<B>TechTalk</B>
<B>Ford Takes $15 Million Stake In Captura</B>
Bothell, Wash.-based expense vendor Captura got a boost from one of its largest clients via a $15 million investment announced last week by Ford Motor Co. The infusion is designed "to expand Captura's technology to provide a complete corporate expense management solution." Said Ford CIO Jim Yost, "Ford has been using Captura Expense to automate the travel expense process throughout our organization, and we recognize the potential of Captura's technology to automate other business processes, including e-procurement, purchasing and online exchange transactions."
<B><A NAME="2">TripManager Signs First Client On Lower GDS Fees</B>
Plano, Texas-based Rug Doctor is the first client to buy Worldspan's TripManager booking system as part of Worldspan's CorporateDirect program, which cuts GDS segment fees to $1.50 for airlines that help sell TripManager (BTN, Aug. 14). A Northwest Airlines exec said his carrier soon will announce its participation in the program. According to Worldspan vice president of sales and marketing Sue Powers, speaking last month at the Etravelworld conference in Orlando, the CorporateDirect arrangement "features some sort of incentive from the airline" for the corporation. The initiative, comparable with a similar one in which Sabre charges less for GDS transactions made through Sabre BTS, is at least partly an answer to the efforts of E-Travel, GetThere and others to set up non-GDS connections with suppliers.
<B><A NAME="3">E-Travel Adds National To Direct Program</B>
E-Travel last week named National Car Rental as the latest addition to its list of vendors planning to develop non-GDS links. Following American Airlines (BTN, Sep. 18), National joins Hertz among car rental companies. In an unrelated discussion, E-Travel CEO John Ackermann told BTN the market can expect a customer support-related announcement from E-Travel this month. Ackermann gave the heads-up when asked whether his company had explored the possibility of enabling travel counselors to view the same browser screen as a traveler while in the midst of the booking process--so-called collaborative browsing. An E-Travel spokesman later said such functionality, as well as interactive chatting, is part of a larger customer relationship management initiative.
<B><A NAME="4">Former Sabre BTS Exec. Joins Xtra On-Line</B>
Xtra On-Line named John James its new vice president of marketing. Formerly a director of marketing communications for Sabre BTS in Dallas, James had begun consulting for XOL during the spring.
<B><A NAME="5">Galileo Lands Deloitte & Touche Account</B>
Deloitte & Touche, the seventh-largest corporate travel account by U.S.-booked air volume (BTN, Aug. 28), signed an exclusive five-year GDS contract with Galileo. Partnering with WorldTravel Partners/BTI, Galileo will process all reservations for Deloitte & Touche through the fall of 2005. Asked about the pros and cons of travel managers signing their own GDS contracts, Galileo senior vice president of Internet and e-commerce David Near, said, "If it's a good one, the travel management company can help manage risk in the contract," particularly when it comes to reaching negotiated productivity commitments.
<B><A NAME="6">GDSs Update Agent Automation</B>
Coinciding with last week's ASTA World Travel Congress in Las Vegas, all four GDS vendors got into the act of announcing or previewing improved automation for travel agents. Worldspan launched its "industry first" Automated Reissues functionality, which for a "small fee" allows agents working a domestic itinerary to "automatically compare the traveler's original and revised itineraries, calculate the new airfare, including appropriate additional collections, refunds, penalties or fees, then issue a new ticket--all in a matter of seconds." The GDS also unveiled new functionality within its Go! Internet platform, including Worldspan on the Web, which enables agents to find and book "unique Internet-based travel products" and includes an Internet airfare search product. Also part of Go!, Worldspan is supplying Web-based agent training. Sabre last week launched improved agent connectivity through the eVoya brand of virtual private network technology, allowing agents to consolidate their networks to access the Internet, e-mail and Sabre, "without the expense of installing a dedicated circuit." Galileo demonstrated at ASTA the second version of its Viewpoint graphical user interface, which incorporates e-mail itineraries, automatic script launching and new shopping tool features, among other enhancements. At Etravelworld, Amadeus previewed coming enhancements in terms of Web-based itineraries delivered by e-mail and an online booking engine for agents.