Prism Group Inc. and undisclosed airlines soon will announce further expansion of the data processing model buyers greeted with agitation when Continental Airlines in 2000 mandated participation for those seeking custom contracts. Tension over the issue has subsided as most hesitant corporate accounts and revenue-starved carriers largely agreed on a more limited set of data fields to be sent to Prism.
According to Prism president Michael Whitesage, no more than 10 companies declined to furnish data while about 3,000 have participated. Quelling rumors about Delta Air Lines being close to signing a deal with him, Whitesage said, "We're talking to everyone." Delta conversations are "no more advanced than others," he added, and "we do have announcements coming shortly with other airlines." A Delta Air Lines spokesperson last week said the airline is weighing its options, but no announcement was pending.
Northwest and United airlines signed with Prism this year, following Continental's mandate
(BTN, Aug. 14, 2000). American Airlines is satisfied with its own capabilities and US Airways said it is considering multiple options.
"Six months can change the face of the industry, and customers have worked through this," said Judy Bauer, travel director at Pharmacia in Peapack, N.J. "Airlines have been relentless about it, and in a push-comes-to-shove situation, customers are more comfortable through masking—some less than others."
Masking certain data fields—particularly information about individual travelers and airlines other than the one receiving the data—helped alleviate a number of buyers' concerns. Two travel buyers who spoke with BTN on the condition of anonymity had their agencies and data handlers mask or replace fields that identified data, including credit card number, PNR locator, carrier code and fare basis code.
"It took me six months to get them there," said one of the two, both of whom hold a contract with Prism that names the corporation as the data owner and requires Prism to comply with its direction in its treatment of the data. "I'm not 100 percent comfortable with it, but I haven't seen a reason to get any stricter."
Some buyers only recently were hit with the issue. "Why should the airline have data on routes they don't even fly?" asked one who now is negotiating with United. According to another in the same situation, "I already told them this won't be easy—and we can still move traffic away."
The level of stringency employed by corporate accounts varies, creating the potential for added cost.
"There's no consistency to these feeds provided to Prism," said Philip Dunphy, senior manager of global travel at New York-based Pfizer Inc. He also noted the challenges of standardizing, though he said it would "be easier and less costly to standardize on the most restrictive feed that Prism works with."
One buyer said she had heard rumors that agencies are thinking about charging extra for masking.
"We do not charge clients to mask the data," said Pam Arway, executive vice president and general manager of American Express Corporate Travel in New York. "We do that work for the standard price. We have customers who say they don't care whether the data are masked, but most do. We recommend it."
Whitesage questions the value of masking, which he said is applied to less than half the data he processes. He said feeds sent to airlines have been consistent since last year when Prism applied its data transfer protocol "to historical data for BA and Continental to bring them in compliance" with the demands of later participants and their clients.
"There has certainly been a softening in the requirements," said TRX Data Services executive vice president and general manager Susan Hopley. TRX with Cornerstone Information Systems and Atlanta-based Hi-Mark Software formed the Data Advisory Board
(BTN, April 22), which will be a "guide" now that it appears its proposed standard will not be adopted uniformly. "People are following the DAB standard and some are even more restrictive, which surprised me."
"I've got the feeling it's becoming a non-issue," said Mat Orrego, president of Cornerstone. "Some concessions and compromises had been made, and we're now producing much more limited data back to the supplier, so this seems to be working itself out."
In addition to a lack of accepted standards and the existence of holdouts who still have refused to send Prism data, other specifics continue to highlight the sensitivity and complexity of the issues. Most directly affecting corporate buyers is the need to learn about how data issues are treated at their companies, particularly those that do business across borders.
It's a new job requirement that some don't want.
"We got a request that we have to run this through legal," said one buyer at a major global corporation. "It's a huge process." Said another buyer, "This to me is very critical, so it requires a complete review with legal. I'm not here for that."
A recent American Express survey indicated that while nearly two-thirds of corporate buyers are concerned about misuse of their data, more than half said they were ill-informed on the topic and that it's their legal department's primary responsibility.
"This was a bigger issue two years ago than it is today," said Arway, "but it highlighted the need for clients to understand the issues around data privacy and their companies' policies to make sure their travel program is compliant. They should not ignore it."
Other developments include the fragmentation of data sources as booking channels shift, with which Prism, TRX and other data consolidators are ready to help. Companies like theirs already stand to profit, noted Pharmacia's Bauer, as airlines begin to require consolidated data from agencies abroad.
"The issue still is live, especially as people buy in different channels," said Hopley, who also said multiple airline solutions could still become a reality. "There are other ways of looking at it and the game is a long way from over."
According to one source familiar with Delta, the carrier is close to signing a Prism contract. Others, including Delta clients, said they also had heard Delta-Prism talks nearly were finished.
American Airlines, which would be the lone non-bankrupt U.S. airline of its kind to not work with Prism if Delta came aboard, is sticking to its internal processes. "We are most comfortable in how we measure and target accounts," said Frank Morogiello, vice president of global accounts. "We will stay with what we have because it gives us the most confidence during the entire process, but we will look at whatever is out there."
American for about 10 years has been using a commercial account revenue tracking system based on flown data, which is equipped on sales laptops. Contrary to popular belief, AA does not have an army of analysts. Morogiello said a small department works in tandem with sales groups to "understand the numbers."
At US Airways, customizing corporate programs "ultimately requires some type of automation," said Steve Tracas, vice president of sales. "There are many products out there. We will look for one that does the job and is acceptable to the customer base. It is a necessity, but there are many alternatives."