductions,” and it will provide safeguards against double counting and double claiming, according to IATA.

    Independent governance will “ensure the system’s impartiality and robustness,” and participation in the registry will be on a cost-recovery basis, according to IATA.

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  • GBTA Research Quantifies Business Travel Impact on U.S. Economy

    GBTA Research Quantifies Business Travel Impact on U.S. Economy

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    The business travel industry provided a “major boost” to the U.S. economy in 2022, accounting for about 2 percent of total U.S. gross domestic product and 3.5 percent of total employment, according to a study released by the Global Business Travel Association on Wednesday.

    The study combined GBTA research with international spending as reported by the National Travel and Tourism Office as well as meeting spending an Events Industry Council research study called the Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy, and 2022 is the most recent full year for which a complete set of data is available for analysis, according to the organization. It then uses a standard economic model to translate that spending on economics impacts.

    Based on the $421.1 billion spent by the U.S. on business travel in 2022—the most spent by any country that year—business travel accounted for $119 billion in tax receipts, according to GBTA. Each dollar spent resulted in $1.15 toward GDP for the U.S., and the spending supported 6 million jobs in the U.S., 38 percent of which were in food service and 19 percent in accommodations, the report said.

    “The data shows that business travel is a substantial contributor to the health of the U.S. economy, and therefore also a key driver for the global economy,” GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said in a statement. “Business travel supports millions of jobs and delivers billions in tax revenue, which is why it is important for policymakers to consider the impact on the industry when devising economic policies—and for sustainable solutions to be prioritized, funded and developed to help us abate travel’s hardest-to-abate sectors.”

    Although GBTA is still finalizing its actual data for 2023, it projects business travel spending in the U.S. will be 7 percent higher than pre-pandemic totals in 2019. The organization projects global business travel spending to be more than $1.5 trillion this year.

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  • Virgin to Add Three Codeshare Partners

    Virgin to Add Three Codeshare Partners

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    Virgin Atlantic will launch three new codeshare partnerships this year, the carrier announced Monday. 

    The first partnership is with Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. The first phase of the partnership is live and allows Virgin Atlantic customers traveling on flights from the U.S. to purchase onward connections through London Heathrow and Manchester airports onto Saudia’s services to Jeddah and Riyadh. The opportunities to earn Virgin Points and Tier Points, along with Virgin Points redemption, have been in place since March 2023, with online redemption launched last month, according to Virgin Atlantic. Saudia’s AlFursan loyalty members can earn and redeem points on Virgin Atlantic flights.

    Saudia is a SkyTeam member, the airline alliance Virgin Atlantic joined in March 2023. 

    The second partnership is with SAS, which will become a SkyTeam member on Sept. 1. Virgin Atlantic and SAS are working “on a new commercial partnership with the best access to and from Scandinavian key hubs,” according to the U.K.-based carrier. The routes are still to be finalized, but the codeshares will begin once SAS formally joins SkyTeam. Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty program members will receive instant earning and redemption opportunities on Sept. 1, and SAS Eurobonus members will be able to earn and redeem their points on Virgin Atlantic.

    The third partnership is with El Al. Virgin Atlantic beginning June 10 will place its code on El Al flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv. El Al will place its code on Virgin Atlantic Heathrow-Tel Aviv flights when they restart Sept. 5. The resumed flights will operate daily with Airbus A330 aircraft, offering connections through Heathrow to 14 U.S. destinations on 33 daily flights operated by Virgin Atlantic and partner Delta Air Lines. The El Al operated flights will be able to connect to 11 U.S. destinations on 23 daily flights, according to Virgin Atlantic.

    The partnership also will offer reciprocal earning and redemption opportunities, as well as premium customer recognition and tier benefits for eligible members of Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club and El Al’s Matmid loyalty programs, according to Virgin Atlantic.

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  • Fiji Airways to Join Oneworld

    Fiji Airways to Join Oneworld

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    Fiji Airways will become the 15th full member of Oneworld, the airline alliance announced Monday at the International Air Transport Association conference in Dubai. The carrier has been a Oneworld Connect partner for about five years, and the transition to full membership will be complete within the next 12 months, according to Oneworld.

