Meeting News - August 11, 2008 - (Page 26)

Transportation & Services Talon Air Rips Commercial CEO of corporate jet company says the future is private Farmingdale, NY-based private jet company Talon Air wants to get its hooks into the meetings market. Owner and CEO Adam Katz is encouraging corporations to view in-flight hours as prime meeting time by offering luxurious lures like in-flight massages, celebritychef catering, multiple threadcount sheets on real beds, rare and vintage wine tastings, and even in-flight gaming. “We can do anything as long as it’s safe and legal,” said Katz, meaning they can do anything a client can conceive that doesn’t fly in the face of FAA or safety regulations. And that leaves a lot of room for the imagination. “What we offer is the ability to cater to vast customer preferences,” Katz, a certified pilot, explained. Talon’s clients include Fortune 500 firms, as well as celebrities like Drive meetings continued from cover Edited by Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Cher and Pete Sampras. Along with in-flight perks, convenience and customization are two major selling points. “There is so much that can’t be controlled, like air traffic, which is only going to get worse,” said Katz, of commercial air travel. Talon’s light aircraft fly above 40,000 feet, a zone largely forbidden to heavy commercial aircraft. “We can land anywhere in the world except North Korea and Somalia—and at last-minute notice, too.” As fuel costs skyrocket and airlines go belly up (business-classonly Maxjet, Silverjet, and Eos all have gone bust), the private jet business, which relies on light aircraft, will only become more fuelefficient, said Katz. Talon is taking delivery of a new Gulfstream V jet, which can fly 15 hours without refueling. The company will use ensure attendees made the trip,” said Cindy Butts, CEO of the Maine Association of Realtors and the author of the association management blog AE on the Verge. Decisions span spectrum Butts said, “I’m finding two things related to fuel prices and the economy generally. Greater consideration for not holding meetings at all or replacing them with webinars/conference calls. But, when we do hold meetings (such as forums or industry courses), we’re holding twice as many, recognizing that the decision to participate in even free events depends on the cost to travel there—so the more locations, the greater the chance [attendees will] participate. Maine is large, so there are large distances to drive.” The crunch is having many Talon Air CEO Adam Katz touts ultra-luxe in-flight meetings to groups that have the cash but can’t afford to waste time. the advantage over its existing sixhour flights to expand its Perpetual Flight program, in which in-air meetings can be conducted. In-flight meetings may also become supersonic. “In five years, we’re going to see a Concorde-type private jet,” Katz suggested. Talon, effects on the value meetings sector. At June’s Affordable Meetings show in Long Beach, CA, planners “were willing to shop harder to find a destination that could accommodate budgets for this year and next,” said Bob Gilbert, president and CEO of show organizer Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). And “destinations and hotels were responding by offering more value dates than in years past,” he added. Remote conferencing and virtual meetings technologies are finding stronger demand as fuel costs rise. According to the latest annual FutureWatch survey by American Express and MPI of 1,643 industry buyers and suppliers, more than one in three corporate and association planners are looking for alternatives to face-to-face meetings. which owns its own aircraft rather than brokering or leasing them, will be on the waiting list. “Technology in private jets is advancing so fast that in five years we’ll burn half the gas we burn now,” he said. r —Gretchen Kelly Technology giant Accenture has installed 13 telepresence conferencing rooms at various offices and plans another 22 telepresence rooms by the end of the year, according to the New York Times. The virtual meeting technology replaced 240 international trips and 120 domestic trips in May alone, translating to potential millions in savings for the year, company executives said. “Only in the last two years has the technology gotten to the point where it really makes sense to use it,” Alan Minton, vice president for marketing at Bloomington, INbased Cornerstone Information Systems, told the New York Times, estimating that online conferencing has cut his company’s travel costs by 60 percent. r Contact Corrie Dosh at corrie.dosh@nielsen.com www.meetingnews.com 18 Canadian properties under Marriott International are offering free parking and $25 gas cards for each night’s stay. “Our attendees have a set amount for their training budgets, and from this budget, they have to pay for the meeting registration, hotel room, meals, parking, mileage, etc. So things like discounted room rates, discounted parking, etc, are direct benefits to our attendees,” said Jennifer Green, assistant vice president of the Louisiana Credit Union League and vice president of communications for the Gulf States chapter of Meeting Professionals International. “I don’t know if gas cards would make a difference for multi-day programs, but when we provided $25 gas cards for a committee meeting we believe it helped 26 MeetingNews August 11, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - August 11, 2008

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