This is attached as a direct copy from the email sent by BTC- Business Travel Coalition:
Parliament Must Close the Dangerous Parent Carrier Loophole
By Kevin Mitchell
Two stories, just days apart, from Brussels this November are leaving industry observers scratching their heads, wondering whether a thoughtful and coordinated travel distribution policy is beyond the European Commission’s grasp and resolved that Parliament must act decisively to close a deliberately-created loophole in the Commission’s recently proposed computer reservation system rules. This dangerous loophole is threatening to harm European travelers.
On the one hand, the Consumer Protection Commissioner announced stinging survey results, concluding that more than half of Europe’s travel web sites, including those run by some of Europe’s leading airlines, are engaged in misleading advertising and other unfair practices. The offending web sites are being given four months to get their acts together or face forced closure. Here the Commission is taking strong and decisive measures on behalf of abused consumers.
On the other hand, the Commission announced a curious new Computer Reservations System (CRS) Code of Conduct, which was supposed to ensure that consumers continue to get comprehensive and accurate fare and related information via their online or offline travel agency equipped with a CRS. Instead of achieving this goal, however, the Commission has deliberately opened a giant loophole in the coverage of these rules, so that the all-important “parent carrier” provisions will not apply to the three airline owners of Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS. Here the Commission is taking weak and deceptive measures on behalf of abusive owner airlines and leaving consumers standing under a worthless CRS rules umbrella.
So as one part of the Commission gives a red light to airline web site abuse, the other gives a green light to airline CRS abuse. And to make the irony complete, the Transportation Commissioner justified liberalizing the CRS code because of the rise of Internet web sites as a competitive force! Perhaps the Consumer Protection and Transportation commissioners ought to meet for lunch.
As the Commission’s CRS rules review progressed during 2007, the abandonment of consumer interests accelerated. At a conference panel discussion that I moderated in London last winter, a senior EC transportation official stated that listening to consumer views would be the most important factor in deciding how to reform the rules. When groups representing millions of consumers weighed in forcefully that protections had to be retained to deal with the real-world threat of airline ownership, the Commission responded by closing its ears and cynically devising a loophole that would undermine their interests. In justifying that loophole, the Commission suggested that the rules were simply a matter of business-to-business concern -- marginalizing the consumer stake in this important policy matter.
Any casual follower of air travel distribution knows the checkered history of CRS regulation and how consumers have been negatively impacted by abusive airline practices. In the movie version of this business, the villains are dominant airlines that have predictably used their ownership of reservation systems to engage in exclusionary activities that undermine comparison shopping and the free flow of critical data. The heroes, when they show up for work, are regulators who on behalf of consumers lay down respected and enforced codes of conduct that demand marketplace fairness in the presence of airline ownership. That’s why strong CRS rules that address current industry conditions have been worth fighting for in Europe and why the regulator’s misguided attempts to play games with them on behalf of other industry participants have been vigorously opposed by independent airlines, corporate travel buyers, travel agencies, CRSs, consume r groups, travel industry associations, even the United Nations! The Consumer Protection Commissioner’s warning shots fired over the websites in November are important, but they only address the small part of the iceberg poking above the water. Lurking right below the surface is the rest of an enormous problem -- one in which consumers are at the mercy of airlines with the means and the incentive to restrict full content to the system they own and to manipulate data and functionality in ways that cement their market dominance. The stakes in the CRS debate are about much more than being misled by a couple of euros in a website bait-and-switch; they’re about hundreds of euros lost to consumers every time low-priced options are deliberately suppressed and about the airlines’ use of the reservation system they own to squeeze the breath out of anyone who would dare to compete with them.
The parent carrier rules were designed to stop these abuses from happening and over many years they’ve generally done a remarkably good job of keeping the market in balance without creating unnecessary burdens on marketplace participants. Undermining these rules by creating a loophole exempting Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa -- the owners of Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS -- makes no sense at all. Airlines and distribution systems have always been a toxic combination, and unless regulators are willing to take the more intrusive step of banning ownership outright, a regulatory regime -- with teeth -- is required.
The results of a CRS Customer Referendum were recently released by the International Airline Passengers’ Association, Advantage Focus Partnership, Belgium Association of Travel Management, Business Travel Coalition, Finnish Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel Management, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association and Travel Management Alliance. These organizations are experts in the travel industry and represent thousands of corporations and millions of customers of the air and rail transportation systems in Europe.
This group, articulating the consumer voice, proposed solutions to close the loophole. For example, it has proposed that a 5 percent airline ownership stake in a CRS should be established for determining parent carrier status. Alternatively, they would ask for confirmation that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently parent carriers of Amadeus and an affirmation that the status of these airlines as parent carriers should be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any future proposed change. These are fair, sensible approaches that would go far toward eliminating the needless consumer anxiety the Commission has injected into the process.
The shame of it is that the Commission’s proposed CRS rules are on their face an example of near-perfect “better regulation” -- it’s the undermining the Commission is doing behind its back that makes these rules a near-complete disaster. Instead of getting high praise, the Commission is getting harsh criticism -- and from virtually all corners of Europe. If the parent carrier loophole were fixed by making it unambiguously clear that Amadeus' three airline owners were covered, then the text of the proposed rules would actually be deemed to be responsive to consumer needs.
The European Parliament will next have the opportunity to review and amend the proposal. Deference should not be given to the Commission on the parent carrier issue; deference should be given to consumers whose important interests have been subordinated. Parliament has an excellent opportunity to correct the fatal flaw by taking these proposed rules out of the museum and putting them into practice where they are needed. If Parliament closes the loophole, five years of industry and government work could be brought to a powerful and successful conclusion, with grateful European consumers reaping the benefits of more choice and lower airfares.
…
Founded in 1994, the mission of the Business Travel Coalition is to bring transparency to industry and government policies and practices so that customers can influence issues of strategic importance to them. Mitchell is founder and chairman.
01 December 2007
28 November 2007
TSA takes over Airline Industry Background Checks from FAA
Sacre Bleu...
Well I guess someone has to do it. But if we are to judge the TSA by its effectiveness IE because there has not been another attack and 'Cos Bush tells us so, then this is a good move.
However if you judge this by the very sloppy work we see every day at the customer facing end then I would say we have a lot to worry about.
But then the TSA has to justify its HUGE budger overruns. This amounts to many thousands of dollars per US taxpayer. Some days I just miss Karl Rove's explanations via GWB's mouth.
UGH
T
Well I guess someone has to do it. But if we are to judge the TSA by its effectiveness IE because there has not been another attack and 'Cos Bush tells us so, then this is a good move.
However if you judge this by the very sloppy work we see every day at the customer facing end then I would say we have a lot to worry about.
But then the TSA has to justify its HUGE budger overruns. This amounts to many thousands of dollars per US taxpayer. Some days I just miss Karl Rove's explanations via GWB's mouth.
UGH
T
JD Power's OTA study shows declines
Survey by California based J D Power and Associates Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study, now in its third year, measures the satisfaction of travellers who book airline, hotel or car rental reservations through eight major independent travel websites: Cheaptickets.com, Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz.com, Priceline.com and Travelocity.com.
A decline - not by that much but a noticeable trend across the board shows dissatisfaction with the genre.
Let’s see what the study on supplier sites shows. Our thinking is that we are reaching a point of diminished marginal returns and (gasp) perhaps saturation. With Henry's (Forrester) study showing declines in traffic - we are clearly on a trend line here. This is true for the US market but will take quite some time to feed out to the EMEA and Asia Pac markets.
Cheers
Timothy
A decline - not by that much but a noticeable trend across the board shows dissatisfaction with the genre.
Let’s see what the study on supplier sites shows. Our thinking is that we are reaching a point of diminished marginal returns and (gasp) perhaps saturation. With Henry's (Forrester) study showing declines in traffic - we are clearly on a trend line here. This is true for the US market but will take quite some time to feed out to the EMEA and Asia Pac markets.
Cheers
Timothy
26 November 2007
The World's Worst Airports
No lesser authority thant Foreign Policy magazine has weighed in on the subject of the worst airport.
You can read the full text of the article here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4032
If you are impatient like me.. here is the list:
Dakar
Delhi - Indira Gandhi
Moscow - Mineralnye Vody Airport
Baghdad International (is there a domestic??)
Paris - Charles de Gaulle
I of course want to add my favorite airport to the list .. London Heathrow.
You choose.
You can read the full text of the article here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4032
If you are impatient like me.. here is the list:
Dakar
Delhi - Indira Gandhi
Moscow - Mineralnye Vody Airport
Baghdad International (is there a domestic??)
Paris - Charles de Gaulle
I of course want to add my favorite airport to the list .. London Heathrow.
You choose.
Last Gasp Attempt Seems to Fail, TPG's Bid for Iberia Not To Be
Despite a last valiant attempt by TPG to get BA to exercise its option and raise its shares in Iberia - the effort seems to have led to nothing. BA is reported in the British Newspapers of having let its option to raise its stake in the former national Spanish Airline expire.
This all but kills off the TPG effort and clears the way for a locally funded effort to succeed thus avoiding a confrontation with the EU competition authority. Perhaps after the Alitalia mess is cleared up - then BA may think again.
This all but kills off the TPG effort and clears the way for a locally funded effort to succeed thus avoiding a confrontation with the EU competition authority. Perhaps after the Alitalia mess is cleared up - then BA may think again.
22 November 2007
Now will we see SQ flying to alternative LON Airports?
The UK and Singapore governments have now signed their much heralded fully open skies agreement that comes into effect coincidently on the same day as the free'er skies between the UK and the USA.
Based on this i believe we shall see SQ flying to LGW (as CX used to and as EK does today) as well as possibly STN if they decide to get into the bulk game using a high capacity A380 as has been mooted for EK's Emirates Express service. Moving at least one flight to another airport will allow SQ to service the LHRJFK market that they have long coveted.
Based on this i believe we shall see SQ flying to LGW (as CX used to and as EK does today) as well as possibly STN if they decide to get into the bulk game using a high capacity A380 as has been mooted for EK's Emirates Express service. Moving at least one flight to another airport will allow SQ to service the LHRJFK market that they have long coveted.
Government to press ahead with 3rd Runway at LHR
Heathrow's slow decline into a third world airport may come to an arresting end by 2020. This news comes none too soon as the airport faces competition from all corners.
Logically there is no where for the airport to expand than by wiping out the community of Sipson and over 700 homes. So the battle lines are now being drawn. The environmentalists and those whose homes are going to be affected versus the Airlines, the Government, and the TUC representing the direct 180,000 jobs at the airport.
But let's consider what will be the case by 2020. FRA may well have 5 runways by then. Munich will have 4 possibly more. AMS will have 6, CDG 6 etc, etc. That's not all - Jebel Ali in Dubai will be in full swing with modern facilities on a much larger area footprint than poor old Spanish owned LHR even with its new terminal 5 and proposed terminal 6. (No I didnt forget the new replacemen for T2).
However NOT doing it would in the words of BAA "If nothing changes, Heathrow's status as a world class airport will be gradually eroded - jobs will be lost and the economy will suffer. London and the UK's nations and regions alike are reliant on the good international connections that the Heathrow hub provides. "
From a point of reference however I cannot support the notion that air and noise pollution wont increase. That is BS.
Logically there is no where for the airport to expand than by wiping out the community of Sipson and over 700 homes. So the battle lines are now being drawn. The environmentalists and those whose homes are going to be affected versus the Airlines, the Government, and the TUC representing the direct 180,000 jobs at the airport.
But let's consider what will be the case by 2020. FRA may well have 5 runways by then. Munich will have 4 possibly more. AMS will have 6, CDG 6 etc, etc. That's not all - Jebel Ali in Dubai will be in full swing with modern facilities on a much larger area footprint than poor old Spanish owned LHR even with its new terminal 5 and proposed terminal 6. (No I didnt forget the new replacemen for T2).
However NOT doing it would in the words of BAA "If nothing changes, Heathrow's status as a world class airport will be gradually eroded - jobs will be lost and the economy will suffer. London and the UK's nations and regions alike are reliant on the good international connections that the Heathrow hub provides. "
From a point of reference however I cannot support the notion that air and noise pollution wont increase. That is BS.
UK Operators Cheer as Englnd exits EURO2008
In somewhat perverse logic the UK Tour Operators are cheering the fact that England lost 2-3 to Croatia in football yesterday.
Clearing the way to have people book their holidays early and not be "distracted" by the boys in White making any progress or loosing at the various hurdles - it only goes to show that Women rule in English households.
It is a dark day in the pubs across the Sceptred Isle.
Clearing the way to have people book their holidays early and not be "distracted" by the boys in White making any progress or loosing at the various hurdles - it only goes to show that Women rule in English households.
It is a dark day in the pubs across the Sceptred Isle.
20 November 2007
Affiliate Marketing gone... Mad?
As an avid watcher of the contortions that various airlines go through to get you to be both loyal and a frequent purchaser of any old stuff... it is interesting to note what has been going on at the airlines lately.
As we all know Airlines are like lemmings. They do things often to replicate each other. So on the principal that any idea is a good idea if someone says so, then let’s look at some of the recent examples:
BA emiles store.
Following on from others BA has finally stepped into this arena. The first major player was probably Ryanair and therefore all the airlines thought they were made initially. However we see more often than not that Ryanair has become an airline to watch for innovation. With their stated goal of PAYING for passengers to fly on their planes - they do a very good - if somewhat simple job of merchandising as much as they can to their customers. So what of BA and the others?
I suggest you go and check out several of them:
Delta - Medallion Marketplace: http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_miles/redemption_partners/medallion_marketplace/index.jsp
American Express - Rewards http://www.shopamex.com/
BA Miles estore. - http://www.ba.com/
as we have seen in recent years there has been a trend towards moving customers away from some of the best deals in the house towards spending the miles elsewhere. Given the current programs what we are seeing is a clear move to offload the miles "overhang". For an airline - miles are earned cheap and can be sold essentially at a profit to other. Thus the popularity of such programs.
However we should all be clear that there is another more sinister trend underneath this. That is that the miles are being devalued and a new higher price currency is replacing it. We have already seen the move away from the gold standard of a single price for a ticket. Now there are 2 sometimes even 4 values for a ticket online. Peak vs. off peak and promotional mile redemption rates. The exchange rate also now shows up in different forms. The popular exchange rate has been for quite some time 10,000 miles = $100 dollars of value. No more. Just look at the exchange rates and you will see what we mean. For example Amex offered recently (through December 11th 2007) 30% off miles required for a program. However the new mileage rate is actually quite higher than the old standard so this is not as much of a deal as it appears.
So you have been warned. For more information - check out Randy Petersen's web flyer (yes he of the unruly hair). http://www.webflyer.com/
Cheers
As we all know Airlines are like lemmings. They do things often to replicate each other. So on the principal that any idea is a good idea if someone says so, then let’s look at some of the recent examples:
BA emiles store.
Following on from others BA has finally stepped into this arena. The first major player was probably Ryanair and therefore all the airlines thought they were made initially. However we see more often than not that Ryanair has become an airline to watch for innovation. With their stated goal of PAYING for passengers to fly on their planes - they do a very good - if somewhat simple job of merchandising as much as they can to their customers. So what of BA and the others?
I suggest you go and check out several of them:
Delta - Medallion Marketplace: http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_miles/redemption_partners/medallion_marketplace/index.jsp
American Express - Rewards http://www.shopamex.com/
BA Miles estore. - http://www.ba.com/
as we have seen in recent years there has been a trend towards moving customers away from some of the best deals in the house towards spending the miles elsewhere. Given the current programs what we are seeing is a clear move to offload the miles "overhang". For an airline - miles are earned cheap and can be sold essentially at a profit to other. Thus the popularity of such programs.
However we should all be clear that there is another more sinister trend underneath this. That is that the miles are being devalued and a new higher price currency is replacing it. We have already seen the move away from the gold standard of a single price for a ticket. Now there are 2 sometimes even 4 values for a ticket online. Peak vs. off peak and promotional mile redemption rates. The exchange rate also now shows up in different forms. The popular exchange rate has been for quite some time 10,000 miles = $100 dollars of value. No more. Just look at the exchange rates and you will see what we mean. For example Amex offered recently (through December 11th 2007) 30% off miles required for a program. However the new mileage rate is actually quite higher than the old standard so this is not as much of a deal as it appears.
So you have been warned. For more information - check out Randy Petersen's web flyer (yes he of the unruly hair). http://www.webflyer.com/
Cheers
19 November 2007
Ouch... nasty accident to brand new A340-600
One of the longest aircraft on the planet suffered a nasty mishap last week.
10 people were injured 3 in the cockpit seriously. Lets hope they recover soon
17 November 2007
Musings from PhocusWright 2007 - The Long Tail
Perhaps a kinder gentler PCW this year at the Omni Resort in Orlando.
Sure there was the usual Philipalooza extravaganza and some nice touches - as usual a great show. BUT the bigger news perhaps is the maturity of the market if this is reflected by the attendees and the content.
On Center Stage - the usual suspects. Michelle Peluso was back in great form now that Sabre is private (under TPG). Lots of buzz on long tail businesses which perhaps suggests that there is game over in the head of the market.
So stands out?
The airlines - conspicuous by their absence. The (what we call) Reverse Yield Management sites - Farecast et al, put on a great panel.
Google - is now the 8000 lb gorilla and becomes the center point of almost every conversation.
Social Media is real, is impactful and is a key ingredient in Travel Distribution now. BTW great party they threw!
OTAs have matured - now it’s about the consumer. Kudos to Michelle for pushing the consumer experience. I have a bet with Rod Cuthbert of Viator as to which of the big 2 will be in the ascendency in 2009. I am backing Travelocity because of Michelle. He is taking the safe way with Expedia.
Investment - LOTS of news here. Hudson Crossing (in whom PCW's Chair has a stake) was out in force. The Libra party had to transfer back to the bar for waking up the golfing neighbors on their floor. Lots of people both seeking and offering capital assistance. Chimney Rock is the new player here; finally an investment bank with some industry professionals. Good to see my old friends Mims Wright and Susan Black have re-united there.
Shock and Horror with the sell out by Libgo to Ozzies Flight Center. Heads will role.
Travelport dropped the hammer and is letting over 1100 people go. Lots of new consultants on the street in the coming months. Flo will be acting CMO and commuting to London. Come May she will be headed to the beach and good for her.
A kinder gentler Philip this year. I understand attendance was down but at those rates phew!!!!
The resort clearly had logistical issues running out of restaurant food on Wednesday night. But all in all another good effort. Next year we can expect that every attendee will be a mobile walking electronic billboard with Philip selling prime time ads on certain people. Terry Jones for example will have premium rates more akin to the back page of the New York Times.
So till next year
Cheers!
Timothy
Sure there was the usual Philipalooza extravaganza and some nice touches - as usual a great show. BUT the bigger news perhaps is the maturity of the market if this is reflected by the attendees and the content.
On Center Stage - the usual suspects. Michelle Peluso was back in great form now that Sabre is private (under TPG). Lots of buzz on long tail businesses which perhaps suggests that there is game over in the head of the market.
So stands out?
The airlines - conspicuous by their absence. The (what we call) Reverse Yield Management sites - Farecast et al, put on a great panel.
Google - is now the 8000 lb gorilla and becomes the center point of almost every conversation.
Social Media is real, is impactful and is a key ingredient in Travel Distribution now. BTW great party they threw!
OTAs have matured - now it’s about the consumer. Kudos to Michelle for pushing the consumer experience. I have a bet with Rod Cuthbert of Viator as to which of the big 2 will be in the ascendency in 2009. I am backing Travelocity because of Michelle. He is taking the safe way with Expedia.
Investment - LOTS of news here. Hudson Crossing (in whom PCW's Chair has a stake) was out in force. The Libra party had to transfer back to the bar for waking up the golfing neighbors on their floor. Lots of people both seeking and offering capital assistance. Chimney Rock is the new player here; finally an investment bank with some industry professionals. Good to see my old friends Mims Wright and Susan Black have re-united there.
Shock and Horror with the sell out by Libgo to Ozzies Flight Center. Heads will role.
Travelport dropped the hammer and is letting over 1100 people go. Lots of new consultants on the street in the coming months. Flo will be acting CMO and commuting to London. Come May she will be headed to the beach and good for her.
