US Airways in the past year
has bulked up U.S. corporate sales efforts, adding more than 100 new North
American accounts and generating nearly $3 billion in annual domestic revenue,
according to an internal company newsletter released last week.
In addition to targeting travel
management companies and clients in hub cities, the carrier
"recently" added sales managers to markets in California, Illinois,
Minnesota and Texas, according to the newsletter, first reported on this week
by Airline Weekly. The carrier noted there now are 42 full-time
sales positions in the United States.
US Airways now holds 500
North American corporate accounts, the newsletter claimed, including new
clients in Chicago, the headquarters of Star partner United Airlines and hub
city of American Airlines. "Though it feels like we're always playing an 'away'
game with two of our big competitors with hubs here, we've signed big
corporations because we are flexible and understand our clients' needs,"
manager of field sales Jackie Snyder said in the newsletter.
Noting that corporate
clients "buy higher-value tickets close to the date of departure and often
on our longer flights," US Airways pointed to revenue gains from its
reinvigorated sales approach.
"The average ticket
price paid by a corporate client is more than 40 percent higher than what we
see from an online travel agency, such as Expedia or Travelocity, which
primarily sell to leisure customers," managing director of passenger sales
Michael Schmeltzer said in the newsletter. "While leisure travel is an
important part of our business, it makes the most sense for our sales team to
focus the majority of their energy on business travelers, a group of critical
importance to the company's profitability."
Following its merger with
America West Airlines in 2005, US Airways de-emphasized the corporate market,
positioning itself as a "low-cost carrier," culling corporate accounts
and reducing its sales force.
While the newsletter article
focused on domestic sales efforts, US Airways also has claimed corporate growth
in international markets, particularly the transatlantic, president Scott Kirby said last year during an earnings call.