Business Travel News - February 1, 2010 - (Page Cover1)

FEBRUARY 1, 2010 BTNonline.com Richard Anderson ■ Mike Batt ■ Bryan Bedford ■ Steven Brill Philippe Bruyére ■ John Byerly ■ Richard Crum ■ Debbie Dayton Roger Dow ■ Timothy Geithner ■ Bram Gräber ■ Eric Holder Hubert Joly ■ Larry Kellner ■ Ray LaHood ■ Paul Leyh Susan Lichtenstein ■ Charlie McCreevy ■ Janet Napolitano Michael Premo ■ Steve Singh ■ Martin Sullivan ■ Paul Tilstone For more, see page 8 Frits van Paasschen ■ Terry Wellesley ONE-ON-ONE U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RAY LAHOOD PROGRAM CONSOLIDATIONS YIELD LOWER 2010 RATES, MORE PERKS DOT Targets Tarmac Tribulations The U.S. Department of Transportation on April 20 will enact rules that require U.S. airlines to allow passengers to deplane if a tarmac delay reaches three hours. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood spoke with BTN senior editor Jay Boehmer to discuss their implementation and the Obama administration’s travel priorities. BTN: What will happen procedurally before DOT’s tarmac delay rule takes effect? Ray LaHood: We’re in the comment period, where people can submit comments if Continued on page 26 Buyers Still Hold Hotel Cards BY MICHAEL B. BAKER Postmaster: Newspaper Handling/Periodicals Postaage Travel buyers are reporting success in lowering hotel rates globally and upping inclusive amenities for 2010, even in cases where they already had gone back to the table midyear for additional negotiations. In looking at rates for a group of Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s buyer clients, 2010 hotel rates globally are about 6.6 percent lower than 2009 rates, and North American hotel rates are down by more than 8 percent, said Monica Eiden, the agency’s project manager for global hotel solutions. Although many buyers face lower volumes this year, they gained savings by consolidating programs, which increased competition among hoteliers. “Hotels knew if they didn’t put their best foot forward and reduce rates like their competitors did, they would be removed from the program,” Eiden said. “It was clear that hotels wanted business, putting in value-adds like parking or access to Continued on page 4 Open Skies Breeding Antitrust-Immune Ventures BY JAY BOEHMER Antitrust-immune joint ventures have emerged as the key to international network growth as U.S. carriers face restricted access to foreign capital, legal barriers to entering some ONE-ON-ONE Gilligan Optimistic On Travel Return foreign markets and substantial costs FIRST IN A in sustaining international growth the SERIES old-fashioned way—with their own planes and people. Joint ventures proliferated across the Atlantic in the wake of the 2008 enactment of AMERICAN EXPRESS VICE CHAIRMAN ED GILLIGAN the U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement and now are taking root between the U.S. and Japan, which announced a similar agreement in December. Airline executives, aviation policymakers and antitrust experts expect the joint American Express vice chairman Ed Gilliventure model to continue to evolve and gan, who headed corporate card and travContinued on page 6 el operations for 25 years before shifting responsibilities in October, met with BTN editor-in-chief David Meyer early in January and discussed his bullish outlook on business travel. BTN: Does the “new normal” reflect permanent or cyclical business travel changes? Ed Gilligan: There’s no doubt it’s a cyclical change. The question is, how will corporate behavior evolve as a result of the lesContinued on page 24 DELTA’S RICHARD ANDERSON Building a network http://www.BTNonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - February 1, 2010

Business Travel News - February 1, 2010
Contents
Inside Track: Boeing Converts to a CTD
The 25 Most Influential Executives of 2009
Payment: GAO Doubts Interchange Regs' Effect
Card Revolution: Amex CEO Chenault Eyes Prepaid Options
Meetings Today: Pushing Value Articulation

Business Travel News - February 1, 2010