A kinder gentler Philip this year. I understand attendance was down but at those rates phew!!!!
The resort clearly had logistical issues running out of restaurant food on Wednesday night. But all in all another good effort. Next year we can expect that every attendee will be a mobile walking electronic billboard with Philip selling prime time ads on certain people. Terry Jones for example will have premium rates more akin to the back page of the New York Times.
So till next year
Cheers!
Timothy
12 November 2007
New ECAC GDS/CRS Rules due this week. Industry Response
The new ECAC rules are due to be announced this week. There is much anticipation of the content. In advance of this - various travel groups have come together to create a manifesto of sorts. Here is the entire press release from one of the parties - the BTC:
PRESS STATEMENT
Travel Groups Transmit Results of Customer Referendum on Reservation System Rules
Consumer choice in air and rail travel at risk
Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2007--Europe’s business travel industry today transmitted the results of a Customer Referendum to European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot concerning revisions to the “Code of Conduct,” rules that govern the computerized reservations system (CRS) industry in Europe. The Referendum is signed by International Airline Passengers’ Association, Advantage Focus Partnership, Belgium Association of Travel Management, Business Travel Coalition, Finnish Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel Management, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association and Travel Management Alliance. These organizations represent thousands of corporations and millions of customers of the air and rail transportation system in Europe.
The Code has protected consumers against well-documented, anti-competitive behavior in the airline and travel distribution marketplaces when airlines own even a small percentage of a CRS. The Code currently applies to airlines that are considered “Parent Carriers” by virtue of either an ownership stake in or effective control of a CRS. History has proven that even a small percentage of airline ownership in a CRS provides an irresistible economic incentive for abuse. These abuses include privileging the “family-owned” CRS with exclusive and timely-loaded airfare content, practices that eliminate healthy CRS competition and solidify dangerous airline-owner dominance. Airline ownership of CRSs provides further incentives to undermine comparison shopping between air and rail travel options. Without applicable rules, consumers throughout Europe would be denied access to all choices and end up paying higher prices for travel .
As evidenced by numerous Commission communications, and its indifference to the repeated urging of a vast assemblage of concerned industry stakeholders for timely clarification, the Commission appears intent on redefining what constitutes a Parent Carrier and rendering the ownership test obsolete. This market-distorting development would turn the regulatory clock back 20 years before the Code was in effect and unsuspecting consumers paid supra premium prices for air travel, when for example, airfare offerings were manipulated by CRS owning airlines to hide competitors’ lower prices. Scores of millions of European consumers and hundreds of thousands of small and medium size enterprises who use smaller travel agencies are particularly vulnerable. (See analysis at http://tinyurl.com/2jaewc)
The Customer Referendum, first introduced during a Customer Hearing in Brussels on 20 September 2007, resulted in a call for (1) a threshold of a 5% ownership stake by an airline in a CRS for the purpose of establishing the status of Parent Carrier; (2) confirmation by the Commission that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently Parent Carriers of Amadeus; and (3) affirmation that the status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as Parent Carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change. The Referendum follows.
EU CRS CUSTOMER REFERENDUM
WHEREAS, airline ownership of Computer Reservation Systems is the raison d’etre for adopting and maintaining a CRS Code of Conduct; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned travel industry associations have firmly committed themselves to achieving reasonable reform of the existing EC CRS Code of Conduct, while maintaining in force those core protections that effectively protect consumers from abusive conduct that has historically and inevitably resulted from even small levels of airline ownership of CRSs; and
WHEREAS, serious and ongoing concerns remain that the European Commission is improperly and unilaterally undermining airline “ownership” as an independent means of conferring “parent carrier” status under the Code; and
WHEREAS, the European Commission’s reinterpretation of “parent carrier” criteria would dramatically break with long-settled precedent, contravene industry expectations and ignore the plain language of the Code without properly submitting the change to industry participants for consultation; and
WHEREAS, CRS airline ownership continues to present a real world problem the Code must address in that Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS, continues be over 46% owned by Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa -- major European airlines that have both the means and the incentive to abuse this ownership position in both the aviation and the distribution markets in the absence of core protections;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
1.The revised Code of Conduct shall contain a recital that shall unambiguously state, “Whereas, air carriers which own or effectively control a CRS system, alone or jointly, can derive unfair advantages in the marketplace from such a position.” The revised Code of Conduct shall include a definition of “parent carrier” that will include an airline ownership threshold of five percent (5%) of the equity, held directly or indirectly, in a CRS company; and
2. The European Commission shall confirm in writing that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently “parent carriers” of Amadeus under the CRS Code of Conduct; and
3. The status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as parent carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change; in addition, such consultation shall consider all inappropriate influencing factors throughout the distribution chain; and
4.The European Commission in any revised Code of Conduct shall retain the following core protections: mandatory participation and the bans against commission tying, display bias, and functionality discrimination; and
5. All rules other than the core protections shall be eliminated from the revised CRS Code of Conduct; however, the prerequisite for this elimination are the Commission’s enactment of Resolutions 1, 2, 3 and 4 above.
We the undersigned commit ourselves to this Referendum and urge the European Commission to enact them and thereby seize this historic opportunity to achieve Better Regulation in travel distribution.
International Airline Passengers’ Association - http://www.iapa.com/index.cfm/travel/home.welcomeAdvantage Focus Partnership - http://www.sunwaystravel.co.uk/focus-partnership.aspBelgium Association of Travel Management - http://www.batm.be/Business Travel Coalition - http://businesstravelcoalition.com/Finnish Business Travel Association - http://www.fbta.net/Institute of Travel Management - http://www.itm.org.uk/Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association - http://www.spaa.org/Travel Management Alliance - http://www.tmallc.com/new/
CONTACT: Kevin Mitchell 610.341.1850 editor@btcnewswire.com
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list:
Travel Industry News
using the following email:
timothyo@t2impact.com
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/News/
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/News
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:
mailto:info@btcnewswire.com
The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:
Business Travel Coalition214 Grouse LaneRadnor, PA 19087
PRESS STATEMENT
Travel Groups Transmit Results of Customer Referendum on Reservation System Rules
Consumer choice in air and rail travel at risk
Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2007--Europe’s business travel industry today transmitted the results of a Customer Referendum to European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot concerning revisions to the “Code of Conduct,” rules that govern the computerized reservations system (CRS) industry in Europe. The Referendum is signed by International Airline Passengers’ Association, Advantage Focus Partnership, Belgium Association of Travel Management, Business Travel Coalition, Finnish Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel Management, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association and Travel Management Alliance. These organizations represent thousands of corporations and millions of customers of the air and rail transportation system in Europe.
