Business Travel News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 3)

NEWS Newsmakers Hood Back As BCD Americas Head, Miller Creates New Sales Role BCD Travel last week named former World Travel BTI president Danny Hood as president of the Americas, replacing John Snyder, who became global president and COO last month (BTN, Nov. 19). The company also appointed president of the East division Louise Miller to the newly created position of executive vice president of global business solutions, sales and marketing. The senior management changes become effective Jan. 7, 2008. In his new role, Hood said he will focus on customer interaction, leverage DANNY the company’s future $40 million technology investment and drive growth throughout the region with an emphasis on Latin America, as part of his efforts to carry out a three-year strategic plan set forth by new CEO Joop Drechsel and Snyder. “I am going to do a lot of listening to customers and employees,” Hood told BTN. “I call it management by flying around. That is what I am going to be doing for the first three to six months, and taking a lot of notes on what our customers and employees need.” Although Hood would not disclose precise plans for growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, he said, “There is an ample capital budget for Mike HOOD Buckman in Asia/Pacific and John and Joop have done the same for merger and acquisition activity, as well as the organic growth that Louise is going to drive in LAC.” Industry pioneer Hood returns fulltime following his retirement in January 2006, which preceded the breakup of WorldTravel BTI (BTNonline, Dec. 15, 2005). Since then, Hood has served on BCD Travel’s advisory board and worked in a consulting capacity for companies including Atlas Travel International and BCD sibling Park ’N Fly. “He was chomping at the bit to get back in the industry,” according to Snyder. “This is the perfect transition for him and it’s going to make my transition a lot easier leaving it LOUISE in the hands of someone who already knows the organization and all the players.” Hood, who reports to Snyder in the new role, led the introduction of one of the first direct-connect technologies, the launch of one of the first Web-based booking engines and the development of the first online e-fulfillment center, according to BCD Travel. Miller is tasked with leading the new 50-person global business solutions organization, which provides internal support for account management and sales through program design and strategy. “We need to transcend the traditional sales organization model,” Miller said. “We have this extra entity that will supplement sales MILLER and help enable sales in the field to design programs for multinational and global customers and provide transitional leadership.” —Seth Harris Amex To Go End To End, Bring Global Tools To Asia BY SETH HARRIS American Express Business Travel is working to bring Asia/Pacific into its global plan to provide standard processes and service through new service centers, development of profile tools and implementing a quality-ofservice scorecard measurement system now used for agents in North America and Europe. Amex also plans to develop solutions within an integrated end-toend technology service environment, and is projecting a record year in new business sales in 2008, said president of global travel services Charles Petruccelli. CONTENTS December 17, 2007 Issue 651 Vol. 24, No. 22 Inside Track JetBlue offers free onboard W-Fi access. 4 8 12 Executive mtg. 14 19 22 DRAWING BOARDS demand, rates up. Washington Wire Continental testing paperless boarding with TSA. Travel Management Kodak completes global TMC consolidation. Forum Travel Management 2.0; TMC conflicts. Meetings Today Meeting buyers’ view of airline flexibility dims. FIND DAILY NEWS UPDATES AND MORE AT WWW.BTNONLINE.COM BTN (USPS 728-870, ISSN 8750-3670) is published semi-monthly, except one time in January, November, December and three times in April by Nielsen Business Media Inc., 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, tel. 646-654-5000, and is distributed free of charge to qualified corporate travel buyers and travel agents specializing in business travel in the United States and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualified subscribers is $119 in the U.S.; $135 in Canada; $135 in Mexico and Central America; $200 in South America and Europe; and $200 in Asia, Africa and Australia; payable in advance in U.S. dollars. Registered for GST as Nielsen Business Media Inc. USA GST No. 124513185. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: DHL Global Mail 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. Business Travel News is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media Inc. Copyright © 2007 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. Editorial and advertising offices: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. For address changes (please include mailing label), single copy sales ($10 per issue including shipping and handling, prepayment required), subscription information, and other customer service inquiries, write to Business Travel News, P.O. Box 1187, Skokie, IL 60076, or call 847-647-7987 outside the U.S. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to BTN, P.O. Box 1187, Skokie, IL 60076. Printed in the USA. The company is developing Shanghai. “Every time we think new products for next year in- about a new solution, we also do cluding expense and data man- it in such a way that it can be deagement solutions to further ployed globally. For example, penetrate its “vertical value when we launched Axis (BTN, chain,” according to Petruccelli, July 23), we made sure Axis was who would not disclose defini- deployed across all markets in tive plans. the U.S., but also in Europe “We have a and Australia. We want to How To Negotiate few things that Business Travel have at least one coming out we are working And Meetings every quarter.” on at the moMeanwhile, the ment. The way See btnonline.com/handbook company last month opened a 160-seat we are doing it is that we are testing with a se- service center in India, which lected number of customers and joins an existing center in Auswe are developing and refining tralia as the next part of develit with those customers until it is oping the travel management ready to be launched in the mar- company’s service center hub ket,” Petruccelli told Business configuration in the region. In Travel News last week at the Chi- 2008, the company plans to open na Business Travel Forum in a second center in India and a 150-seat center in Singapore, said Andy Aitkenhead, vice president of client management and operations for Japan, Asia/Pacific and Australia. The establishment of the service center hubs marks the end of American Express’ initiative to Despite spending billions on provide standard service processrunway safety over the last es globally (BTN, Sept. 24). Amex also is implementing its five years, GAO found FAA’s quality of service measurement scorecard into the Asia/Pacific service centers. In the Brisbane, Australia, center, American Express applied call-monitoring technology from the card side of the business that provides screen AMEX’S CHARLES PETRUCCELLI shots of the agent’s progress through the reservation system. The monitoring system will roll out to India and Singapore in 2008. “Now we can actively watch what the consultant is doing and validate what the traveler was asking for when they Continued on page 6 ON THE RECORD lack of coordination and leadership and other issues seriously hindered progress. CORRECTION Business Travel News in its Annual Airline Survey (BTN, Nov. 19) should have reported that American Airlines edged Continental Airlines for first place by three-hundredths, not three-tenths, of a point. Monday, December 17, 2007 3 REP. JAMES OBERSTAR (D-MINN.), PAGE 8 Business Travel News www.btnonline.com http://btnonline.com/handbook http://WWW.BTNONLINE.COM http://www.btnonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - December 17, 2007

Contents
Amex to Go End to End
Hood Back at BCD
AirTran First Sabre XML Airline
Inside Track
MasterCard Upgrades Reporting, Data
Amadeus Debuts Hotel Platform
Washington Wire
Kodak Moment
Travel Management
Forum
Mtg. Buyers Give Carriers Lower Marks
Meetings Today
Drawing Boards
Black Book Contents
Airlines
Private Jets/Charter
Associations
Car Rental Companies
Conference Centers
Consultants
Lawyers
Travel Management
Travel Security
Travel Technology
Ground Transportation Companies
Education
Hotel Chains
Corporate Housing
Hotel Management Companies
Hotel Rep Firms
International Business Services
Payment Systems
Technology
Back-Office Accounting
Data Consolidation and Reporting
Hotel Program Services
Meetings Management
Miscellaneous
Reservation Systems
T&E Expense Management
Travel Management Companies
Travel Angency Networks

Business Travel News - December 17, 2007