Welcome to the July 2007 issue of Travology™ Today

Setting a corporate travel policy is not a one-time event. For many companies, business tapers off during the summer months, so now might be a good time to review your current policy. Here are some recommendations:

• Make sure new hires know and understand the process
• Spending guidelines should be based on destination (for example, within the same hotel chain, costs WILL vary by location)
• Keep your eye on the total costs. For example:
  • Is a car service more cost effective than having an employee drive to the airport when you take mileage, tolls and parking into account?
  • Is the less expensive hotel that is further from the meeting site more effective when you factor in taxis or car rental, plus commuting time?
• Look at your employees’ travel patterns and compare them to the policy rules
• Survey your travelers to see what they recommend. This will help create a policy that makes sense for your company. When they provide their input, there is less excuse to go out of policy
• Distribute your policy annually, at minimum

If you need assistance updating your current travel policy, our Regional Account Mangers are available to help. Please feel free to contact them.

The New York State Senate announced it has passed legislation to provide passengers stranded on airplanes at New York airports with certain basic amenities to make their wait more tolerable. The bill also creates a new Airline Consumer Advocate Office to help airline passengers in New York report air travel service problems.

Under the legislation, all airlines at New York airports would be required to provide snacks and water, fresh air and power, and working rest rooms to passengers on any plane that has left the gate and been on the tarmac for more than three hours.

The measure would also create the Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the New York State Consumer Protection Board to provide the public with a New York State-based consumer advocate and contact person who can help to coordinate with the appropriate airline industry officials, federal agencies and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the event an incident occurs.

Specifically, the Senate's "New York State Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights" would require air carriers serving passengers in the State of New York to provide the following whenever passengers have left the gate and are delayed for more than three hours on the tarmac:

• Electric generation service to provide temporary power for fresh air and lights;
• Waste removal service to service the holding tanks for on-board restrooms; and
• Drinking water and other refreshments.

In addition, all air carriers would be required to clearly and conspicuously post consumer complaint information for air travel service problems at airline service desks and at various other areas throughout the airports.

While federal law places restrictions on what individual states can do when it comes to legislation relating to air travel, federal courts have held that the provision of "amenities" for air travelers is one area that states can legitimately address.

The bill was sent to the Assembly.

For more information, click here.

In a society where personalized service has become practically obsolete, travel agents have made an impression on consumers seeking one-on-one attention. In fact, recent articles in Smart Money, the New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer show what the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has known all along - travel agents are here to stay because they bring value to the travel equation.

Articles in these publications indicate a rise in travel agent usage, despite the projected increase in Internet bookings. In fact, research reported by these sources show many consumers are using the Internet to conduct travel related research but turning to agents to book their travel.

"Over and over again we find consumers reaching out to travel agents for personalized service and for the knowledge and resources they offer as experts," said Cheryl Hudak, CTC, ASTA president and CEO.

There is a host of compelling reasons to use a travel agent:

• Customer advocacy: If you have a problem with a particular part of your travel experience, the agent is there to act on your behalf to see that restitution is made.
• Expert guidance: Travel agents, unlike instructions on a Web page, are experts in understanding and deciphering myriad travel information and codes. It's what they've been trained to do and they do it every day.
• Professional advice: Travel agents are there to make sure you get where you want to go, when you want to go and for the best value.
• Time: Instead of checking a long list of travel Web pages, which only provide rates and fares for the companies that have contracted with them, why not go straight to the source? A travel agent has all the information at their fingertips, saving you a few hours in front of a computer screen.
• Unbiased information: Agents work for their clients, not for a travel supplier.

For more information, click here.

A new study has found that frequent business travelers waste as much as three hours or more of an average three-day trip stuck in traffic jams, lost while driving, waiting to pay tolls and trying to find a high-speed Internet connection. That time could be spent seeing customers, staying caught up on correspondence, or even getting a head start on expense reports.

More than 6,000 Avis customers who are frequent business travelers were asked to rate their level of inconvenience associated with typical business travel delays experienced after arriving at their destination as well as the amount of time spent on each.

More than half of frequent business travelers consider sitting in traffic to be very or extremely inconvenient. A GPS navigation system that offers real-time traffic alerts and provides alternate routes to steer around congestion is a benefit for the 81 percent of business travelers who report experiencing traffic delays, with an average delay of 44 minutes per trip.

Fifty-five percent of frequent business travelers spend time waiting to pay highway, bridge and tunnel tolls and report an average delay of 12 minutes; nearly one-fourth consider this delay very or extremely inconvenient. Electronic toll collection systems allow travelers to breeze through automatic toll lanes.

