Inside Track - 1996-05-06

<H1>Inside Track</H1><H3>by Jay Campbell</H3><H4>Low Ceiling Could Ground Duo</H4>KLM is considering dissolving its strategic alliance with Northwest Airlines, putting "future operations in a hold pattern," said Northwest spokesman Doug Killian. KLM and other Northwest investors are involved in a lawsuit over the Northwest board's decision to limit owner voting rights in the carrier to 19 percent, the amount KLM currently owns. "We wanted our joint arrangements to move forward, and it's a shame we're not because KLM is not giving us a clear idea of what they want to do," said Killian. Northwest CEO John Dasburg told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, "the trust seems to have gone" from the relationship, noting that KLM is "very aggressive" in its attempts to gain influence over Northwest.

<H4>KLM-Less And Ticketless?</H4>

Meanwhile, Al Lenza, Northwest vice president of marketing distribution, said the airline will join the list of those offering electronic ticketing. The carrier plans to roll out an e-ticket system in the United States and Canada by October.

<H4>Holiday Inns Gets Wired</H4>

First there was in-room fax, then came copiers and computers. What's the next step toward traveler productivity? Internet access. Word has it that one Holiday Inn franchiser plans to wire more than 8,500 rooms, business centers and meeting rooms for high-speed Internet access. The first hotel, located in Denver, is scheduled to be connected by the end of May. The price per session? Not much more than an in-room movie, says an insider at Comcor, the Oberlin, Kan.-based Internet service provider that claims to be outfitting the 115-hotel group. The plan also calls for new Business Suite floors with a fax, copier and Internet-ready computer in each room.

Comcor says it's planning similar connections for a separate, 180-property Holiday Inn group, as well as franchisers of Embassy Suites and Promus hotels. A spokesperson at Holiday Inns headquarters would not confirm Comcor's agreement, but did reveal that the chain will be testing an Internet-capable television at two Atlanta-based hotels in June.

<H4>Marriott Announces Extended-Stay Brand</H4>

Marriott International has named its new midpriced extended-stay brand TownePlace Suites by Marriott. The first TownePlace property, slated to break ground next month in Newport News, Va., will debut by the end of this year. The brand, priced at $45 to $60 per night, will turn up next in Dallas, Detroit and Chantilly, Va.

<H4>Future Sticker Shock</H4>

Glimpsing the future can be an expensive proposition. Consulting firms The Park Group and The Futures Group, which plan to release results of a joint study on the travel industry by September, will be charging between $40,000 and $50,000 for their predictions. Certainly, information on technology, low-cost competition, distribution, emerging markets and privatization could be quite valuable to travel suppliers. The study, titled "Will Your 1996 Corporate Strategies Take You to the next Millennium?" will provide plausible scenarios against which travel companies can test current strategies, said Park Group executive vice president Jim Foster.

<H4>Air Canada Addresses United's Global Effort</H4>

Robert Milton, Air Canada executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the airline plans to work "extremely closely" with United Airlines on United's effort to create the first airline network covering the entire globe. "We see the number-two carriers in the U.S. and Canada-American and Canadian-being offset by the number ones, us and United," said Milton. "We're also excited about the global prospects of the Lufthansa-Air Canada-United-Thai partnership." Milton's comments came two weeks after Air Canada reduced its investment in Continental; it plans to be out completely by 1997. "We look forward to a friendly relationship with Continental, and we are pleased to have helped them get out of Chapter 11," Milton said.

<H4>Uniglobe Aims To Improve Service</H4>

Uniglobe Travel International Inc. has implemented an 18-month, systemwide program that requires each of its 1,100 locations to meet escalated customer service, finance, reporting, sales and training performance benchmarks. The program, Operation Compass, is expected to chart a course for "consistency, reliability and professionalism" within the Uniglobe franchise, said company president and CEO Gary Charlwood. The process will: assess adherence to system standards, determine deadlines for compliance to standards for regional headquarters and agencies, and implement a quality management program to monitor agency compliance.

<H4>Qantas Eases Customs</H4>Australia-based Qantas Airways said it can save travelers up to 45 minutes in arrival procedures using a new electronic customs clearance program.

Called Advanced Passenger Clearance, the procedure provides an interactive link between the airline and the Australian Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. When a passenger checks in at a Qantas counter in Los Angeles, his or her passport is swiped through a computer reader, automatically entering visa and flight information which is uplinked to Australia. After the swipe, the passenger's name, birthdate, sex and other personal information is printed onto a special incoming passenger card that is swiped again for clearance upon arrival in Australia.

Howard Goldberg, Qantas' manager of passenger sales in the Americas, said the program is part of a stepped-up effort to focus on the business traveler. That effort, he said, also includes direct negotiations with U.S. companies. "In the last 12 to 18 months, we've done a lot to focus on business travel," said Goldberg. "We have talked to about 25 companies. We'd like to have hundreds of agreements; we now have tens."

Qantas' competition on what Goldberg called the "bread and butter" L.A.-Sydney route is United, which has a much larger sales force but a smaller focus on that market. It was the L.A.-Sydney route on which the new passenger clearance program was tested for six months. Qantas said the program will be installed worldwide.