Inside Track: ACTE Launches Educational Foundation, Research

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives today is announcing that it has launched an educational foundation, which already is at work on its first project, a study designed to produce statistics to accurately assess industry impact on the environment. The Global Center for Research and Education's first project was commissioned by founding contributors IBM, TRX and the U.K. University of Sheffield. ACTE will present the findings at its Global Conference in Miami, May 5-7. ACTE leaders expect the center to undertake one to three projects annually. The foundation's executive committee is chaired by TRX executive vice president of emerging markets Susan Hopley and includes ACTE executive director Susan Gurley and HRG group industry affairs director Michael Platt, the foundation's treasurer.

U.S., China Reopen Skies Talks
The United States and China's Civil Aviation Administration this month resumed Open Skies talks to further liberalize air services between the two countries. Delta Air Lines, which was the first U.S. carrier this year to file for route authority to be granted for 2008, quickly lauded the resumed discussions, noting its increasing appetite for air services to Asia. "Should the U.S. and Chinese negotiators reach agreement to provide more frequencies or designations beyond the current allotment available under the 2004 U.S.-China Air Services Agreement, Delta will be poised and ready to expand access for our customers into additional Chinese markets," the carrier said in a statement.

Int'l Travel Managers Forecast Program Growth
Travel managers worldwide overwhelmingly expect to grow or maintain the size of their travel program, according to a survey of more than 1,000 travel managers in the United States and nine European countries. In an AirPlus International-commissioned study conducted by Ipsos Loyalty, 48 percent of travel managers surveyed said they expected travelers to take more trips in the future, compared with 44 percent who said so in the same survey last year. Only 6 percent expected less travel at their company. The study also noted a rise in electronic invoicing and analytical tools in travel management, particularly among companies with travel volumes of $10 million or more.

Travelport To Sell Stake In Orbitz/Travelport Unit
Travelport Limited last week announced its intention to complete in the third quarter the sale on the public market of an unspecified ownership stake in its Orbitz Worldwide businesses, which include Orbitz for Business and the Travelport corporate booking tool. The size and proceed amounts of the initial public offering have yet to be determined. However, the company intends to use a portion of the proceeds to reduce its outstanding debt. Further details will be released in the second quarter of 2007, when Travelport intends to file its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Integration Troubles For US Air, AWA Res System
The merging of US Airways' and America West's reservation systems this month caused delays and other passenger issues, but CEO Doug Parker said the two platforms now are fully integrated and "our lines are back to normal," though the carrier continues work on "migration issues." Parker noted in a letter to customers that, "Some of our customers in the Northeast and some Midatlantic markets experienced longer than usual wait times and found that checkin via our electronic kiosks was sporadic." Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl classified the issues as "some teething problems," but that noted that the transition is complete. "While this migration has not been without challenges," Parker noted, "combining our reservations systems will allow US Airways to provide even better customer service going forward and address many of the issues you have raised with us since our merger."

IHG Development To Reach Record Levels
Spurred by rapid growth of its Holiday Inn brands, InterContinental Hotels Group now boasts the world's largest hotel development pipeline, with 158,000 rooms under construction, about 80 percent of which are in the Americas, the company announced last month in its 2006 year-end earnings report. There were 380 new license agreements alone for the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands signed in 2006. Extended stay brand Staybridge Suites, now at 115 properties, also is expected to more than double in size during the next several years, and the upscale Crowne Plaze brand has 24 hotels in its pipeline in addition to the 155 hotels now open in the Americas. IHG, which has a portfolio of 2,930 hotels, is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, with more than 556,000.