<B>InsideTrack</B>
<B>Amadeus Owners Plan Equity Sale</B>
<B>Air France</B>, <B>Iberia</B> and <B>Lufthansa</B> informed <B>Amadeus</B> they are "exploring the possibility of selling some of their Amadeus Class 'A' shares through the stock market," Amadeus reported in its quarterly earnings release last week. "No decision has yet been taken by these major shareholders in Amadeus as to the amount and the exact timing of any secondary share offering, but it is expected to take place within the next few weeks." Each carrier holds 25 percent of the shares; the rest are publicly traded in Spain.
<A NAME="2"><B>KLM Cans Alitalia Alliance</B>
<B>KLM Royal Dutch Airlines</B> late last month immediately canceled its far-reaching alliance with Italy's <B>Alitalia</B>, citing problems associated with Milan's Malpensa Airport and concerns over privatization plans. The breakup marks the second time in as many years that carriers with antitrust immunity opted to end their relationships, underscoring the amorphous nature of global alliances. <B>Delta</B> last year left the Atlantic Excellence alliance in favor of a partnership with <B>Air France</B>. KLM and Alitalia now will begin to reverse the integration process, which had targeted the closest cross-border cooperation yet between two international airlines, including sales, marketing, purchasing, capacity, scheduling and fare coordination. However, the process will be complicated by KLM's request of Alitalia to return about $91 million it had invested in the development of Malpensa and the resulting legal action sought by the Italian government.
Meanwhile, <B>Northwest</B>, the third member of the antitrust immunized trio, reportedly has asked the two carriers to resolve their differences and preserve the alliance in some form, but has stated that KLM's decision "will not impact the long-term transatlantic alliance between Northwest and KLM." <B>Continental</B>, a fourth potential member of the "Wings" alliance, also is watching the situation but has not yet made any formal announcement.
The KLM announcement sparked speculation about new potential alliance partners for both KLM and Alitalia. Air France and <B>Swissair</B> are both said to be potential suitors for Alitalia, though neither had publicly expressed interest. KLM also will be mindful of the alliance situation in Europe. Though Northwest and Continental remain committed, the Dutch carrier still will have to find an ally on its side of the pond to keep pace with the other global and regional groupings and is expected to firm up plans by year-end.
<A NAME="3"><B>National Boosts Web Booking Power</B>
<B>National Car Rental</B> earlier this month went live with a new booking engine at Nationalcar.com which ensures frequent business travelers of getting their corporate rate, provides them with an explanation of all charges and taxes, delivers e-mail confirmation and does it all in a matter of minutes. Speeding the process for Emerald Club members is National's Odyssey system, which quickly finds the appropriate rates.
"We spent a lot of energy on our brand new booking engine," said National president Ernest Johnson, a confirmed fan of <B>Amazon.com</B> for its speed, service and confirmation of order. "We call it One Click, for our Emerald Club customers. We have their Emerald club profiles, so it's as simple as saying when and where you want to pick up and drop off, and you are done. For non-Emerald Club members, it is only a three-click process. Our new booking engine provides rates, discount, airport fees and taxes, gives you a total rate on the spot and sends a confirmation. It is equipped to provide the managed traveler with their corporate rate."
Enhancements coming in the near term will allow Emerald Club members to change their profiles, such as to select which credit card to use; enable online Emerald Club enrollment; sell insurance at the time of reservation; and add foreign languages, starting with German, French, Spanish and Italian. Of most interest to travel buyers, National intends to provide them with reports to help them manage their business better.
<A NAME="4"><B>American Ups Biz Class Space</B>
Following its decision to remove coach class seats for more leg room, <B>American Airlines</B> earlier this month said it similarly would reconfigure its business class cabin on all international and many transcontinental flights. AA will expand seat pitch to a full 60 inches in 88 aircraft, including <B>Boeing</B> 777s, Boeing 767-300s and <B>Airbus</B> 300s. The first plane already has been reconfigured. Full completion is expected by 1Q 2001.
<A NAME="5"><B>Microsoft, Mastercard to Collaborate Further</B>
<B>Mastercard</B> and <B>Microsoft</B> plan to announce a partnership next week. A Mastercard spokeswoman said it would affect the small business market. Microsoft and Mastercard already collaborate, along with <B>Clarus Corp.</B>, on an Internet purchasing offering called WebPurchasing. The two also have discussed smart cards that would be read by Microsoft's Windows platform.