The Code has protected consumers against well-documented, anti-competitive behavior in the airline and travel distribution marketplaces when airlines own even a small percentage of a CRS. The Code currently applies to airlines that are considered “Parent Carriers” by virtue of either an ownership stake in or effective control of a CRS. History has proven that even a small percentage of airline ownership in a CRS provides an irresistible economic incentive for abuse. These abuses include privileging the “family-owned” CRS with exclusive and timely-loaded airfare content, practices that eliminate healthy CRS competition and solidify dangerous airline-owner dominance. Airline ownership of CRSs provides further incentives to undermine comparison shopping between air and rail travel options. Without applicable rules, consumers throughout Europe would be denied access to all choices and end up paying higher prices for travel .
As evidenced by numerous Commission communications, and its indifference to the repeated urging of a vast assemblage of concerned industry stakeholders for timely clarification, the Commission appears intent on redefining what constitutes a Parent Carrier and rendering the ownership test obsolete. This market-distorting development would turn the regulatory clock back 20 years before the Code was in effect and unsuspecting consumers paid supra premium prices for air travel, when for example, airfare offerings were manipulated by CRS owning airlines to hide competitors’ lower prices. Scores of millions of European consumers and hundreds of thousands of small and medium size enterprises who use smaller travel agencies are particularly vulnerable. (See analysis at http://tinyurl.com/2jaewc)
The Customer Referendum, first introduced during a Customer Hearing in Brussels on 20 September 2007, resulted in a call for (1) a threshold of a 5% ownership stake by an airline in a CRS for the purpose of establishing the status of Parent Carrier; (2) confirmation by the Commission that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently Parent Carriers of Amadeus; and (3) affirmation that the status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as Parent Carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change. The Referendum follows.
EU CRS CUSTOMER REFERENDUM
WHEREAS, airline ownership of Computer Reservation Systems is the raison d’etre for adopting and maintaining a CRS Code of Conduct; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned travel industry associations have firmly committed themselves to achieving reasonable reform of the existing EC CRS Code of Conduct, while maintaining in force those core protections that effectively protect consumers from abusive conduct that has historically and inevitably resulted from even small levels of airline ownership of CRSs; and
WHEREAS, serious and ongoing concerns remain that the European Commission is improperly and unilaterally undermining airline “ownership” as an independent means of conferring “parent carrier” status under the Code; and
WHEREAS, the European Commission’s reinterpretation of “parent carrier” criteria would dramatically break with long-settled precedent, contravene industry expectations and ignore the plain language of the Code without properly submitting the change to industry participants for consultation; and
WHEREAS, CRS airline ownership continues to present a real world problem the Code must address in that Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS, continues be over 46% owned by Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa -- major European airlines that have both the means and the incentive to abuse this ownership position in both the aviation and the distribution markets in the absence of core protections;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
1.The revised Code of Conduct shall contain a recital that shall unambiguously state, “Whereas, air carriers which own or effectively control a CRS system, alone or jointly, can derive unfair advantages in the marketplace from such a position.” The revised Code of Conduct shall include a definition of “parent carrier” that will include an airline ownership threshold of five percent (5%) of the equity, held directly or indirectly, in a CRS company; and
2. The European Commission shall confirm in writing that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently “parent carriers” of Amadeus under the CRS Code of Conduct; and
3. The status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as parent carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change; in addition, such consultation shall consider all inappropriate influencing factors throughout the distribution chain; and
4.The European Commission in any revised Code of Conduct shall retain the following core protections: mandatory participation and the bans against commission tying, display bias, and functionality discrimination; and
5. All rules other than the core protections shall be eliminated from the revised CRS Code of Conduct; however, the prerequisite for this elimination are the Commission’s enactment of Resolutions 1, 2, 3 and 4 above.
We the undersigned commit ourselves to this Referendum and urge the European Commission to enact them and thereby seize this historic opportunity to achieve Better Regulation in travel distribution.
International Airline Passengers’ Association - http://www.iapa.com/index.cfm/travel/home.welcomeAdvantage Focus Partnership - http://www.sunwaystravel.co.uk/focus-partnership.aspBelgium Association of Travel Management - http://www.batm.be/Business Travel Coalition - http://businesstravelcoalition.com/Finnish Business Travel Association - http://www.fbta.net/Institute of Travel Management - http://www.itm.org.uk/Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association - http://www.spaa.org/Travel Management Alliance - http://www.tmallc.com/new/
CONTACT: Kevin Mitchell 610.341.1850 editor@btcnewswire.com
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list:
Travel Industry News
using the following email:
timothyo@t2impact.com
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/News/
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/News
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:
mailto:info@btcnewswire.com
The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:
Business Travel Coalition214 Grouse LaneRadnor, PA 19087
New ECAC GDS/CRS Rules due this week. Industry Response
The new ECAC rules are due to be announced this week. There is much anticipation of the content. In advance of this - various travel groups have come together to create a manifesto of sorts. Here is the entire press release from one of the parties - the BTC:
PRESS STATEMENT
Travel Groups Transmit Results of Customer Referendum on Reservation System Rules
Consumer choice in air and rail travel at risk
Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2007--Europe’s business travel industry today transmitted the results of a Customer Referendum to European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot concerning revisions to the “Code of Conduct,” rules that govern the computerized reservations system (CRS) industry in Europe. The Referendum is signed by International Airline Passengers’ Association, Advantage Focus Partnership, Belgium Association of Travel Management, Business Travel Coalition, Finnish Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel Management, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association and Travel Management Alliance. These organizations represent thousands of corporations and millions of customers of the air and rail transportation system in Europe.
The Code has protected consumers against well-documented, anti-competitive behavior in the airline and travel distribution marketplaces when airlines own even a small percentage of a CRS. The Code currently applies to airlines that are considered “Parent Carriers” by virtue of either an ownership stake in or effective control of a CRS. History has proven that even a small percentage of airline ownership in a CRS provides an irresistible economic incentive for abuse. These abuses include privileging the “family-owned” CRS with exclusive and timely-loaded airfare content, practices that eliminate healthy CRS competition and solidify dangerous airline-owner dominance. Airline ownership of CRSs provides further incentives to undermine comparison shopping between air and rail travel options. Without applicable rules, consumers throughout Europe would be denied access to all choices and end up paying higher prices for travel .
As evidenced by numerous Commission communications, and its indifference to the repeated urging of a vast assemblage of concerned industry stakeholders for timely clarification, the Commission appears intent on redefining what constitutes a Parent Carrier and rendering the ownership test obsolete. This market-distorting development would turn the regulatory clock back 20 years before the Code was in effect and unsuspecting consumers paid supra premium prices for air travel, when for example, airfare offerings were manipulated by CRS owning airlines to hide competitors’ lower prices. Scores of millions of European consumers and hundreds of thousands of small and medium size enterprises who use smaller travel agencies are particularly vulnerable. (See analysis at http://tinyurl.com/2jaewc)
The Customer Referendum, first introduced during a Customer Hearing in Brussels on 20 September 2007, resulted in a call for (1) a threshold of a 5% ownership stake by an airline in a CRS for the purpose of establishing the status of Parent Carrier; (2) confirmation by the Commission that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently Parent Carriers of Amadeus; and (3) affirmation that the status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as Parent Carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change. The Referendum follows.
