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Posted Feb 4, 2010
No more pithy intros or recaps of the last article; it's time to get right into it. Here we go: The search for truths and myths about airline merchandising. For some, the reality of developing, implementing, and distributing an effective airline merchandising product is way too complex to even imagine. This is a myth.
At a macro level, there are really only two major challenges that need to be overcome in order for merchandising to flourish. There needs to be a solid value proposition to motivate buying behavior, and there needs to be operational and technical process to allow the transaction to take place. This is a truth.
Posted Feb 4, 2010
Sabre Travel Network announced a global pilot of a new work flow solution for the agency community. The new product will include a new GUI (graphical user interface), work flow management across multiple GDS, a customer profile, etc.
Posted Feb 3, 2010
Large, mid-size and small organizations with any kind of spend, in the U.S. or globally, should use enterprise-wide corporate cards to pay for everything from travel and entertainment expenses to legal services in order to increase the card rebate, gain visibility into expenses, decrease fraud and reduce accounts payable cycle time. Although the move to an enterprise corporate card system feels like a complex initiative, the implementation produces a streamlined business process. Even organizations that have already implemented a corporate card may question how to negotiate with behemoth financial institutions.
Posted Feb 2, 2010
Have you noticed a surge of interest in measuring ROI on travel and meeting (T&M) spend? I’ll get right to the point. Trying to measure the return on travel or meeting spend is not worth the effort.
It’s like taking a long walk in the desert with a crappy map. You wouldn’t do it by choice.
Posted Jan 29, 2010
Has your company created an outright ban on holding events at hotels with the word "resort" in their name? If so, you might want to re-think such a sweeping gesture, especially if you're e-sourcing and resorts are responding with competitive rates and services.
Posted Jan 27, 2010
An industry legend has departed one last time, as reported here by Terry Maxon of the Dallas Morning News. I never knew Max but certainly understand his influence. You're encouraged to post your thoughts...
Posted Jan 25, 2010
The last three major airline res system cutovers have not gone well for the major players involved. Despite the success of the SITA cutover of the Malaysian Airlines new res system, the next two have been rocky at best. So while I hope not to jinx the next one, let's hope that the Sabre cutover of jetBlue from Navitaire to SabreSonic goes well.
Posted Jan 25, 2010
In what can only be assumed to be a full frontal attack on the Crackberry dominance for the enterprise, both iPhone and Google's Android operating system are making headway into the corporate enterprise. IBM and Lotus Notes (remember them? yes they are still out there) have already released a secure version of a remote tool for integration called IBM Traveler (note the spelling!) for iPhone users. eWeek is now reporting that IBM will release an Android version for the future in likely "2H 2010."
Posted Jan 22, 2010
UAL Corp. chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton spoke at the airline industry's Wings Club in New York Thursday, and focused his prepared comments on familiar topics: taxes are excessive, infrastructure is inadequate, regulation is outdated and industry behavior is dysfunctional. He talked about possible industry consolidation, but was reluctant to answer analysts' and reporters' questions about the JAL saga beyond saying he hopes it continues to be a distraction for his two primary competitors. Tilton also answered a few questions of mine on corporate accounts and information technology.
Posted Jan 22, 2010
I'm a big believer and advocate of green meetings, so when I came across this figure, it startled me and motivated me to share some thoughts. Seems that very large events held in a central location can produce over a ton of carbon per attendee, according to a whitepaper from ClimatePath, an organization that provides industry solutions to help event planners, consumer brands, travel providers, and other businesses measure and reduce the climate impact of their business activities.
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