So, what does happen when two or more airlines decide to consolidate or agree to a merger? The consolidation/merger will go through several steps that will ultimately lead to one operation. Below is a brief summary of some of the steps they will need to partake in:
For the consumer or traveler:
Once the airlines have consolidated the consumers, businesses and travel management systems feel the effects that can sometimes be good but also bad at the airport and in the market. With less competition in most major markets the merger can reduce the amount of schedules offered and no longer at the lower fares. Passengers that were loyal to their particular airlines may start to look elsewhere for cheaper flights and to those who offer more departures on additional days and times, all depending on what other airlines are offering at the time.
Consolidation can cause the merged airline’s routes to overlap and for certain cities with major hubs this causes a loss in service for one or the other airlines therefore creating fewer flight schedules. This eventually can cut into the offered non-stop flights that were previously offered and reduce the benefits that were previously given to a traveler who frequents those routes.
Often the high ranking companies that provide on-time service can be hindered by their partnered airline(s) if they do not meet the same requirements or performance. It doesn’t appear to improve customer service when airlines try to become more efficient for their own gains. After a merger has been completed the special features that once drew a consumer to their airline to begin with has been dropped from the new integrated package of services offered. In order for the airlines to co-exist they still offer special services but without the frills and generally at a higher rate now that they are no longer competing with each other for the business.
Reduction in the flight schedules also opens up another problem. If you reduce the availability of different times and multiple days of departures are you not opening this up to your existing competitors to jump on the opportunity to take over with offering more flights themselves gaining popularity with the public? Yes, this may result in gradually lowering fares but at what cost to the traveler. Can the consolidation of airlines between large low-cost and low-fare carriers partner with others and still bring balance and protection to the consumer?
And what about our fellow Federal and Business travelers, will the companies be able to or want to maintain or provide their services through the GDS (Global Distribution System) and SABRE systems that most managed travel programs use? A lot of independent airlines have been finding ways of going out on their own and avoiding the participation in the systems so that they don’t have to participate.
Several questions come to mind when we think of how and what our future travel needs will be. Can a consolidation or merger change those needs? Technology has played a big part in business travel by reducing some of the need to travel for meetings, training and conferences, all with the help of the innovation into Video and conference calling and the WebEx capabilities offered to just about all businesses. Economic hardships for the industry and consumer have had an even harder impact on how people choose to travel. Add to this the concern for safety from airplane maintenance to the fear terrorists.
To me the positive side of this is that you have two or more airlines that are trying to work together to make a good thing happen by giving a company a second chance.
By: Debbie Hardman
“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Bureau of the Government or my Agency.”
]]>It is the responsibility of each traveler to communicate directly with a service provider to establish his/her frequent travel promotional benefits account. Any associated costs are to be paid by the traveler, and are not a reimbursable expense. Frequent Flyer Miles can be redeemed for free personal trips or upgrades to business or first class accommodations. Mileage and points can be redeemed for other goods and services with certain vendors.
The FTR requires government employees to generally travel by coach class accommodations, however, the traveler can upgrade their class of service at their own expense or if they have earned the FFM they can use the frequent traveler benefits to upgrade to premium service. Government agencies will not pay for any upgrades unless an FTR exception is met.
By: Deva Wilson
“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”
]]>I also have Regional Administrators in each of my Regional offices who assist me with these duties now that that we have implemented fully. It is easier for them to take care of their own regional people.
We have worked hard as a team in training our travelers, travel planners, reviewers, and approving officials on the E-Travel system. We have utilized hands-on, classroom, online, and WebEx training. We created handouts with quick tips for our employees to use. We also send out frequent e-mail messages with helpful hints to our employees.
I personally believe the greatest benefit of the transition to the E-Travel System has been the forced compliance to the Federal Travel Regulations. This has been a real issue for many of our travelers. They don’t understand why they can’t take this flight that they have always taken, or why they can’t just rent any car. The forced compliance or having to justify why they are going out of policy has cause some real issues with a lot of our travelers. We have seen some justifications that we have had to go back and train both train both traveler and approving official on. “Because I wanted to” is not a valid justification, nor is “This system sucks”, nor is “Not applicable to this agency”.