EU CRS CUSTOMER REFERENDUM
WHEREAS, airline ownership of Computer Reservation Systems is the raison d’etre for adopting and maintaining a CRS Code of Conduct; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned travel industry associations have firmly committed themselves to achieving reasonable reform of the existing EC CRS Code of Conduct, while maintaining in force those core protections that effectively protect consumers from abusive conduct that has historically and inevitably resulted from even small levels of airline ownership of CRSs; and
WHEREAS, serious and ongoing concerns remain that the European Commission is improperly and unilaterally undermining airline “ownership” as an independent means of conferring “parent carrier” status under the Code; and
WHEREAS, the European Commission’s reinterpretation of “parent carrier” criteria would dramatically break with long-settled precedent, contravene industry expectations and ignore the plain language of the Code without properly submitting the change to industry participants for consultation; and
WHEREAS, CRS airline ownership continues to present a real world problem the Code must address in that Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS, continues be over 46% owned by Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa -- major European airlines that have both the means and the incentive to abuse this ownership position in both the aviation and the distribution markets in the absence of core protections;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
1.The revised Code of Conduct shall contain a recital that shall unambiguously state, “Whereas, air carriers which own or effectively control a CRS system, alone or jointly, can derive unfair advantages in the marketplace from such a position.” The revised Code of Conduct shall include a definition of “parent carrier” that will include an airline ownership threshold of five percent (5%) of the equity, held directly or indirectly, in a CRS company; and
2. The European Commission shall confirm in writing that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently “parent carriers” of Amadeus under the CRS Code of Conduct; and
3. The status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as parent carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change; in addition, such consultation shall consider all inappropriate influencing factors throughout the distribution chain; and
4.The European Commission in any revised Code of Conduct shall retain the following core protections: mandatory participation and the bans against commission tying, display bias, and functionality discrimination; and
5. All rules other than the core protections shall be eliminated from the revised CRS Code of Conduct; however, the prerequisite for this elimination are the Commission’s enactment of Resolutions 1, 2, 3 and 4 above.
We the undersigned commit ourselves to this Referendum and urge the European Commission to enact them and thereby seize this historic opportunity to achieve Better Regulation in travel distribution.
International Airline Passengers’ Association - http://www.iapa.com/index.cfm/travel/home.welcomeAdvantage Focus Partnership - http://www.sunwaystravel.co.uk/focus-partnership.aspBelgium Association of Travel Management - http://www.batm.be/Business Travel Coalition - http://businesstravelcoalition.com/Finnish Business Travel Association - http://www.fbta.net/Institute of Travel Management - http://www.itm.org.uk/Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association - http://www.spaa.org/Travel Management Alliance - http://www.tmallc.com/new/
CONTACT: Kevin Mitchell 610.341.1850 editor@btcnewswire.com
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list:
Travel Industry News
using the following email:
timothyo@t2impact.com
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/News/
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/News
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:
mailto:info@btcnewswire.com
The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:
Business Travel Coalition214 Grouse LaneRadnor, PA 19087
PRESS STATEMENT
Travel Groups Transmit Results of Customer Referendum on Reservation System Rules
Consumer choice in air and rail travel at risk
Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2007--Europe’s business travel industry today transmitted the results of a Customer Referendum to European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot concerning revisions to the “Code of Conduct,” rules that govern the computerized reservations system (CRS) industry in Europe. The Referendum is signed by International Airline Passengers’ Association, Advantage Focus Partnership, Belgium Association of Travel Management, Business Travel Coalition, Finnish Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel Management, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association and Travel Management Alliance. These organizations represent thousands of corporations and millions of customers of the air and rail transportation system in Europe.
The Code has protected consumers against well-documented, anti-competitive behavior in the airline and travel distribution marketplaces when airlines own even a small percentage of a CRS. The Code currently applies to airlines that are considered “Parent Carriers” by virtue of either an ownership stake in or effective control of a CRS. History has proven that even a small percentage of airline ownership in a CRS provides an irresistible economic incentive for abuse. These abuses include privileging the “family-owned” CRS with exclusive and timely-loaded airfare content, practices that eliminate healthy CRS competition and solidify dangerous airline-owner dominance. Airline ownership of CRSs provides further incentives to undermine comparison shopping between air and rail travel options. Without applicable rules, consumers throughout Europe would be denied access to all choices and end up paying higher prices for travel .
As evidenced by numerous Commission communications, and its indifference to the repeated urging of a vast assemblage of concerned industry stakeholders for timely clarification, the Commission appears intent on redefining what constitutes a Parent Carrier and rendering the ownership test obsolete. This market-distorting development would turn the regulatory clock back 20 years before the Code was in effect and unsuspecting consumers paid supra premium prices for air travel, when for example, airfare offerings were manipulated by CRS owning airlines to hide competitors’ lower prices. Scores of millions of European consumers and hundreds of thousands of small and medium size enterprises who use smaller travel agencies are particularly vulnerable. (See analysis at http://tinyurl.com/2jaewc)
The Customer Referendum, first introduced during a Customer Hearing in Brussels on 20 September 2007, resulted in a call for (1) a threshold of a 5% ownership stake by an airline in a CRS for the purpose of establishing the status of Parent Carrier; (2) confirmation by the Commission that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently Parent Carriers of Amadeus; and (3) affirmation that the status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as Parent Carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change. The Referendum follows.
EU CRS CUSTOMER REFERENDUM
WHEREAS, airline ownership of Computer Reservation Systems is the raison d’etre for adopting and maintaining a CRS Code of Conduct; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned travel industry associations have firmly committed themselves to achieving reasonable reform of the existing EC CRS Code of Conduct, while maintaining in force those core protections that effectively protect consumers from abusive conduct that has historically and inevitably resulted from even small levels of airline ownership of CRSs; and
WHEREAS, serious and ongoing concerns remain that the European Commission is improperly and unilaterally undermining airline “ownership” as an independent means of conferring “parent carrier” status under the Code; and
WHEREAS, the European Commission’s reinterpretation of “parent carrier” criteria would dramatically break with long-settled precedent, contravene industry expectations and ignore the plain language of the Code without properly submitting the change to industry participants for consultation; and
WHEREAS, CRS airline ownership continues to present a real world problem the Code must address in that Amadeus, Europe’s largest CRS, continues be over 46% owned by Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa -- major European airlines that have both the means and the incentive to abuse this ownership position in both the aviation and the distribution markets in the absence of core protections;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
1.The revised Code of Conduct shall contain a recital that shall unambiguously state, “Whereas, air carriers which own or effectively control a CRS system, alone or jointly, can derive unfair advantages in the marketplace from such a position.” The revised Code of Conduct shall include a definition of “parent carrier” that will include an airline ownership threshold of five percent (5%) of the equity, held directly or indirectly, in a CRS company; and
2. The European Commission shall confirm in writing that Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa are presently “parent carriers” of Amadeus under the CRS Code of Conduct; and
3. The status of Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa as parent carriers of Amadeus shall be subjected to written and oral industry consultation prior to any proposed change; in addition, such consultation shall consider all inappropriate influencing factors throughout the distribution chain; and
4.The European Commission in any revised Code of Conduct shall retain the following core protections: mandatory participation and the bans against commission tying, display bias, and functionality discrimination; and
5. All rules other than the core protections shall be eliminated from the revised CRS Code of Conduct; however, the prerequisite for this elimination are the Commission’s enactment of Resolutions 1, 2, 3 and 4 above.
