Business Travel Management

Enterprise Rent-A-Car today announced the first phase of its plans to offer electric vehicles (EVs) at select offices throughout its neighborhood network of more than 5,000 U.S. locations. Delivery of 500 Nissan LEAFs will begin in January 2011 and will continue throughout the year. In addition to the LEAFs, the company will offer customers electric vehicles from other manufacturers as they become available. The announcement is the latest evolution of Enterprise’s ongoing commitment to embracing alternative technologies. Electric vehicles, commonly referred to as EVs, use no gasoline and do not produce greenhouse gas emissions.  The cars can be charged using a standard 110-volt home outlet, or a 220-volt or 480-volt commercial charging station. Most EVs can travel about 100 miles on a single charge, accommodating the travel habits of the daily commuter, who drives an average of approximately 40 miles a day.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), worldwide international air travel demand grew by nearly 12 percent in June with particular strength shown in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.  Traffic for international travel on North American airlines grew nearly 11 percent in June, but growth was below the average worldwide rate.  Europe lagged behind all other regions. "The industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences," IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. "Europe is recovering at half the speed of Asia with passenger growth of 7.8 percent compared to the 15.5 percent growth in Asia/Pacific."  Among the peak performers in June, Middle Eastern carriers posted international demand growth of 18 percent, while Latin American carriers saw international passenger traffic grow by nearly 15 percent.

Though the overall traffic recovery is encouraging, some experts project the pace of international passenger growth to subside. Bisignani stated, "Business confidence remains high, and there is no indication that the recovery will stall any time soon. But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and restocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months ahead."

Source: IATA

Delta Air Lines plans to add service between 21 cities and Washington, D.C. or New York this fall.  Schedule highlights include:

Washington: Increased service at Washington-Reagan National Airport, with new or increased service to nine cities beginning Oct. 31 for a total of 21 new daily nonstop flights: Hartford, CO; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, FL; Orlando; Miami; Tampa; Boston; and Indianapolis.

New York: Enhanced domestic and international service at LaGuardia and JFK airports in New York, with new or expanded service to 12 cities beginning Sept. 7: Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; Norfolk, Va.; Richmond, Va.; Kansas City, Mo.; San Antonio; Cleveland; Charlotte, N.C.; Orange County, Calif.; Baltimore; Montreal and Toronto. Routes will be operated from either LaGuardia or JFK airports. Delta also recently launched an expansion of its Delta Shuttle business product with new service between New York-LaGuardia and Chicago O'Hare.

"As we plan our schedules for the fall, we continue to be focused on connecting communities of all sizes to the nation's top business markets," said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's senior vice president – Network Planning.  "From New York to Washington to Chicago to Los Angeles, we have continued to optimize flight schedules for our business customers without adding additional aircraft."

Source: Delta Air Lines

Icelandair and Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air have joined forces to open a whole new world for west coast travelers. In cooperation with Alaska Airlines, Icelandair will provide convenient code share flights from a host of West Coast cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Spokane and Anchorage. A reciprocal frequent flier partnership, scheduled to launch this fall, will also allow Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members to earn and redeem miles on Icelandair flights between Seattle and Iceland and over 20 of Europe’s most popular destinations. Icelandair is proud to boast the shortest travel time to Scandinavia from the Pacific Northwest and offers travelers updated Boeing aircraft with personal entertainment centers, and three cabins of service including their new Economy Comfort Class.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson-headquartered Southwest Airlines recently added “mechanical difficulties” to the list of acts of God and other events for which the carrier will not be liable if travel is delayed.  The change appears among the fine print in  their contract of carriage next to events such as wars, riots, storms, earthquakes and other acts of God that are “outside of (Southwest’s) control.” It further states that Southwest has no obligation to provide compensation for “any type of special, incidental or consequential damages.”  According to Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst in New York, keeping an aircraft fleet mechanically safe "is certainly within the control of any airline." Even if Southwest sticks to its current high level of customer service, Mann said, the new contract wording sets a bad industry precedent.  Another analyst suggested other carriers may follow suit.