Well, if you look at the calendar, you can guess that there are a few things going on at my house including readying for finals at school, Christmas in our home and a new year rounding the corner. That's nothing new...but what is going on in my head as it relates to our industry?
Interline bags - Now, some might look at this and say, "It's not a huge deal." To some, I say you might be right, but this IS impactful to travelers. Think about the guy who flies from Portland to Denver on Frontier to connect to a United flight to London. Have the airlines considered their minimum connect time in order for him to reclaim his luggage in DEN, get to the next counter, recheck his bag, get back through security and MAKE his connection to London? Probably not...
Changes made by carriers in their frequent flyer programs - Many on "my" side of the industry have taken the approach that points programs are not their concern or issue. However, the changes have made it something we need to be aware of and watching. For instance, we are already trending habits of our travelers who know that the more they pay for their ticket, the more miles they will accrue. We have seen anticipatory changes in advance purchase and one-ways travel bookings on the rise and have had to make steps to address those changes.
Disruptors - Services like Uber and AirBnB were not created to make the lives of corporate travel managers challenging. They were created to fulfill a need or answer a consumer question. While I do not condone either of these services, I think they have created a service model that travelers expect in their booking opportunity. OBT's that are not innovative or user friendly will favor in the eyes of the traveler and therefore the travel manager.
Fuel, fuel, fuel - While I am enjoying the break at the pump, I am not seeing that break in the marketplace. I get it that the airlines and car service companies are still making up for $120/barrel hikes, but I did some tests and found that the "surcharges" (no one calls them fuel surcharges anymore because that is too transparent) range from 10%-33% of the cost of an international ticket! And that was only a few markets I tested....it could certainly be higher than that but when I saw 33, I had to stop before my head popped off!
So, while I would love my head to be filled with vision of sugarplums, that's not how my head works. Next week, however, I promise a message of joy and peace to take us out of 2014 and look into 2015 with anticipation!
Interline bags - Now, some might look at this and say, "It's not a huge deal." To some, I say you might be right, but this IS impactful to travelers. Think about the guy who flies from Portland to Denver on Frontier to connect to a United flight to London. Have the airlines considered their minimum connect time in order for him to reclaim his luggage in DEN, get to the next counter, recheck his bag, get back through security and MAKE his connection to London? Probably not...
Changes made by carriers in their frequent flyer programs - Many on "my" side of the industry have taken the approach that points programs are not their concern or issue. However, the changes have made it something we need to be aware of and watching. For instance, we are already trending habits of our travelers who know that the more they pay for their ticket, the more miles they will accrue. We have seen anticipatory changes in advance purchase and one-ways travel bookings on the rise and have had to make steps to address those changes.
Disruptors - Services like Uber and AirBnB were not created to make the lives of corporate travel managers challenging. They were created to fulfill a need or answer a consumer question. While I do not condone either of these services, I think they have created a service model that travelers expect in their booking opportunity. OBT's that are not innovative or user friendly will favor in the eyes of the traveler and therefore the travel manager.
Fuel, fuel, fuel - While I am enjoying the break at the pump, I am not seeing that break in the marketplace. I get it that the airlines and car service companies are still making up for $120/barrel hikes, but I did some tests and found that the "surcharges" (no one calls them fuel surcharges anymore because that is too transparent) range from 10%-33% of the cost of an international ticket! And that was only a few markets I tested....it could certainly be higher than that but when I saw 33, I had to stop before my head popped off!
So, while I would love my head to be filled with vision of sugarplums, that's not how my head works. Next week, however, I promise a message of joy and peace to take us out of 2014 and look into 2015 with anticipation!
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