Business Travel News
Business Travel News
  • SECTIONSOpen Menu
    • Transportation
    • Lodging
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • Distribution
    • Meetings
    • Global
    • Management
    • Travel Procurement
    • New! Sustainability
    • Recent Issues
  • VOICESOpen Menu
    • Expert Q&A
    • OpEds
    • Sponsored Content
    • Podcasts
    • What to Watch 2022
  • RESEARCHOpen Menu
    • BTN's 2022 Essential OBT Guide
    • Corporate Travel 100
    • Corporate Travel Index
    • Expense Manager Report
    • Small & Midsize Enterprise
    • Salary Survey
    • Strategic Meetings Report
    • VIEW ALL
  • WEBINARSOpen Menu
    • View All Webinars
  • EVENTSOpen Menu
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Hall of Fame
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit
    • Business Travel Lodging Summit
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Business Travel Trends Forecasts
    • DEI Symposium Series
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Government Travel Summit
    • Innovate
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • RESOURCESOpen Menu
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Corporate Travel Index Calculator
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide
    • White Papers & Case Studies
    • Influencers
    • Webinars
    • Hotel Search
  • SECTIONSOpen Menu
    • Transportation
    • Lodging
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • Distribution
    • Meetings
    • Global
    • Management
    • Travel Procurement
    • New! Sustainability
    • Recent Issues
  • VOICESOpen Menu
    • Expert Q&A
    • OpEds
    • Sponsored Content
    • Podcasts
    • What to Watch 2022
  • RESEARCHOpen Menu
    • BTN's 2022 Essential OBT Guide
    • Corporate Travel 100
    • Corporate Travel Index
    • Expense Manager Report
    • Small & Midsize Enterprise
    • Salary Survey
    • Strategic Meetings Report
    • VIEW ALL
  • WEBINARSOpen Menu
    • View All Webinars
  • EVENTSOpen Menu
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Hall of Fame
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit
    • Business Travel Lodging Summit
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Business Travel Trends Forecasts
    • DEI Symposium Series
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Government Travel Summit
    • Innovate
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • RESOURCESOpen Menu
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Corporate Travel Index Calculator
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide
    • White Papers & Case Studies
    • Influencers
    • Webinars
    • Hotel Search
Business Travel News
  • Business Travel News on Twitter
  • Business Travel News on LinkedIn
  • Business Travel News on Facebook
  • SECTIONS
    • Transportation
    • Lodging
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • Distribution
    • Meetings
    • Global
    • Management
    • Travel Procurement
    • New! Sustainability
    • Recent Issues
    Subscribe to NewslettersNew! BTN SustainabilityBTN DailyBTN GlobalBTN Travel ManagementTravel Procurement
    Subscribe to Print IssuesBusiness Travel NewsTravel Procurement
  • VOICES
    • Expert Q&A
    • OpEds
    • Sponsored Content
    • Podcasts
    • What to Watch 2022
    Jina SanoneFlush With Infrastructure Funding, Amtrak Readies New Trains
    Alex ChatzieleftheriouFurnished Apt. Co. Blueground Leans into Corp. Market
    Flight Centre Ready to Invest in More InnovationFlight Centre Ready to Invest in More Innovation
  • RESEARCH
    • BTN's 2022 Essential OBT Guide
    • Corporate Travel 100
    • Corporate Travel Index
    • Expense Manager Report
    • Small & Midsize Enterprise
    • Salary Survey
    • Strategic Meetings Report
    • VIEW ALL
    Annual Supplier Ratings• Car Rental Survey & Report• Hotel Survey & Report• Airline Survey & Report
    Special Reports• The Future of Meetings• The Mechanics of Sustainble Business Travel
  • WEBINARS
    • View All Webinars
    Analytics, Sustainability and Traveler Safety: Shaping the Future of Corporate Travel

    Thurs., Dec. 8 at 1pm ET / 10am PT
    Sponsored By: Emburse

    The Future of Meetings

    Fri., Dec. 2 at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT
    Sponsored by: American Express Meetings & Events, Cvent, Group360

