US Airways Tries Corp. Rates

<B>US Airways Tries Corp. Rates</B>

By David Jonas

Responding to the call for access to negotiated corporate rates on the Internet, US Airways by this summer will begin beta tests with several corporate clients. A wider rollout of the long-awaited functionality, as well as other new features, will be added to the recently revamped consumer Web site in the following months.

Though US Airways is not the first to begin such beta tests--similar trials at Delta and Northwest already are underway (<I>BTN,</I> Feb. 21)--the carrier is committed to finding ways of sharing cost savings with its best clients.

"As long as travelers' profiles are set up beforehand, identifying them as being from one of our corporate accounts, they will be able to see their negotiated fares, compare them to any available Internet fares and choose the cheaper one, either of which would count toward contract goals," said Theresa Fox, US Airways' director of e-commerce and distribution strategy and development. "We then will give the travel manager a customized report indicating how much business was booked by O&D."

An added incentive for corporations to use the US Airways site (www.usairways.com) will be the integration with third-party vendors. "If a client has a need for travel policy management and relies on E-Travel or GetThere.com, for example, we want them to have choices," Fox said. "We're just in the conversation stage now, but we are working toward that type of direct connection."

Meanwhile, the new site in the near future will enable immediate bookings of meetings fares. Travelers simply will input origin, destination and date directly on the homepage, click "more options" and input the eight-digit meeting code. From there, the booking screens will be similar to the consumer process, but will use the predetermined meeting fare.

Phase two of the corporate e-commerce strategy, tentatively slated for rollout in the fall, will include real-time tracking. "We also want to include direct settlement," Fox added. "In today's environment, it does not make sense for our best clients to pay credit card fees. Their credit is good with us."

While the corporate functionality still is in development, US Airways' retooled consumer site went live late last month. Business traveler-friendly features include full access to frequent flyer accounts and a "flexible date" feature that automatically seeks out the best fares on certain city pairs three months out.

Future enhancements include online reward redemption, automated upgrade requests and access to preferred seating. Another time-saving feature for the most frequent travelers will be the ability to store the specifics of frequently booked trips.

"The goal is to move toward core functionality and efficient processes," Fox said. "And for corporations whose demand has driven these new developments, we are willing to share any savings with them.