All in all, some of our worst critics initially have become the biggest fans of the E-Travel system now that they have learned how to use it.
By: Shirley Keller
“The comments made here are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of either my agency or the government.”
]]>As E-travel came on line, some of the most vocal complaints that we heard from the program offices and individual travelers involved the sudden “appearance” of fees for booking online or going through an agent. The fee schedule was confusing and could be complex. Many claimed that they had never had to pay the fees before (they had, but often they were considered part of the ticket price), and there were a lot of complaints about having to pay fees if the traveler was “doing all the work” to book the travel on line. A good part of the initial outreach involved educating people about the fees, and how to budget for the fees when planning travel. Our government travel staff provided a working estimate for a “typical” online and agent-assisted ticket, and that helped programs simplify their budgeting which also reduced their anxiety about having enough funds on hand on the authorization. Over the last three or four years travelers have become much less sensitive to changes in the ticket fees.
Today, we have seen the price sensitivity shift from the really minor cost of ticketing fees to more requests for waivers from having to use the city-pairs contract tickets. This becomes a major issue particularly during the first quarter of the fiscal year and the very end of the fourth quarter when funds are in short supply. Congress’s perpetual inability to pass a budget in a timely manner exacerbates the problem because continuing resolutions only provide a portion of an agency’s budget with a 10% reduction from the prior fiscal year. When a researcher has travel scheduled several months in advance timed to attend a conference or do field research, it is not feasible to simply delay the trip. This larger price sensitivity is also a long-term issue for GSA’s City-Pair program that will have to be addressed in future City-Pair negotiations if the program is to continue to be viable. The paying programs and their travelers have become much more sophisticated in their use of the e-travel systems, both government and private, and they are expecting more from the government programs as well.
by Julie Speers
]]>I started my government career ten years ago. There have been quite a few changes in those ten years. Change was happening when I started. At that time, my agency was converting to a new accounting system. There were a lot of growing pains during the conversion. However, I’m sure there is not one person who would want to use that antiquated system now. The accounting system that we converted to at that time was more user-friendly and had better reporting capability.
We are now in the process of converting our customers to an upgraded version of that accounting system! Once again, we are experiencing the growing pains that go along with conversions. However I am sure once we get used to the new version, we will not want to go back. We are learning new things about the accounting system every day. Our customers will benefit from this change too. We have been able to assign certain fields with important data, therefore making the reporting even better than what we were providing.
Not only are we changing accounting systems, but we will soon be converting to a new E-Gov Travel Service (ETS) system. It is hard to believe it has been eight years since we started using one of the mandated systems and that the current contract will be expiring next November. There were quite a few growing pains for our customers when they converted to the ETS system. Some agencies were using an in-house automated system, some were using a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) system, and others were still using paper! Needless to say, the conversions were not easy for us or for the document preparers and travelers.
We provided hands-on training, help desk support, written guidance and many other forms of support to the agencies. I am sure this time will be no different. Who knows what other ways we will come up with in order to get the customers adjusted to the new system. We are always trying to come up with different ways to communicate policies and procedures and to educate our travelers.
The new E-Gov contract will be in effect for 15 years. I am really anxious to see what the new ETS2 provider has to offer. My agency assisted our current ETS provider with many improvements to their system. We participated in user group meetings, questionnaires, and submitted requests for enhancements. I hope that the new system will be as good as what we have now, if not better. Therefore, I have high expectations for the new provider! We need and must stay up-to-date on the latest forms of technology, while providing easy and fast service to the government travelers. Our travelers are working under the motto, “do more with less”. Therefore, the systems that we use must be able to be accessed just about anywhere and must also be easy to use. I vision a system that can be accessed via a traveler’s cell phone from anywhere in the world. Maybe the system can be voice activated. For instance, maybe the new IPhones can be connected with the ETS2 system. It would be a convenient feature if a traveler could speak into their phone and book their reservations.