    Understanding Booking Behavior and Its Impact on Travel Experience

    Tues., Nov. 15 at 12pm ET / 9am PT
    Sponsored By: TripActions

  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Hall of Fame
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit
    • Business Travel Lodging Summit
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Business Travel Trends Forecasts
    • DEI Symposium Series
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Government Travel Summit
    • Innovate
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
    Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off

    Virtual Event - 23 February, 2023

    Strategic Meetings Summit Series

    In Person Event Series

    3rd Annual Travel Procurement Virtual Workshop Series

    Virtual Event Series - March/April 2022

    Business Travel Trends and Forecasts Series

    Business Travel Trends & Forecasts is a one-day,

  • RESOURCES
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Corporate Travel Index Calculator
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide
    • White Papers & Case Studies
    • Influencers
    • Webinars
    • Hotel Search
    BTN CTI Calculator

    Filter in or out as many as 200 cities, as well as hotel and car rental class and meals of the day and watch as the per-diem calculator automatically adjusts per diems to your program. Drill down into cost breakdowns and export the results.

  • Business Travel News Supplier DirectorySUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Air Canada Unbundles Fares

By Jay Boehmer / November 05, 2006 / Contact Reporter
Share
Air Canada last month began unbundling flight options through its Web site, allowing travelers to customize bookings by "buying added services or, conversely, to save money by declining benefits normally included in their selected fare type."

While several large carriers in the United States indicated no immediate plans to follow such an unbundled booking model, some in the industry expect selective merchandizing of airfares to accelerate, as carriers seek to differentiate and monetize offerings. Worldspan, the third largest U.S. global distribution system, said it is seeking new technologies to enable carriers to further merchandize their products.

For Air Canada, its newly unbundled flight options—which vary by fare category—only are available through its Web site. Some examples of add-ons that travelers can select at the time of booking include lounge access for upper-class Latitude customers for C$25 (US$22.35); seat selection for Tango customers for $15; $5 inflight meal vouchers for lower-bucket Tango and Tango Plus customers; a $5 reduction for Tango, Tango Plus and Latitude travelers who do not check bags; and a $3 savings for turning down frequent flyer miles.

"Air Canada is making it easier for customers to choose only the products and services they want with pricing that is transparent and clearly understandable," said vice president of marketing Charles McKee in a statement. "By coupling our branded fares with a la carte options on our revamped Web site, we are providing an unprecedented ability to find the best value for the travel dollar through flexibility and product selection."

Air Canada has sought to shift bookings to its Web site, which it said includes functionalities not offered by the global distribution systems. When the carrier in May shifted bookings of Tango fares to its Web site, Air Canada said it did so because GDS technology "does not support the new features of Air Canada's simplified fare products."

Air Canada vice president of sales Marc Rosenberg, prior to Air Canada's fare unbundling, told BTN that GDSs also do not support its Corporate Pass bulk-purchase product, but perhaps they would in the future (BTN, Oct. 23). "GDSs have not yet come to the table with a solution, but they are quite keen on looking at them and trying to solve for it," he said. "If your booking tool has a GDS backbone to it, then it doesn't work. Companies that purchase flight passes now are in a decision tree as to whether they want their TMC involved."

Ninan Chacko, COO and senior vice president of Worldspan, recently told BTN, "The Internet has been the great leveler from a price standpoint, and we've never had this much price transparency in the travel business," he said. "While Web sites, agency Web sites and GDSs, for that matter, have greatly accelerated the commoditization of travel, they haven't really allowed consumers and users to distinguish from one product versus another from anything other than price. The whole philosophy and science of how now to approach those things other than price—some call it unbundling, I broadly term it merchandizing—lets the consumer configure their own product. That, for us, is really where the emphasis and focus will be."

American Airlines vice president Frank Morogiello told BTN the carrier plans to keep its offerings simple, but may reconsider unbundling depending on the next-generation technology the GDSs bring to the table.

"If we wanted to jury-rig some of the offerings they might come out with, we could do it now if we wanted to charge you for, you know, an aisle seat for $10 more," he said. "We could just change it in our pricing offer."

