Pay Before You Fly

<B> Pay Before You Fly</B>

A slightly different spin on the pay at lift systems in development at some carriers--in practice for some time--is corporate bulk purchases. In those programs, such as American's AAirpass and United's PassPlus, the corporation buys a certain number of miles at a set price and the account is debited, based on the class of service, as travelers fly those miles. While the corporation pays in advance rather than at the time of each flight, ticket prices still are independent of when and how a traveler makes a reservation.

"Some corporations that have made a significant investment can pool mileage purchased for travelers," said Jill Locker, AAirpass product manager. "It is a tool that can be used by the larger corporate accounts to lock in fares, and more and more are asking to buy air travel in this manner." She added that the product in many cases is an ideal supplement to existing agreements.While some corporate AAirpass programs can apply to certain city pairs, they usually are systemwide. In fact, one client uses AAirpass for 98 percent of all travel on the airline.

One American official said the program lets companies plan their air costs while "the risk for the airline is comparable to fuel hedging, where we can smooth out the peaks and valleys." The corporate account also can negotiate traveler perks, including Admirals Club access, pre-boarding, inflight headsets and cocktails, and separate checkin.