We the undersigned commit ourselves to this Referendum and urge the European Commission to enact them and thereby seize this historic opportunity to achieve Better Regulation in travel distribution.
International Airline Passengers’ Association - http://www.iapa.com/index.cfm/travel/home.welcomeAdvantage Focus Partnership - http://www.sunwaystravel.co.uk/focus-partnership.aspBelgium Association of Travel Management - http://www.batm.be/Business Travel Coalition - http://businesstravelcoalition.com/Finnish Business Travel Association - http://www.fbta.net/Institute of Travel Management - http://www.itm.org.uk/Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association - http://www.spaa.org/Travel Management Alliance - http://www.tmallc.com/new/
CONTACT: Kevin Mitchell 610.341.1850 editor@btcnewswire.com
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list:
Travel Industry News
using the following email:
timothyo@t2impact.com
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/News/
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
http://btcnewswire.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/News
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:
mailto:info@btcnewswire.com
The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:
Business Travel Coalition214 Grouse LaneRadnor, PA 19087
11 November 2007
Diller's Empire starts to unravel, Marriage to Malone on the rocks?
In a story initially put out by the WSJ and then syndicated and picked up by such papers as the Seattle Times - titled:
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Barry Diller and John Malone made a fortune
together. Now they may be headed for a split
There has been quite a lot of speculation about how the House that Diller built has lost much of its luster. Now it could be that Barry and John are going to split. John wants out and the two could be said to be negotiating a split.
Stay tuned but the likely outcome is a lot more pruning of the tree and someone's ego is going to get bruised.
Even as Expedia powers ahead with good results - the yield declines are not making the stock rise much despite the massive buy backs. True it is up nearly 100% on the full 12 months. We shall see....
together. Now they may be headed for a split
There has been quite a lot of speculation about how the House that Diller built has lost much of its luster. Now it could be that Barry and John are going to split. John wants out and the two could be said to be negotiating a split.
Stay tuned but the likely outcome is a lot more pruning of the tree and someone's ego is going to get bruised.
Even as Expedia powers ahead with good results - the yield declines are not making the stock rise much despite the massive buy backs. True it is up nearly 100% on the full 12 months. We shall see....
Libgo sells itself cheaply. $149 million to Flight Centre
One the largest and most venerable of US Travel institutions has been sold to the Australian mega chain - FlightCentre. First reported at Travel Weekly AU.
Itself a subject of a protracted ownership battle, TW - OZ is reporting that FlightCentre has been able to pick up both Liberty Travel (122 offices primarily in the NE USA) plus the Gogo Tours operation (22 centers around the USA) fr a very low $149 million.
This acquistion vaults FC into the top tier of US operations and the combined organization comes in at Number 10 of the largest US Travel outlets.
Itself a subject of a protracted ownership battle, TW - OZ is reporting that FlightCentre has been able to pick up both Liberty Travel (122 offices primarily in the NE USA) plus the Gogo Tours operation (22 centers around the USA) fr a very low $149 million.
This acquistion vaults FC into the top tier of US operations and the combined organization comes in at Number 10 of the largest US Travel outlets.
CanadaeConnect Conference YVR Nov 7-9
I have just returned from this excellent conference. I moderated a panel on Evolution vs Revolution. For the first time in many years, I was able to catch up directly with what is going on in the great white north. I can assure you that innovation is alive and well up there. http://www.canadaeconnect.com/
A couple of brief highlights:
Canada really does have a good handle on the Public Private Partnership model in Tourism. The Team at Tourism Canada are pushing the envelope in getting the whole market involved. Check out http://www.canada.travel/
Canada is still lagging behind the US market in adoption of online but they are tracking nicely and this is not a bad thing.
The USA could take a large leaf out of the Canada Tourism playbook. Even the "joining of forces" of TIA and TBR is not going to be enough to pull this together. As Canada has shown a strong combination of direct Government funding, focused and sane visitor policies, industry participation and standards is a must not a goal.
A strong currency does not help your tourism quotient. The rise of the Looney is going to hurt the travelers from south of the border. Increased security restraints - mostly on the US side make travel (particularly by Road) a less than positive experience.
Jens and his team over at Tourism Canada should be very proud of their work in putting on one of the best shows in Travel and Tourism in a long time. Great Content, well manage show and 300 very engaged attendees made it work well. If you get the chance to go next year - I recommend it highly.
A couple of brief highlights:
Canada really does have a good handle on the Public Private Partnership model in Tourism. The Team at Tourism Canada are pushing the envelope in getting the whole market involved. Check out http://www.canada.travel/
Canada is still lagging behind the US market in adoption of online but they are tracking nicely and this is not a bad thing.
The USA could take a large leaf out of the Canada Tourism playbook. Even the "joining of forces" of TIA and TBR is not going to be enough to pull this together. As Canada has shown a strong combination of direct Government funding, focused and sane visitor policies, industry participation and standards is a must not a goal.
A strong currency does not help your tourism quotient. The rise of the Looney is going to hurt the travelers from south of the border. Increased security restraints - mostly on the US side make travel (particularly by Road) a less than positive experience.
Jens and his team over at Tourism Canada should be very proud of their work in putting on one of the best shows in Travel and Tourism in a long time. Great Content, well manage show and 300 very engaged attendees made it work well. If you get the chance to go next year - I recommend it highly.
09 November 2007
Southwest goes all corporate
"Exciting Changes at Southwest Airlines!" screams the headline of the WN Email blast to some its customers this week announcing some new corporate initiatives. Still fumbling for a new strategy Southwest continues to push towards the corporate market. (Now being copied by Easyjet).
The highlights from the WN mail are as follows:
Enhanced Boarding – Now when you check in you’ll be assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a position within that group (ex: A32) so there’s no need to wait in line. Simply board the plane when your group is called and find your favorite seat.
The Rapid Rewards A-List – Just fly 16 roundtrips in 12 months and we’ll put you on our A-List where we’ll reserve you the best boarding pass available on all your flights for an entire year, which means you’ll most likely get an A boarding pass.Log into your MySouthwest® account on southwest.com tomorrow to see how close you are to making it on the A-List. Members who qualify for the A-List as of November 8, 2007, will be receiving notification either by postal mail or e-mail within 3 to 5 days.
