Tag Archives: Airlines

Innovation and Patents: Pros and Cons for Procurement

Posted on 01/20/2011 by

Are patents good or bad for the end consumer?  OK, that’s pretty broad…how about this specific example concerning Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines: Virgin recently filed this patent infringement case against Delta over Delta’s use of a herringbone-style seating … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Innovation, Travel Procurement, Travel Suppliers | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Air Sourcing Academy a Big Hit

Posted on 01/11/2011 by

The first-ever one-day workshop on airline sourcing was a big success!  About 70 delegates worked their way through the key success factors for sourcing this important spend category. NBTA‘s post-event survey measured two key factors: The change in the level … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Education, Travel Procurement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why Ancillary Revenues Don’t Much Matter

Posted on 06/16/2010 by

Let’s cut to the nub of this issue.  No one will  ever know for sure if ancillary revenues make airlines more profitable.  There are just too many moving parts in an airline’s  revenue stream.  Sure, airlines may report an extra … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Distribution | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Top Reads from 1st Quarter 2010

Posted on 04/06/2010 by

Last quarter’s most popular topics covered travel ROI, savings, metrics and reverse auctions: ROI on Travel and Meetings – Why Bother? – challenges the feasibility of placing ROI metrics on trips; says there is a “good enough” alternative.  It’s called … Continue reading →

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Job and Flight Roulette, Courtesy of D.O.T.

Posted on 03/22/2010 by

If Jeff Smisek, Continental Airline’s CEO, was a gambler, he probably wouldn’t play roulette.  Why not?  The odds are stacked too far in favor of the house. Mr. Smisek’s risk tolerances came to light at an investors’ conference earlier this … Continue reading →

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Three Myths About Sourcing Airlines – Part 2

Posted on 12/11/2009 by

(See Part 1 in this series here) Why Buying in Bulk Doesn’t Work Bulk buying (a.k.a. pre-paying) makes sense for many commodities, but not airfares.  Why? Because it’s complex and expensive. It’s Complex Let’s say you want to bulk-buy $1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Travel Procurement | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Three Myths About Sourcing Airlines – Part 1

Posted on 12/09/2009 by

Given that air travel is typically a large spend item for most companies, it makes sense for procurement folks to attack it with extra energy and creativity.  Here are three ideas that often come up: Consolidate air spend across a … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Travel Procurement | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Baking and Data Reporting

Posted on 11/12/2009 by

What the heck does baking have to do with travel data reporting, you ask? It makes for an interesting metaphor.  I used this concept in the speech I gave at the ACTE Canada conference this week in Toronto.  I’ll admit … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Education, Travel Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Top 5 Posts – Last 40 Days

Posted on 11/04/2009 by

Here are the five most popular posts on this blog from the last 40 days: Trippy – Tomorrow’s Biz Trip Planning Tool? (Trippy is a mash-up of Google Wave, Google Maps and Lonely Planet content) Travel 101 (a 4-minute video … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Distribution, Education, Innovation, Most Popular Posts, Travel Management, Travel Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Future Innovations in Airline Distribution” Condensed

Posted on 10/29/2009 by

Here are the highlights from my recent presentation at CASMA titled  “Future Innovations in Airline Distribution”.   The original deck has about 50 slides, but because it was designed for a live 60-minute speech, it’s hard to get the meaning of many … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Distribution, Innovation, Travel Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments