America West Airlines today launched AWAcorpLink.com, a new portal for corporate clients. The portal includes booking capabilities, a low-fare finder, traveler profiles, detailed travel management reports and reservations changes. Similar to Southwest Airlines' Swabiz portal, AWAcorpLink does not charge transaction fees.
Each corporation registering for the service will have access to a tailored Web page that can include links to preferred hotel and car rental suppliers. Bookings on the site can be executed either by travel arrangers or individual travelers. The booking system also is capable of handling central payment options, also known as ghost cards.
AWA said customer support for the new booking site always is available and that additional functions may be integrated at a later date. The carrier beta tested the site with a handful of corporate accounts, including Discount Tire in Scottsdale, Ariz.
(BTN, March 15).
"Our customers asked for an online resource for managing corporate travel, and we're pleased to respond to their requests with AWAcorpLink.com, a state-of-the-art solution to corporate travel planning for companies of all sizes," said vice president of sales Ron Cole.
Southwest's Swabiz product has grown in popularity in recent years as more corporations link to it from their travel intranet pages. AWA won't be the only low-fare carrier to emulate Swabiz. ATA Airlines, AirTran and JetBlue each are building business-to-business Web sites.