For more information, click here.

Eighty percent of U.S. business travelers think their company has a legal obligation to ensure their safety while traveling abroad on business, yet almost half (46%) say they have no clear travel security policy at their firm, according to an inaugural survey by Control Risks, a business risk consultancy.

While travel security is a concern for employees, U.S. companies are not as prepared as they should be. More than one-third (36%) of business travelers have little confidence that their firm would be able to give them the correct advice in the event of an emergency while abroad. In addition, 54% carry no specific contact phone number for use in a crisis abroad and 22% have no idea who to alert in case of an emergency.

"As companies continue to globalize and move into emerging markets, threats to business travelers increase," says Laura Winthrop, vice president of Control Risks’ International Support and Analysis division. "This report tells us that employees feel more exposed to potential dangers but they don't have the support necessary to ensure their safety."

The business travel climate does not look like it will improve anytime soon. 43% of the respondents predict that the world will become a more dangerous place for business travelers over the next five years. In light of this, corporations should make a move to adopt travel security policies and procedures or review their current programs for three basic components: information, tracking and 24-hour support.

For more information, click here.

Business travelers will be first to benefit when the owners of Enterprise Rent-A-Car complete their acquisition of Vanguard Car Rental, which is anticipated for August 1. Immediately after the transaction closes, the Enterprise Business Rental Program will offer its members a free Emerald Club membership at National Car Rental, entitling them to a discount on National's rates. Vanguard, based in Tulsa, operates both the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car businesses, which primarily serve the airport segment of the market.

"For the foreseeable future, Enterprise and Vanguard will continue to operate as separate subsidiaries while we take the necessary time to carefully review all aspects of this acquisition," said Andrew C. Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, whose family founded and owns the company. "However, we intend to immediately begin leveraging the combined expertise and strength of Enterprise and Vanguard to create even greater overall value for consumers and business customers alike."

In addition, Enterprise and Vanguard will jointly offer their business customers an unparalleled network of more than 7,000 rental branch offices in North America, including 230 major airports. Both Enterprise and Vanguard also offer a wide selection of fuel-efficient vehicles achieving 28 highway mpg or better. Enterprise also operates more than 3,000 gas/electric hybrid vehicles, as well as 41,000 FlexFuel cars and trucks that can burn E85 ethanol -- the world's largest FlexFuel fleet.

"Once the acquisition is completed, Enterprise and Vanguard together will represent the most comprehensive and competitive service provider the car rental industry has ever seen," said Greg Stubblefield, a 25-year Enterprise executive who will serve as president of Vanguard Car Rental in Tulsa. "The free Emerald Club offer is just the beginning."

For more information, click here.

Continental Airlines submitted its application to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide the first nonstop U.S. carrier service between New York/Newark and Shanghai. Continental will also provide through flight service between Cleveland and Shanghai…Delta Air Lines is expanding its application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate the first and only nonstop flights between Atlanta and both Beijing and Shanghai…Eos Airlines announced the opening of Club 48, its new gate-side departure lounge at London Stansted Airport. Club 48 enhances Eos’ trademark “uncrowded,” stress-free travel experience, offering a relaxing, contemporary, amenity-filled environment…Northwest Airlines filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for new rights to operate Detroit and Shanghai as well as Detroit and Beijing nonstop service…Qatar Airways has launched their five star service with flights between Doha (Qatar’s capital) and Newark, NJ as well as Washington DC’s Dulles airport…Fine dining reaches new heights with the arrival of Chef Charlie Trotter's appetizers and entrées for United First® and United Business® class customers…United has also submitted its application for service between Shanghai and Los Angeles…Now, for a limited time, US Airways Dividend Miles is offering two new promotions. With US Airways' Trial Preferred Program, for a fee, members will get priority check-in and boarding, unlimited upgrades to First Class -- and more -- during a 90-day trial period. Dividend Miles members and non-members alike can also test out the US Airways Club. When they purchase and fly on a First Class ticket on US Airways by Aug. 31, travelers will receive a complimentary day pass (a $40 value) good at US Airways Clubs at 16 airports for the date of travel.

in May '07 increased to 77.9%, up 4.1 points vs. the running 12 month average of 73.8% and up 2.2 points from April’s 75.7%. To view the USDOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Air Travel Consumer Report, click here.

The United States Government has posted recent travel advisories and warnings for Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.