While Continental would not comment on whether it would seek to unbundle amenities or fares, vice president of North American sales Monisa Cline said, "Other carriers have experimented with charging for meals and taking those amenities off. We've stayed the course in continuing to offer those amenities that business travelers value."

Delta COO Jim Whitehurst recently told BTN that Delta already offers one-day memberships in its lounge program, but the carrier draws the line when it comes to seat selection. "There's a real cost to that, but we shouldn't necessarily charge every customer for access to lounges," he said. "Things like an aisle seat or an exit row are just basic things we can use to show a little bit of thanks for our loyal customers. We want to ensure our product is right before we even consider nickeling and diming."

Northwest Airlines in March began an open-ended test to see if travelers would pay a premium for reserved aisle and exit row seats. Its Coach Choice concept, on 5 percent of its U.S. inventory, allowed customers to reserve favored assignments 24 hours prior to departure for $15 per flight. The concept, however, is a checkin option—not a booking option.
More

Sponsored Content

VIEW ALL
Delta’s Accelerated Sustainability Flight Plan
Delta’s Accelerated Sustainability Flight PlanBy Pam Fletcher, Chief Sustainability Officer – Delta Air Lines

At Delta, we see travel as a noble force for good – and the miracle of flight is helping us to better understand the far-reaching impacts of climate change.  KEEP READING

Delta: Your Partner in Travel
Delta: Your Partner in TravelBy Delta Air Lines

Partner with Delta and get access to innovative products and services, award-winning account support and powerful tools that help your business reach new heights. KEEP READING

Travel is back – easy solutions to maximize your travel budget
Travel is back – easy solutions to maximize your travel budgetBy United Airlines

As the world returns to travel, you may have more questions than answers when it comes to managing your resurgent business travel needs. KEEP READING

Subscribe to Our

Free Newsletters

pixel2

Click Here for our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

  • Most Read
  • Most Shared
  1. Amex GBT Restructuring to Two Global Segments: Multinational, SME
  2. Managed Travel Unicorn TripActions to Rebrand as ‘Navan’
  3. As Airline Rollovers End, Buyers Assess Status-Loss Fallout
  4. Contracted Corp. Business Losing Prominence at American
  5. STR Increases 2023 U.S. Hotel Rate Forecast
  1. Report: U.S. Mtg. Volume Exceeds 2019, Signaling End of Recovery Efforts
  2. AHLA Survey: Most U.S. Corp. Travelers Returning to Normalcy
  3. TakeTwo Partners with Serko to Offer Zeno Booking Tool
  4. Delta to Offer Free Wi-Fi, Special Content for SkyMiles Members
  5. Could the FAA Outage Hinder Business Travel's Recovery?
Business Travel NewsBusiness Travel News
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Business Travel News on Twitter
  • Business Travel News on LinkedIn
  • Business Travel News on Facebook
BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS
NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP
Business Travel News
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Upload Print Ad Material
  • Purchase Reprints
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Subscribe to BTN
  • Subscribe to Travel Procurement
  • Subscribe to Newsletters
  • BTN Europe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Business Travel News
Business Travel News Travel Procurement The Beat
Northstar Travel Group
  • Retail Travel
  • Travel Weekly
  • Travel Weekly Asia
  • Travel Weekly China
  • TravelAge West
  • TravelPulse
  • TravelPulse Canada
  • TravelPulse Quebec

  • Hotel Investment
  • Burba Hotel Network

  • Travel Technology
  • Inntopia
  • Phocuswire
  • Phocuswright
  • Web In Travel
  • Meetings & Incentives
  • Northstar Meetings Group
  • Meetings & Conventions
  • Meetings & Conventions China
  • Meetings & Conventions Asia
  • Meeting News
  • Successful Meetings
  • Incentive
  • SportsTravel

  • Data Products
  • Agent Studio
  • AXUS Travel App
  • Intelliguide
  • travel42
Northstar Travel Group
Copyright ©2023 Northstar Travel Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. 301 Rte. 17N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000
RRManagement rrtestprocurement