Inside Track: Continental SEC Filing Makes AIr Merger Statement

Continental Airlines in a Feb. 21 Securities and Exchange Commission filing acknowledged the industry's ongoing consolidation efforts and asserted, "Our preference is to remain independent." The carrier conceded it may not have that option should the competitive environment take such a dramatic shift, causing Continental "to respond by attempting to engage in a separate transaction." The carrier in the filing also noted Northwest Airlines' "golden share," through which Northwest could block certain mergers involving Continental. However, Continental said that if Northwest enters into a transaction, Continental could "redeem" that preferred stock, "eliminating Northwest's right to prevent us from engaging in a business combination." Continental said it has had "discussions with third parties, including other airlines, regarding strategic alternatives."

Banks Partner To Combine Corporate Card Services
Five worldwide banks have formed an alliance to provide payment tools for multinational companies, giving them local currency billing, local language customer service and local expertise for legal and regulatory factors. The partnering issuer banks, called the Zenix Card Alliance, cover 25 countries including France and much of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, India, several countries in Southeast Asia, and the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Austria. The alliance also will give users access to Web tools for data management and consolidation.

Rearden Providing Green Travel Offerings
Rearden Commerce expected to launch in late February green enhancements to its online booking platform, including access to hybrid ground transportation booking and Web and audio conferencing, and a carbon calculator that integrates with the conferencing application to measure emissions saved by not traveling. Rearden offers negotiated discounts for conference reservations made on WebEx and PremiereGlobal. Rearden has prenegotiated discounts with hybrid car service providers in Atlanta, Boston, New York and San Francisco.

CWT Enhancing Tech Initiatives
Carlson Wagonlit Travel in February unveiled a new three-year growth strategy, new traveler Internet checkin and alert capabilities and plans for increased reporting and compliance enhancements to its travel manager portal, including credit card and agency data integration. CWT this year will improve CWT Program Management Center reporting capabilities by integrating more data, including matching credit card with agency data, integrating more pre-ticket data to measure compliance, and closing the gap between booked and actual data.

USFS Revamps Sales Force To Better Handle RFPs
Travel buyers who use extended stay Hawthorn Suites and economy Microtel Inns & Suites brands in their hotel programs will encounter a new sales structure when they submit requests for proposals later this year. Parent company U.S. Franchise Systems in February announced it had moved its sales department in-house, dividing it between business travel sales and group and tour sales. On the business travel side, four regional directors and managers focus on securing business from such specific segments as airline crews and restaurants. The team also assigns a national account team member to each Microtel and Hawthorn Suites property to help with the RFP process.