Delta, Marriott To Offer Bulk-Buy Program
Delta Air Lines and Marriott International are teaming up to launch a travel bulk-purchasing program in the United Kingdom called Global Business Pass. Details will be announced around the end of this month, but pre-publicity claims it will be "a new way for companies to purchase travel and save money on their travel costs." A spokesperson for Delta said the scheme will involve companies buying blocks of "air units" and "hotel units," which can be redeemed in the form of fare or room rate discounts within five years by any employee of the organization. Global Business Pass will be managed by the hitherto unfamiliar Royal Ocean Investment Corp., which is registered in Bermuda.
AA, BA Finally To Begin Sharing Codes
American Airlines and British Airways, after working for years to deepen their alliance, on Sept. 17 will begin an initial wave of code sharing on flights beyond their respective hubs. The American Airlines code will be applied to British Airways flights from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubai, Milan, Munich, Rome and Stockholm. BA's code will be placed on AA services between six U.S. gateways and Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minneapolis St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Raleigh Durham and San Antonio. Additional codeshare destinations will be added through Oct. 26, with a second phase beginning in January. American eventually will place its code on 110 British Airways destinations, while British Airways will share codes to 187 AA destinations.
CO, NW Trade Content For Discounts With Galileo
Galileo International last week said Continental and Northwest airlines joined its Preferred Fares Select program, providing Galileo users greater access to all published fares, including Web fares, for three years in exchange for locked-in, "significantly reduced" costs. The carriers join US Airways in the program, which applies to U.S.-originated bookings. Galileo said the content it secured "includes all fares the airlines sell through any other GDS, third-party Web sites or their own Web sites and reservations offices." Galileo expects additional airline participants "in the near term."
UAL Backs Off Early Chapter 11 Exit
In its latest monthly report to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, United Airlines parent UAL Corp. said it produced a 10 percent year-over-year improvement in July unit revenue and generated positive monthly cash flow. It met debtor-in-possession requirements for the sixth consecutive month and expects to do so again for August. United executives in recent weeks, however, said an exit from bankruptcy protection is unlikely before year-end. Various published reports said the company has targeted the first half of 2004. Separately, United forged an alliance with Air China that will include code sharing, frequent flyer reciprocity and joint airport lounge access. Code sharing will begin Oct. 31 from Beijing and Shanghai, to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Homeland Security Dept. Adding 5,000 Air Marshals
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week announced it will add to the skies another 5,000 air marshals. During a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., DHS Secretary Tom Ridge also discussed his agency's plans to consolidate three different border inspection functions—customs, immigration and agriculture—into "one face at the border." The transfer of the air marshal program to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, will allow federal air marshals and U.S. Customs officers to cross-train, expanding the pool of possible air marshals, according to Transportation Security Administration Administrator James Loy.
Upper Upscale Hotels Show Some Muscle
While the U.S. lodging industry as a whole still is under-performing, upper upscale hotels showed unexpected gains in July, according to performance data collected by Smith Travel Research. Throughout the current downturn in business travel, this price point has suffered disproportionately as perception-sensitive buyers stayed away from expensive, high-end brands. Yet, July revenue per available room for these hotels jumped 2.8 percent, compared with July 2002, above RevPAR gains for all hotels. Whether the surprising showing was a temporary aberration or is sustainable will not be clear until September and October, which are peak months for business travel.