<B>Delta, WTP Developing Booking System</B>
Delta Air Lines is working with WorldTravel Partners' Travel Technologies Group on a business travel booking system. Asked about Delta's previous efforts to work with a Worldspan product, executive vice president of marketing Bob Coggin said, "we're going down both avenues--the jury's still out." Coggin also said Delta will begin marketing its alliance in a combined sales effort with Austrian, Sabena and Swissair to corporations by year-end.
<A NAME="art2"><B>System One Sues Sabre</B>
In a rare lawsuit by one CRS against another, System One is taking Sabre and its sister company American Airlines to court. In a complaint filed with Miami's Dade County Circuit Court, System One alleges that Sabre "interfered tortiously with System One's advantageous business relationship" with its Burger King corporate account, by insisting that the Miami-based fast-food giant shift its CRS alliance to Sabre in order to keep its corporate discount with AA. Sabre and AA have denied the charges. System One--owned in equal part by Continental Airlines, Amadeus and EDS--"has never believed that the right way to do business in the CRS industry was to leverage airline power," said president Bill Diffenderffer.
<B><A NAME="art3">Rosenbluth Seeks Card Partner</B>
Ending its three-year relationship with CoreStates, Rosenbluth International intends to sign a new payment system partner with which to offer clients co-branded card products and integrated expense reporting services. President Hal Rosenbluth affirmed his commitment to a co-branded card, and confirmed that he was seeking a new partner to replace CoreStates. Rosenbluth employees still carry the CoreStates card, although the agency lost CoreStates' travel business to Travel & Transport.
Meawhile, Rosenbluth this month will roll out an Internet/intranet version of its E-Res corporate online booking system. A number of Rosenbluth corporate customers, including WalMart, Merck & Co. and the BOC Group, already are using the client-server version of the E-Res system; about a dozen more have been waiting for the Internet version, the company said.
<A NAME="art4"><B>United, Delta To Install Laptop Outlets</B>
United will begin installing laptop power outlets in first and business class on all international and long-range aircraft by this summer, and Delta is promising roll out to 70 percent of its transatlantic fleet by mid-June. One caveat: The availability of adapters for different laptop models will vary by airline. Delta said it will make available for free the 10 most commonly used adapters; American and United have said customers will be required to bring their own. Meanwhile, Delta announced its new transatlantic business class, featuring a 50-inch seat pitch
<A NAME="art5"><B>Choice Launches Self-Serve Business Centers</B>
Choice Hotels International has unveiled unattended business centers accessed via credit card. The Business Express centers, launched through a deal with USA Technologies Inc., feature laptop printing, copying and faxing plus Internet access. Two centers opened in Miami and Richardson, Texas, late last month, and more will roll out to company-owned properties through July.
<A NAME="art6"><B>TWA Aims For More Corporate Biz</B>
"We must convince more business travelers to fly TWA, as well as connect through St. Louis, who are willing to pay an unrestricted coach fare or something close to it," said TWA chairman Gerald Gitner in a recent letter to shareholders. To help convince them, the airline will offer business travelers "superior access to first-class upgrades, preferred customer service, special amenities and better frequent flyer benefits," the letter said. TWA also will improve its schedule reliability this year in an attempt to recover previous losses.
<A NAME="art7"><B>Wang Taps EDS Exec</B>
Former EDS travel and transportation group head Jose Ofman has been named president and chief operating officer for the Americas of Wang Laboratories, becoming the fourth executive of the travel and transportation unit to depart since last summer. Ofman has not been replaced at EDS; responsibility for the travel and transportation unit has been assumed by Coley Clark, group executive for the finance group. Ofman's departure follows those of travel business unit president Arthur Chavoya, strategy and marketing vice president Riz Rizavi and business development vice president J. Coburn.
Said one EDS insider, "It really was coincidental that they left, but there is definitely tremendous pressure on EDS now. That team created EDS' travel and transportation product four years ago and built it into a $600 million business. Now all the people who had a real commitment to it are gone.