Business Travel News - December 14, 2009 - (Page Cover1)

DECEMBER 14, 2009 INSIDE Payment Cos. Join Air-Fee Tracking Effort . . . 3 IRS Cuts Mileage Reimbursement Rate. . . . . 4 Lufthansa’s Bischof Pushes Joint Deals. . . . . 6 6th Annual Expense Manager Survey . . . . . 10 European Buyers Navigate Volatile Waters. . 20 BIGGEST BIGGEST EUROPE’S BENCHMARKING SCANNING FOR EUROPEAN TOPTMC SAVINGS MARKET VIEW Security tech firm BTN/ACTE survey OSI Systems’ Dolce offers benchmarks, melds agencies. buyer perspectives. BTNonline.com Corporations Closely Inspecting Employee Travel Spending Percentage of T&E expense reports audited expense p 100% BMO Bets On Diners Revival BY MICHAEL B. BAKER 41% 50% to 99% No None 6 6% 1% to 24% 23% 24% 25% to 49% 7% Source: BTN survey of 200 expense managers For more, see page 10. Postmaster: Newspaper Handling/Periodicals Postaage BMO Financial Group’s agreement to acquire Diners Club’s North American franchise from Citigroup potentially could reinvigorate Diners Club’s waning usage among large companies while providing new options for buyers developing global travel and entertainment card programs and integrating purchasing card data. Toronto-based BMO, already a strong player in Canada and a grow- ing presence in the U.S. T&E card market, announced in late November a definitive agreement to buy the franchise operations from Citigroup for an undisclosed price. The deal immediately will more than double BMO’s corporate card business and give it exclusive Diners Club issuer rights in the United States and Canada. BMO expects to complete the final pending aspects of the deal in Continued on page 28 BMO’S TERRY WELLESLEY Tarmac Delay Triggers ONE-ON-ONE DOT Fine Precedents Air France Venture Erasing Delta Distinctions AIR FRANCE-KLM CEO PIERRE-HENRI GOURGEON BY JAY BOEHMER The U.S. Department of Transportation last month issued “precedent-setting” fines against Continental Airlines, Mesaba Airlines and ExpressJet totaling $175,000 for their involvement in an August delay that left 47 passengers stranded in an aircraft overnight on a runway in Rochester, Minn. The fines represent the first time DOT has penalized a carrier for its role in subjecting passengers to extended tarmac delays and, in the case of Mesaba, the only instance on record of an airline serving as the ground handler for another carrier being “punished for failing to properly help passengers leave an aircraft during an unreasonably long Continued on page 30 Fresh off the landing of Air France’s first Airbus A380 flight from Paris to New York late last month, Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, nearing the Jan. 1, 2010, one-year mark at the airline group’s helm, spoke with BTN senior editor Jay Boehmer about the carriers’ joint venture with Delta Air Lines, the “horrible” demand environment and why the next phase of the U.S.-EU Open Skies negotiations is of little importance to his airline. Business Travel News: Are you now sharing all costs and all revenues on transatlantic flights with Delta, as envisioned in your joint venture? Pierre-Henri Gourgeon: Yes, exactly. It’s what we do, Continued on page 24 “ Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Extended Stay Hotel Chains” 2009 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study SM www.Staybridge.com/JDPower http://www.BTNonline.com http://www.Staybridge.com/JDPower http://www.Staybridge.com/JDPower

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - December 14, 2009

Business Travel News - December 14, 2009
Contents
Payment Cos. Join Air-Fee Tracking Effort
IRS Cuts Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Inside Track
Lufthansa’s Bischof Pushes Joint Deals
Scanning for TMC Savings
Profiles In Travel Mgmt
6th Annual Expense Manager Survey
Expense Manager Survey
Forum: Signs of Optimism
European Top-Market View
Benchmarking Europe’s Biggest
European Buyers Navigate Volatile Waters
Managing Economic Crossroads
Choose Chicago For Your Next Meeting or Event

Business Travel News - December 14, 2009