<B> InsideTrack</B>
<B>Acclaim For WTP's Alexander, Ritz-Carlton</B>
Jack Alexander, CEO of WorldTravel Partners-BTI Americas, last month was awarded the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award For Principle-Centered Leadership. Created in 1997 by the Franklin Covey Co., the award recognizes entrepreneurs who have achieved outstanding business in a deeply principled manner. Alexander was chosen from the 500 Ernst & Young regional award winners at the 13th annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year International Conference in Palm Springs, Calif. "WorldTravel Partners is very proud of this acknowledgement," said Alexander, adding that "it's the 'we', not the 'me,' " that should be rewarded. Meanwhile, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. this month became the first travel industry supplier ever to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award more than once. Ritz also won in 1992.
<A NAME="2"><B>US Airways Attendants Avoid Holiday Strike</B>
After an intensive three-week effort to resolve contractual issues with US Airways management, the carrier's flight attendants--represented by the Association of Flight Attendants--agreed to return to the negotiating table, as ordered by the National Mediation Board. The AFA had asked for an impasse declaration and the start of a 30-day cooling off period, but the order by the NMB guarantees that the carrier will not suffer a strike during the busy holiday travel period. On a positive note in the US Airways labor environment, the carrier's 10,400 passenger service employees, represented by the Communications Workers of America, ratified a new five-year contract.
<A NAME="3"><B>Oneworld Chiefs Discuss Canadian, Welcome Aer Lingus</B>
The CEOs of the Oneworld alliance met late last week in New York to discuss a response to Air Canada's latest bid to buy rival Canadian Airlines, a current member of the alliance. Canadian's board of directors said the Air Canada bid is "fair" but needs more time to evaluate it and any other offers. "Canadian is of great interest to a number of the alliance carriers. We are watching developments and looking at various options," said American Airlines chief Don Carty. "We have some economic interest and we're not prepared to just give it away to anyone." Air Canada had stated that its current offer expires tomorrow. Meanwhile, the group welcomed Aer Lingus as the newest member (<I>BTN</I>, Nov. 15). Gary Cullen, CEO of the Irish carrier, said Aer Lingus needs to keep its coveted London Heathrow slots and "use them to feed British Airways' long-haul service." In describing corporate sales integration of alliance partners, Carty said, "Because of regulatory rules, there are things we can and can't do. At various points in the network, we remain competitors with one another and are therefore limited by antitrust regulations. But we have progressed on joint selling in certain European markets."
<A NAME="4"><B>CO Will Miss 10 Percent Target Again, Cuts Growth Plans</B>
Continental's strategy of expanding rapidly on international routes as long as it maintains a 10 percent operating margin again will be curtailed as the carrier expects to miss that goal again in the fourth quarter. "The capacity across the Atlantic is more than everyone needs and yields there have been a disappointment," said chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune. The carrier also fell short in third quarter and last week indicated it would slash growth from 6 percent to 4.6 percent during 2000 as the carrier replaces aging planes with newer, smaller models.
<A NAME="5"><B>Frontier Acknowledges Potential Y2K Troubles</B>
Frontier Airlines became the latest carrier to cancel or limit flights during the Y2K transition. Frontier said it will terminate all flights by 11 p.m. on Dec. 31 and restart operations after 7 a.m. MT on Jan. 1. In a filing to the Security Exchange Commission, the carrier said, "There can be no assurance that the systems of such third parties on which we rely will be modified on a timely basis" and that "no assurance can be given that our compliancy plan will be achieved." It further stated the potential for "a degraded level of safety, increased costs, delayed cash flows and customer inconvenience."
<A NAME="6"><B>NW Rolls Out Internet-Based Small Company Incentive</B>
Northwest Airlines officially launched E-Biz Perks (www.nwa.com/travel/ebiz/), its Internet-based incentive program for small business (<I>BTN</I>, Oct. 11). Along with the launch, the carrier unveiled its incentive structure, based on one point per dollar spent on business travel. Redemption ranges from one-way domestic upgrades at 2,000 points and an international WorldClub membership at 4,900, to a Silver Elite membership at 12,500 and a free business class ticket to Asia at 25,000. Al Lenza, Northwest's vice president of distribution planning, said that more than 100 corporations already have signed up with the program.
<A NAME="7"><B>Sprint, IBM Going Wireless</B>
Sprint Group and IBM Inc. last week announced a partnership to develop products and services that will allow corporate travelers to use the Sprint PCS Wireless Web to access e-mail, schedules and other information with Sprint PCS Internet-ready phones.
<A NAME="8"><B>Adventure Travel, Piedmont latest Agency Alliance</B>
Adventure Travel of Birmingham, Ala., and the Greenville, S.C.-based Piedmont Travel are the latest agencies to form a strategic partnership. The two firms, with combined sales of $140 million, announced late last month that they have formed the holding company Admont L.L.C. Both companies plan to concentrate immediately on purchasing technology for quality control and management reporting as well as long-distance services.