Online Airline Options Grow
<B>Online Airline Options Grow</B>
<I>Alaska, Southwest Offer New Booking Functionality</I>
By David Jonas
More corporations now can permit and track traveler purchases made on the Internet as two more carriers offer new functionality for online corporate bookings. Southwest Airlines, popular with business travelers mandated to use the lowest available fares, has unveiled a new online tracking tool for corporate managers while Alaska Airlines, long known for its tech savvy, this month announced the availability of an Internet-based booking product for corporate clients.
In fact, Alaska recently named a new manager of corporate Internet sales to handle the product and related developments. "This gives corporations the ability to work with us directly," said Bob Dersé, who has assumed the role after 20 years in corporate and agency field sales.
The system, which also includes flights booked on sister carrier Horizon Air, is dubbed EasyBiz and targets small and midsize businesses. It enables travelers from enrolled corporations to book flights and make hotel and car reservations while the corporation avoids many fees and earns mileage rewards.
The system has been in beta tests for more than a year with an initial group of five corporations (<I>BTN,</I> Jan. 10). Alaska now is adding a few accounts each week. "We have added quite a few corporations to the program even before advertising it," Dersé said. "It's just another piece in our goal to have 50 percent of Alaska's revenue online by 2003."
Currently, corporate negotiated rates are not available through the system, but will be part of phase two in a few months. "Typical EasyBiz accounts at this point use high-frequency day travel on short-haul West Coast routes, which already are relatively inexpensive," said Jeff Cacy, Alaska's assistant vice president of sales and reservations. "The value to the corporation is that we waive change fees--which can be a substantial savings--and they do not incur any transaction fees or GDS fees." Change fees will be waived for six months until a dedicated hotline is replaced by added functionality on the site.
In addition, companies that use EasyBiz will earn mileage-based incentives--two miles for every dollar booked online--that can be applied later for free travel or used as an employee incentive.
The utility of the product from the traveler perspective--taking control of travel arrangements in real time from their desktops or laptops--complements existing conveniences furnished by the carrier, including Internet-based checkin.
"If you're an EasyBiz traveler on the road, you have a password, can change reservations without incurring a change fee, print your boarding pass, earn miles for yourself and your corporation, and without any lines or delays," Cacy said.
Though the system tracks and reports all data, including PNR, origin and destination and other transaction information, it won't be available in real time through the EasyBiz Web site for another month. At that time, travel managers, in real time, will be able to download the data into an Excel spreadsheet and track unused e-tickets. Also, profiling will be added to the system, prepopulating traveler information and further streamlining the process for a company's approved travelers and traveler arrangers.
And while hotel and car bookings can be accessed through hotlinks on the site, Alaska in the next few months will integrate those areas directly into the system so it's contained on the same PNR as the air portion.
Though EasyBiz does not yet include corporate negotiated rates, it joins a growing list of corporate online booking systems now in development at other airlines, including Delta, Northwest and US Airways, that will. Interested companies can demo the system and enroll at http://easybiz.alaskaair.com.
Meanwhile, Southwest's offering, dubbed SWABIZ, keeps travel managers "in the loop" while allowing their travelers to book online at Southwest.com. Though the low-fare carrier does not offer negotiated discounts to corporations, it has made great strides in the marketplace as more companies clamp down on travel expenditures.
Online corporate tracking is an ideal enhancement for Southwest's Web site, which, driven by exclusive cyber specials and frequent flyer points promotions, already accounts for more than a quarter of the carrier's passenger revenues. Because the tracking tool is offered without any added fees, corporations can easily and cost-effectively keep tabs on transactions and traveler behavior.
Trips booked through SWABIZ by approved company travelers using an assigned corporate ID number will be posted to the company's travel report within 24 hours of purchase. From there, travel managers can view customizable reports based on their company's travel information, including traveler itineraries, PNR, ticket number, expenditures, city pairs and other relevant data. A monthly travel spend report also is available.
"We see SWABIZ as one of the next logical steps in the continued evolution of our online presence," said Brad Newcomb, a regional marketing director for Southwest Airlines who has been directly involved in the development of the product. Prior to the rollout, Southwest ran a beta test on the system with about 40 clients, ranging from rather small travel operations to Fortune 500 companies.
To enroll, corporations must contact their Southwest area marketing manager. Once a corporate ID is assigned, travelers can use that number to enter the system and proceed through the normal booking process while the information is captured in the reservations module. Though SWABIZ is too new to identify likely enhancements, Newcomb said the system constantly will evolve based on usage figures and feedback from travel managers. "Our intention," he said, "is that this will never be complete.