Swissair: Group Incentives

Renewing its vows to the incentive market, Swissair introduced several all-inclusive meeting and incentive discount packages aimed squarely at corporate buyers, while negotiations with Delta, its code-sharing partner, promise to yield international zone fares.

Swissair confirmed that zone fares are definitely on the table as the two carriers sort out the marketing and sales details of an alliance that was recently approved by the Department of Transportation. Delta refused to comment on the negotiations.

Still, Swissair is confident that simplified group pricing will be instituted within the next year, generating "good rates" for the incentive market.

"Zone fares are obviously very important," said national incentive sales manager Kevin Forde. "There is a direct benefit to customers because they can easily price a trip for qualifiers from 40 different cities. They'll be able to budget more exactly, and they'll get the information more quickly."

Meanwhile, as part of its efforts to get the word out on its primary destination, Swissair has stepped up its direct flight schedule to Zurich from both the North Atlantic region and the East Coast, where non-stop flights leave from Newark International airport five days weekly in the winter.

The carrier also is set to launch an ad campaign that will tout Switzerland and other Swissair destinations as ideal incentive venues. The carrier will test drive a more expansive meetings program by offering-in conjunction with Conferences International and the Place Hotel Lucerne-an all-inclusive package to Lucerne with weekly departures out of U.S. gateway cities from Jan. 5 to April 27, 1997; Nov. 2 to Dec. 7, 1997; and Jan. 4 through April 26, 1998.

While Swissair has always been active in the incentive market and first identified it as a desired target for growth five years ago, it was not until a year ago that it began to examine ways in it which it could more systematically go after group business. In June, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, Sabena and Delta received antitrust immunity from DOT, giving the four partners the right to create a worldwide marketing alliance and expand their transatlantic systems by connecting their intercontinental hub network.

Six months ago, Swissair named Forde to the newly created position of national incentive sales manager to spur group business and act as a support for the company's 70 salespeople. Forde will work with less-experienced reps as well as provide leads to ensure that the organization "gets closer to the key buyers and decision makers," he said.

All of these actions reflect the carrier's renewed intention to actively promote Switzerland and other Swissair destinations as "fun and a great value for dollars spent," Forde said. This addresses the toughest obstacle when dealing with planners, which is getting them to understand that Switzerland is not unspeakably pricey. "We've put together packages with hotels and DMCs and sent it out to incentive houses across the country to get the word out," he said. "Generally speaking, Switzerland, while certainly not a bargain destination, is definitely more affordable than many planners think."

The 10 incentive packages initially being offered are trips to Berne (Switzerland's capital), Basel, Geneva, Interlaken, Lausanne, Lucerne, Lugano, Montreux, St. Moritz and Zurich. The packages were developed by the carrier and the Swiss Congress and Incentive Destinations, an organization made up of Swiss suppliers and the Swiss Rail Network. "These are the 10 Swiss cities that have expressed intent to more deeply penetrate the North American market," Forde said.

Chief among Switzerland's charms is its multiculturalism-it is tucked in between France, Germany, Austria and Italy-ensuring that the traveler can experience not one but many variants of Swiss society, Forde said. The most popular day tour among incentive purchasers is breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Italy and dinner in France.

Surprisingly, skiing has not been all that popular, although Forde thinks that can be remedied somewhat by conveying that a winter package to Switzerland can be as affordable as Vail or Aspen.

Forde noted that another big market for Swissair are those who cruise in the Mediterranean to Athens or Istanbul. Beyond driving demand to these destinations, Swissair's ultimate mission is to get corporate buyers thinking about their air purchasing much sooner in the planning process. "To many clients who are putting together a program, the last thing they think about is air," Forde said. "We want to change that.