    Fiji Link, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiji Airways, will become an affiliate airline of Oneworld, according to the alliance. Fiji Airways serves 26 destinations in 15 countries and territories, including Oneworld hubs in Sydney, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

    As a full Oneworld member, Fiji Airways will provide Oneworld Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby customers with full Oneworld benefits, including earning and redeeming miles, earning status points, priority check-in and boarding, and lounge access. The carrier’s top-tier customers will be able to gain access to all Oneworld priority benefits, including access to nearly 700 business and first-class lounges globally, as well as the alliance’s newly opened branded lounges in Amsterdam and Seoul. 

    Oneworld currently includes 13 airline members, with Oman Air set to become its 14th full member later this year. 

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  • American to Further Preferred Agency Program Without Loyalty Restrictions

    American to Further Preferred Agency Program Without Loyalty Restrictions

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    American Airlines may have nixed its plans to limit how AAdvantage loyalty program members can earn miles or points based on booking channels, but the carrier still intends to move forward with its plans to reward agencies it designates as “preferred,” according to copies of emails the carrier sent to corporate clients and travel agencies that BTN reviewed.

    The memos, signed by American SVP of partnerships and retailing Scott Laurence, do not provide any specifics about the program, but noted that agencies would “soon receive additional information about our preferred agency program and upcoming incentives to reward agencies who continue to promote and book travel through New Distribution Capability technology.” 

    Corporate clients were told they also would “soon receive additional information about our preferred agency program, and our sales and distribution strategy.”

    The preferred agency program was announced in February, with plans first to begin May 1 but postponed to July 11, and would have required agencies to book at least 30 percent of their American volume through NDC channels by April 21 to qualify as preferred. That figure would increase to 50 percent by Oct. 31 and 70 percent by April 30, 2025. It was unclear how those percentages would be measured. 

    The emails also reiterated comments made by American CEO Robert Isom on Wednesday during an investor conference that the carrier no longer planned to change how AAdvantage members earned miles or points. Isom also noted that the carrier had moved “faster than we should have” in terms of its NDC strategy, and it “didn’t execute well.” 

    That mea culpa came one day after American announced that chief commercial officer Vasu Raja, a key architect of the carrier’s distribution strategy, would leave the company in June.  

    Each memo noted Isom’s comments that the carrier was “revisiting our policies” to give corporate travelers and agencies’ mutual customers “the best experience on American, and to ensure we’re easy to do business with.”

    Additionally, Laurence noted that American is “holistically adapting our approach to prioritize that no matter where travelers book, they shouldn’t be negatively impacted by our policy changes in the future. The decisions we make are with our mutual customers in mind, and making our agency and corporate partners’ experience the best it can be.”

    American did not provide any further information about the preferred agency program.

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  • Industry Reacts to American’s ‘Regret,’ Raja’s Departure

    Industry Reacts to American’s ‘Regret,’ Raja’s Departure

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    Just as American Airlines’ distribution strategy announcements beginning in late 2022 ushered in a flurry of commentary from the industry, so too did its back-to-back pronouncements this week, first that chief commercial officer Vasu Raja would leave the company in June, then that CEO Robert Isom the next day said the carrier had some “regrets” about its distribution strategy execution and that “immediate actions” to change course were underway.

    Following are a few of the responses received by BTN or shared at industry events or posted online from members of the business travel community. 

    Mark Stansbury, senior manager of global travel, Lockheed Martin

    I am proud to say that Lockheed Martin was a leader in opposition to American’s strategy. We immediately moved significant share off AA. 

    AA was told by myself and by many of my peers that its strategy was flawed from day 1. Vasu was the architect, but Robert Isom agreed to it and fully supported it despite being told by industry leaders it was going to fail. 

    Vasu and his disciples insisted that our corporate travelers were AA’s customers. Myself and many of my peers begged to differ with Vasu. Managed corporate travel programs manage their respective traveler groups, not the airlines. AA needs to realize that the corporate travel programs are their customers, not our travelers. Cater to the managed travel program’s needs, don’t try and fracture our programs by trying to push travelers into booking direct. This was what Vasu naively thought would happen, but well managed corporate travel programs don’t have leakage, and to the disappointment of AA, can move significant market share to airlines that never lost their appreciation for the consistency delivered by managed travel programs. 

    We continued flying through 9/11, we continued to fly through Covid, but as soon as there [was a] post-Covid bump in leisure travel, AA kicks long-standing corporate relationships to the curb. AA was told that Vasu’s narrative of business travel will not recover and the ridiculous creation of “bleisure” were nonsense, and that based on decades of cyclical travel patterns, corporate travel would return and the leisure bubble would burst. American and Robert Isom refused to listen and arrogantly pushed ahead. 

