Business Travel News - August 24, 2009 - (Page 22)

FORUM BTNonline.com Cap-And-Trade Policy Could Hamper The Reduction Of Airline Carbon Emissions OP-ED The nation’s airlines have made enormous strides in recent years to increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, driven by the volatile nature of energy prices as well as environmental concerns. Those efforts have resulted in a 110 percent improvement in fuel efficiency among U.S. airlines between 1978 and 2007—dramatic progress for a global industry that today produces just 2 percent of total worldwide man-made carbon emissions. At Delta Air Lines, we’ve been working to reduce pollution and be an environmentally responsible airline. We have decreased our carbon emissions and fuel burn by more than 30 percent since 2000 through fleet renewal, more efficient operating and maintenance procedures, upgraded facilities, replacement of older ground equipment, reduced water usage and expanded recycling efforts. In addition, 277,000 trees have been planted by the Conservation Fund and Nature Conservancy since 2007 thanks to the contributions of Delta, our employees and customers. And we’re already hard at work to meet the industrywide goal set by the Air Transport Association to be 30 percent more fuel-efficient by 2025. That ambitious target can be met, in part, by the realization of the DAVID MEYER Editor-in-Chief (646) 654-4431 (dmeyer@btnonline.com) CHRIS DAVIS Executive Managing Editor (646) 654-4437 (cdavis@btnonline.com) JAY BOEHMER Airline Editor (646) 654-4434 (jboehmer@btnonline.com) MICHAEL B. BAKER Hotel, Expense/Payment Editor (646) 654-4433 (mbaker@btnonline.com) SETH HARRIS Travel Management Editor (646) 654-5716 (sharris@btnonline.com) ERIC WONG Art Director (646) 654-4439 (ewong@btnonline.com) • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AMON COHEN +44 (0) 1963-351-219 We welcome your letters, comments and feedback. Please contact the editor at dmeyer@btnonline.com. For breaking news and original research, and to search articles since 1996, visit BTNonline.com. Steve Sear Vice president of global sales Delta Air Lines much-needed Next Generation air traffic modernization, which would result in a 12 percent to 15 percent improvement in aircraft fuel efficiency for the entire U.S. aviation industry. More progress will come from investments in new engines, airframes, avionics and alternative fuels, while increasing regulation of oil speculators. However, our efforts to “fly green” could be jeopardized by pending legislation that, ironically, is intended to help the environment. Delta has serious concerns about the potential impact on the airline industry of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which was recently narrowly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate is expected to take up a separate Continued on page 25 LETTER ACTE FOUNDING MEMBER CALLS FOR ASSOCIATIONS TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK John Caldwell, president of Caldwell Associates, a well-respected travel industry veteran and legal counsel, hits the nail on the head in his recent Forum article for Business Travel News (BTNonline, July 27). A new look needs to be taken at the future of the travel industry and the associations that best educate and support our companies for managing travel. Corporate managers need to make good decisions about their time away from the office and the information they can bring back from education and networking. Companies and suppliers incur significant costs, not to mention that volunteer efforts that are necessary to make associations impactful and operate in a cost-effective manner. John Caldwell points to a number of issues of expenses (high-cost speakers, parties, large support staffs, etc.) that need to be examined as being cost-justified for the bene- fit returned to the membership. Have our suppliers taken a deeper look at their annual investments in associations and made the best strategic decisions in how to partner and build their customer relationships? As an original member of the Association Of Corporate Travel Executives, I recall 20 years ago when our board discussed cost issues with the dedicated suppliers in our membership that had an equal voice. The suppliers were deeply concerned about supporting two associations’ trade shows and the high cost of doing so. ACTE made the right partnership decision to discontinue its trade show and eliminated significant cost for our suppliers and still was able to provide networking opportunities that resulted in meaningful long-term business relationships. Thanks, John. There is a better way, and I trust in the association leadership, membership and sponsors to make the most prudent business decisions in this difficult economic environment. NANCY LAZARUS Research Director • SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Tel: 847-559-7533 800-697-8859 Toll Free Fax: (847) 291-4816 Business Travel News PO Box 3601 Northbrook, IL 60065-3601 (nbtn@omeda.com) LIST RENTAL/POSTAL INFORMATION JULIUS SINGLE (845) 731-2731 E-MAIL INFORMATION WAYNE NAGROWSKI (845) 731-3854 CUSTOM REPRINTS OF 500 PIECES OR MORE: KRISTI FULKERSON, The YGS Group (800) 290-5460, ext. 144 (BTN@TheYGSgroup.com) BTN EDITORIAL & SALES OFFICES 770 Broadway New York, NY 10003-9595 Editorial Fax: (646) 654-4455 All Rights Reserved Michael E. Spooner Manager,Travel & Relocation JCPenney Plano,Texas 22 Monday, August 24, 2009 www.BTNonline.com Business Travel News http://www.BTNonline.com http://www.BTNonline.com http://www.BTNonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - August 24, 2009

Business Travel News - August 24, 2009
Contents
Inside Track
Profiles In Travel Mgmt
2009 Travel Manager Salary & Attitude Survey
Forum
Aviation
Lodging
Payment & Expense
Meetings Today
Travel Management
Travel Management Tech
EuroBTN
Destinations

Business Travel News - August 24, 2009