Freedom Awards – You can now convert two Standard Awards into one Freedom Award. With the exception of a few blackout dates, Freedom Awards are not subject to seat restrictions on Southwest Airlines flights, so if a seat’s available, it’s yours!
Business Select – When you purchase this new fare, you can guarantee that you’ll be among the first to board, and you’ll also get extra Rapid Rewards credit and a free drink to boot!
Simplified Fare Choices – Our fare choices are now even simpler! We’ve done the shopping for you, so it’s easy to find the perfect fare to meet all your travel needs.
Updated Gate Areas – We’re redesigning our gate areas to give you a more comfortable and productive space that will include comfy seats, power stations, a family area in which to enjoy those preflight moments!
Clearly this is the fork in the road for WN and its protege Ryanair.
Cheers
Timothy
The highlights from the WN mail are as follows:
Enhanced Boarding – Now when you check in you’ll be assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a position within that group (ex: A32) so there’s no need to wait in line. Simply board the plane when your group is called and find your favorite seat.
The Rapid Rewards A-List – Just fly 16 roundtrips in 12 months and we’ll put you on our A-List where we’ll reserve you the best boarding pass available on all your flights for an entire year, which means you’ll most likely get an A boarding pass.Log into your MySouthwest® account on southwest.com tomorrow to see how close you are to making it on the A-List. Members who qualify for the A-List as of November 8, 2007, will be receiving notification either by postal mail or e-mail within 3 to 5 days.
Freedom Awards – You can now convert two Standard Awards into one Freedom Award. With the exception of a few blackout dates, Freedom Awards are not subject to seat restrictions on Southwest Airlines flights, so if a seat’s available, it’s yours!
Business Select – When you purchase this new fare, you can guarantee that you’ll be among the first to board, and you’ll also get extra Rapid Rewards credit and a free drink to boot!
Simplified Fare Choices – Our fare choices are now even simpler! We’ve done the shopping for you, so it’s easy to find the perfect fare to meet all your travel needs.
Updated Gate Areas – We’re redesigning our gate areas to give you a more comfortable and productive space that will include comfy seats, power stations, a family area in which to enjoy those preflight moments!
Clearly this is the fork in the road for WN and its protege Ryanair.
Cheers
Timothy
UK Agencies push back on Easyjet Fees
Easyjet's decision to participate in Amadeus andGalileo is meeting resistance from the very people it is suposed to benefit - the TMCs. The fees are (well in our opinion) astronomically high. So too it would appear thinks HRG's Chief ripped the fees and said his company will just have to provide a work around for the carrier access.
So why the high fees? Well the GDSs are not willing to compromise on certain issues - such as the additional fees of pricing (e.g. Amadeus's master pricer/value pricer series products). So the fees have been loaded up to the point where it is not really attractive.
I dont think that there is going to be much take up of this - Easyjet is actually targeting the Corporations not the Agencies (as much) with this announcement. Either way there is going to be trouble and even some unpleasantness.
What do you think?
Let me know
Post comment or timothyo@t2impact.com
So why the high fees? Well the GDSs are not willing to compromise on certain issues - such as the additional fees of pricing (e.g. Amadeus's master pricer/value pricer series products). So the fees have been loaded up to the point where it is not really attractive.
I dont think that there is going to be much take up of this - Easyjet is actually targeting the Corporations not the Agencies (as much) with this announcement. Either way there is going to be trouble and even some unpleasantness.
What do you think?
Let me know
Post comment or timothyo@t2impact.com
07 November 2007
Its Official! EasyJet is not a Full Blown HVC
Throwing out the pure LCC (Low Cost Carrier) model in favor of the HVC (Hybrid Value Carrier) has been on the cards for some time for Stelios's Orange clad heros. Now they big step, they have agreed to go into the GDS - Amadeus and Galileo for sure. Given their reach these make sense. (Sorry Tex!)
Using the model developed for Norwegian Air Shuttle, the GDS will be charging out a fee for this "service" This fee will be listed in the final pricing.
Impact?
So GOOD for Easyjet - they needed to do this for the broader reach. This gives them what they want and at a model that makes sense
VERY RISKY for Amadeus and Travelport. I believe this is a short sighted decision and will ultimately result in many conventional carriers adopting the model. However so far Amadeus has proved adept at surfing over this issue. However the number of Masterpricer transactions will be a big sticking point. I would love to have listened to that conversation. I doubt that Easyjet had good advice on this subject.
SIGH OF RELIEF for the travel agents - they now have less competition but more work and more cost
NEUTRAL for corporations - not sure its a benefit though - its more paper/processing work
BAD for LCC scanning vendors. But not that bad since Ryanair is not going to follow suit.
GREAT for Ryanair.They wasted no time in crowing over this one. Read the great press release:
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=07&month=nov&story=gen-en-051107
For the other competition, expect Air Berlin however and several others (eg German Wings) to follow suit.
Using the model developed for Norwegian Air Shuttle, the GDS will be charging out a fee for this "service" This fee will be listed in the final pricing.
Impact?
So GOOD for Easyjet - they needed to do this for the broader reach. This gives them what they want and at a model that makes sense
VERY RISKY for Amadeus and Travelport. I believe this is a short sighted decision and will ultimately result in many conventional carriers adopting the model. However so far Amadeus has proved adept at surfing over this issue. However the number of Masterpricer transactions will be a big sticking point. I would love to have listened to that conversation. I doubt that Easyjet had good advice on this subject.
SIGH OF RELIEF for the travel agents - they now have less competition but more work and more cost
NEUTRAL for corporations - not sure its a benefit though - its more paper/processing work
BAD for LCC scanning vendors. But not that bad since Ryanair is not going to follow suit.
GREAT for Ryanair.They wasted no time in crowing over this one. Read the great press release:
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=07&month=nov&story=gen-en-051107
For the other competition, expect Air Berlin however and several others (eg German Wings) to follow suit.
05 November 2007
Diller splits up IAC again - Only Match, Ask and Citysearch are left
Diller has decided he needs a few pennies. So he is spinning out 4 of the remaining businesses in IAC (InterActive Corp). So far the Travel businesses (except Timeshare) are all out as Expedia. Soon to follow are:
Moneytree (Lending)
HSN - Home Shopping Network
Ticketmaster
Interval International
This will leave the rump with just 3 players - Match.com, Ask.com (Search) and Citysearch.
Many of these players are now mature enough to stand on their own and return some value to Mr Diller and crew.
Cheers
Timothy
Moneytree (Lending)
HSN - Home Shopping Network
Ticketmaster
Interval International
This will leave the rump with just 3 players - Match.com, Ask.com (Search) and Citysearch.
Many of these players are now mature enough to stand on their own and return some value to Mr Diller and crew.
Cheers
Timothy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)