Northwest Airlines and Airplus today launched a centrally billed payment and reporting tool for corporate customers, mirroring a similar arrangement Airplus fostered with Continental Airlines in 2003.
The Northwest Airlines Airplus Company Account gives clients a vehicle to report on and pay for tickets on more than 200 airlines as well as other travel merchants, including agencies and rail operators that accept Universal Air Travel Plan. Airplus said it also is offering its MasterCard-branded charge card at the option of Northwest account clients.
"It's ideal for a company in the $1 million to $10 million range that may have travelers sprinkled all over the world," said Fay Beauchine, vice president of sales and customer care at Northwest.
"Just like we did with Continental, with Northwest we will provide a customized Northwest portal that a customer will get access not just to Airplus information and content, but also Northwest corporate information and content," said Airplus president and CEO Richard Crum.
With more robust reporting tools, Crum described the Airplus offering as "the sophisticated, superior UATP product in the market."
In addition to Continental and Northwest in the United States, Airplus has established a variety of airline partners throughout the world, including British Airways and Lufthansa. "Northwest is our seventh airline partner and there will be more," Crum said. "We're building a network of cobrand partners. I don't know if there's any other card out there that has seven, even Amex."
Northwest's decision to launch an account with Airplus underscores the emergence of airlines that are looking to undercut merchant fees levied by traditional charge card players. Some travel buyers have been able to secure discounts and rebates with preferred carriers by leveraging lower-cost payment tools
(BTN, Jan. 17). Beauchine said it is not clear whether Northwest will give such incentives as rebates and discounts to corporate clients of the program.