    I know that Lockheed Martin aggressively made changes after AA announced its new strategy, I want to thank my peers that did the same and showed the suppliers of travel the power of well-run travel programs. 

    Andrea Caulfield-Smith, managing director of global business travel, The Advantage Travel Partnership

    The latest news from American Airlines in regard to the removal of the preferred [travel management company] status, will be very well received across the TMC community. American Airlines’ intention to implement this strategy was causing concern amongst the TMCs, as benefits such as frequent flyer miles are so important to the traveler and their choice of airline. This news ensures that the TMC can continue to play their vital role across the ecosystem, so it is a win-win for everyone.

    In addition, the acknowledgment of the pace of American Airlines’ adoption of modern retailing, and the challenges of TMCs servicing [New Distribution Capability] transactions is refreshing to hear. It is clear that American Airlines has taken on board the feedback from the TMC and wider industry community and taken positive action of change. By using NDC as a positive lever to increase modern retailing adoption in the future is a refreshing and welcomed approach.

    Jeff Klee, CEO, AmTrav, via LinkedIn

    There’s a lot of giddiness this week among TMCs at American Airlines’ apparent about-face on their sales and distribution strategy. One TMC email talked about American’s “NDC disaster” being proven a “massive failure.” Some are taking great delight in this week’s news, and it really is noteworthy how successful travel buyers were at “voting with their feet.”

    But after they finish gloating, what will TMCs say to their customers who still can’t purchase a Main Cabin Extra seat on their booking tool? Or change their tickets as easily as they can on AA-dot-com? Or be able to instantly choose another option when a flight is canceled or delayed due to weather?

    Firing Vasu Raja doesn’t fix these things. That’s why the real story is much more nuanced than “American’s NDC strategy failed.”

    The truth is American tried to do two very different things at once. They began openly thumbing their noses at their corporate customers, believing that they could win with just business that comes direct. But at the same time, they aggressively pursued an NDC agenda to make the experience for those who DON’T book direct better. When we conflate these two very different initiatives, we miss important points.

    Yes, by all accounts American was wrong to believe that they could alienate large corporates. But they were RIGHT to believe that third-party sellers have to move off legacy distribution technology to deliver the choices, convenience, and servicing capabilities that travelers—especially younger ones—increasingly demand. Even while American was tearing down their sales infrastructure, they were simultaneously investing more time, money, and resources than any other airline into modernizing their ability to sell through third parties. Now that they are trying to make nice, I hope they don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

    I urge American to seize this opportunity to not just rethink what they’ve done wrong, but also double down on what they’ve done right. Airline corporate sales philosophies ebb and flow, but technology tends to endure. Long term, if we want TMCs and online booking tools to be relevant, they need to be able to offer the same content, options, and servicing that travelers get on airline websites. NDC can help an airline be able to say to their loyal travelers: You can book however and wherever you want, and you won’t get a diminished experience.

    I hope AA quickly removes the restriction on AAdvantage for Business points not being able to be earned through TMCs. Next, I’d love them to make NDC tickets fully interoperable, so travelers who book through a corporate booking tool can change on AA-dot-com and then still be able use the tool for viewing, reporting, or subsequent changes.

    When used right, NDC creates choice—it doesn’t inhibit. American has done some heavy lifting that can serve them well if they keep their heads down and continue iterating, while at the same time re-engaging with the corporate buyers they’ve left behind.

    Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, at Bernstein’s 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in response to being asked about changes in corporate travel share in recent months

    That’s really a question about the distribution strategy. It is at American. And we think the distribution strategy changes at American has had an impact. It’s pretty small. If you looked at kind of the margin gap between Delta [and] United on the one hand and American on the other, it’s a single-digit percentage of that. I’m not going to list the issues that I think are different and that make a difference, but it wouldn’t make the top five of the issues. Not that it’s not an issue, but it would not make the top five issues. And we saw market share shifts happening in competitive markets, but then we’ve seen it for years happening. This is long-term. This goes back a long way. It’s not unique to American. We’ve seen it happening versus Southwest. We see it happening versus the [ultra-low-cost carriers]. We picked up market share really versus everyone. It’s not about distribution, or if it is, it’s a small part of it.

