President George W. Bush late last week outlined proposals to curb airline delays and offer further protections to passengers, which include congestion pricing at airports, the availability of better airline on-time performance data and increased denied boarding compensation for air travelers. In addition to a plan to allocate some military airspace to commercial operators to create a "Thanksgiving Express Lane" along the East Coast for five days beginning Nov. 21, Bush proposed to raise denied boarding compensation to $800 from $400 when passengers have to wait more than two hours to be re-accommodated and to $400 from $200 when they are accommodated within two hours. Bush also is seeking to require airlines to provide better data to the U.S. Department of Transportation on the source of delays. Bush enlisted DOT to work with airlines on a proposal to create "contingency plans to aid stranded passengers and penalties for chronically delayed flights." Meanwhile, Bush recommended "market-based incentives" to further curb delays and cancellations, namely congestion pricing, through which "fees could be higher at peak hours and at crowded airports or takeoff, and landing rights could be auctioned to the highest-value flights."
Visa Settlement To Fuel American Express RewardsAmerican Express will receive $2.25 billion from Visa to settle a conspiracy lawsuit this month, and the card vendor said it intends to use the first $1.13 billion payment of that settlement this quarter, to invest in business-building initiatives, including its rewards program. Specifically, American Express is considering enhancements to methods of estimating its liability for Membership Rewards, including a new statistical approach to estimating redemption rates. Other investments will include marketing, promotion and cardmember services, and American Express will decide on whether to invest future settlement payments on a quarter-to-quarter basis, according to the company. The lawsuit, pending since 2004, stems from American Express' claims that Visa, MasterCard and their member banks blocked American Express from having bank-issued cards in the United States
(BTNonline, Nov. 15, 2004). All banks in the lawsuit also have been dropped as defendants as a result of the settlement, leaving MasterCard as the sole remaining defendant.
Orbitz for Business To Launch International PlatformOrbitz for Business today announced the launch of Orbitz for Business International, which enables local fulfillment and support in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Canada will go live by year-end, and Australia and the United Kingdom will follow in the first quarter of 2008, according to Orbitz for Business COO and general manager Dean Sivley. The online travel management company already has a presence in Canada with local fulfillment for clients using Travelport Classic, which will be converted to the new platform. Service centers in the United Kingdom and Lithuania will handle fulfillment for the United Kingdom. The international platform is powered by the Galileo Traversa system, which Orbitz for Business licenses. Meanwhile, the company also announced today that Travelport for Business has consolidated into Orbitz for Business. They will merge functionality through a common code base, as well as share a common sales force and management team in the first quarter of 2008, according to Sivley.
Delta Denies United Merger RumorNews reports that claimed Delta Air Lines has been discussing a merger with United Airlines prompted Delta CEO Richard Anderson last week to say, "There have been no talks with United regarding any type of consolidation transaction and there are no such ongoing discussions." The speculation stemmed in part from a letter sent by Pardus Capital Management—which holds a small stake in both Delta and United—that urged Delta to lead industry consolidation. Delta in a statement said its board prior to the Pardus letter had established a committee headed by chairman Daniel Carp to "review and analyze strategic options."