    RELATED: American ‘Regrets’ Distribution Execution, Plans Changes

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    dairoldi@thebtngroup.com (Donna M. Airoldi)

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  • 5Qs: Concur Travel’s Charlie Sultan

    5Qs: Concur Travel’s Charlie Sultan

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    Hosted by BTN Editorial Director Elizabeth West

    Business Travel News editorial director Elizabeth West and Concur Travel president Charlie Sultan discuss the ongoing rollout of the new Concur booking platform and how it addresses fragmentation with new content partnerships including New Distribution Capability content from global distribution systems. But Sultan reminds the industry that TripLink, which has been available for a decade, is gaining new prominence in the solution set as agencies struggle to service NDC bookings, and he muses about opportunities to innovate around sustainability reporting a via Concur Expense and how it might eventually tie back to the point of sale. Even if you read the two-part article based on this interview, Charlie offers more thoughts in the video version. Take a look. 
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    businesstravelnews@ntmllc.com (Business Travel News)

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  • IATA: International Leads April Air Traffic Growth

    IATA: International Leads April Air Traffic Growth

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    April air traffic growth once again was led by increasing international demand, according to the latest International Air Transport Association report.

    April international demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers, was up 15.8 percent year over year, with capacity as measured in available seat kilometers up 14.8 percent. Domestic demand for the month increased 4 percent versus April 2023, while domestic capacity was up 2.1 percent. 

    Total global air demand for the month was up 11 percent compared with April 2023, with capacity up 9.6 percent. The April load factor was 82.4 percent, up 1 percentage point year over year. All regions reported high single-digit or double-digit total demand increases, except for North America, which was up 4.2 percent year over year. It also had the second-highest load factor at 83 percent—following Europe at 83.8 percent— but that was down 2.7 percentage points from April 2023.

    “Passenger demand has been growing for 36 consecutive months,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement. “As we enter the peak northern summer travel season, there is every reason to feel optimistic for a strong summer with airlines offering a wide range of travel options.”

    [Report continues below chart.]

    The international load factor was up 0.7 percentage points to 82.2 percent, a two-year high, according to IATA. Asia-Pacific again reported the largest gains in demand and capacity at 32.1 percent and 29.3 percent year over year, respectively. Demand increased by double-digit percentages compared with April 2023 for all other regions except North America, where it increased 6.5 percent. Capacity also showed double-digit increases in nearly all regions, with the Middle East barely missing that mark with a 9.9 percent gain. Further, international routes from Europe have surpassed pre-Covid levels to all regions except Africa, according to IATA.

    Domestically, demand gains were in the low- to mid-single digits, with capacity the same, save for declines in China and Japan. The latter reported just 0.1 percent demand growth year over year, but that was due to the “end of the fiscal year and the start of the school spring holiday,” according to IATA. “Overall, Japan’s [demand] trend remains positive.” 

    RELATED: IATA: March Global Air Traffic Remains Solid

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    dairoldi@thebtngroup.com (Donna M. Airoldi)

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  • Cirium Launches Air Emissions Methodology

    Cirium Launches Air Emissions Methodology

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    Aviation analytics company Cirium has developed a new methodology for measuring aircraft emissions and fuel burn, the company announced Wednesday. 

    Dubbed Emerald Sky, the product “integrates Cirium’s data and advanced analytics with a scientific methodology that can provide an independent assessment of forecasted and flown emissions for a specific aircraft on a specific flight,” Cirium chief marketing officer Mike Malek said during a Wednesday media briefing. 

    It analyzes each flight’s aircraft type and design specifications, as well as real-time operational data and flight conditions, according to Cirium. It also provides emissions based on the seat in a specific class of service. 

    Despite the availability of other emissions calculators, Cirium believes there is a “critical need” for this information. “Airlines and airports need a trusted third-party source,” Malek said. ” Corporations are going to need to comply with ESG reporting requirements. Other stakeholders such as manufacturers, [maintenance, repair and overhaul providers], fuel and energy suppliers, travel buyers and suppliers, and even governments. They’re all getting information from somewhere right now, but their data is all different. And if it’s all different, it can’t be all right.”

    Emerald Sky can provide both historical data for up to five years and predictive carbon footprints for the upcoming 12 months, according to Cirium.

    When asked whether there would be a cost for travel management companies and corporate buyers to access the data, Malek said Cirium hasn’t decided if it will charge for it yet. 

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    dairoldi@thebtngroup.com (Donna M. Airoldi)

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