There are many changes happening in the government travel world. There is no time for boredom! It seems like the minute we get used to something, it is time for change. I am sure the new ETS2 system is not the only thing that will be changing. With the mergers of airlines, there could possibly be a change to the airline City Pair Program (CPP). We have already been notified that there is one change that is happening, which is actually no change! Most of the per diem rates for lodging and meals and incidentals (M&IE) will not be increasing this coming fiscal year. This is a first for many years. This was General Services Administration (GSA) way of cutting travel costs for FY 13.
BY PAM MORTON
“The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.”
]]>Before the advent of the government travel credit card most Temporary Duty (TDY) travel was limited to a small cadre of individuals. Service members often could not afford the added expense of traveling without an advance payment. Travel advances created a series of challenges that were difficult to overcome: the major challenge of travel advances was that the system was labor intensive, it often resulted in more overpayments, and it was less secure for service members to travel with cash.
The lengthy travel advance process began with the service member completing a DD Form 1610, Request and Authorization for TDY Travel of DOD Personnel. The disbursing clerks were required to verify the requested dollar amount in order to ensure that it was in accordance with the Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) and the Marine Corps Travel Instruction Manual (MCTIM) prior to processing the advance for payment. After the voucher was approved by the auditor for payment, the disbursing clerk created a DD Form 1351-6, Multiple Payments List. The member was then paid via cash or check depending on where s/he was located. The government travel credit card eliminated the tenuous advance process; service members were able to receive funds for travel with the credit card. The new system reduced the number of indebtedness due to overpayment from advances. It also improved the security and safety of the service member, and reduced the disbursing work load required for advance payments.
The second major evolution for the Department of Defense was the elimination of the paper vouchers, and the conversion to the computerized DTS. With the old system, the paperwork was completed by the service member, turned in to the administration office, and hand carried to the disbursing office where it would be logged in to an internal tracking system. The travel voucher package included an Original DD Form 1351-2, the original DD Form 1610 (travel order), airline itinerary and final stub, lodging receipts and one copy of all other receipts for expenses greater than $75.00. Completed packages were difficult to obtain, and often a series of problems developed in the movement from service member to auditor.
If the travel voucher package was not logged into the disbursing system the service member would have no means of tracking the travel voucher package. Assuming the travel voucher package was logged into the internal tracking system properly, the next hurdle was ensuring the entire package made it to the disbursing clerk’s desk, was computed properly, and then sent to the auditor intact. If the entire process did occur, and the service member did not claim expenses that were not in accordance with the JFTR or the Joint Federal Regulation (JTR), then the claim was complete and the service member would be paid.
With the advent of the Defense Travel System (DTS), the service member is able to track his/her voucher from beginning to end on his/her office computer. All receipts are loaded into the system electronically, and are maintained for six years and three months. Lost or misplaced items are no longer an issue. When a member completes a voucher, DTS cross checks it against the Joint Federal Travel System for compliance, and problems with claims that are not in compliance with regulations are also eliminated.
It is not necessary to have lived through the previous stages of government travel to understand the current system, but it does help to have an understanding of the history of travel to better deal with the challenges of the future implementation of government credit cards and DTS. As Fredrick Allen said, “Only fools who do not heed the lessons of History, are doomed to repeat it!” Travel professionals need to be aware of where we have come from in order to better facilitate the future. Understanding the obstacles of the old system may circumvent challenges in the new one.
By G.W. McCurtis
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Airlines developed Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) to help them manage their bookings and yields. These systems developed later into powerful Global Distribution Systems (GDS) with 3 major GDS’s around; AMADEUS (based on the old System One), SABRE (based on American Airlines system), TRAVEL PORT (includes Galileo {based on United Airlines Apollo} and recently added Worldspan {based on Delta Air Lines System}. These GDS’s are under the DOT supervision in order to prevent biased toward one carrier over another.
Through these powerful GDS’s systems, reservations progressed, not only booking a flight and making a ticket (lately tickets became electronic) was possible but in addition you can book a particular seat on the plane, book a special meal, a wheelchair for people with special needs, book a hotel room and Rent a Car. In one action you could do all the above and serve your customer well.
The Government removed the prohibition on using travel agents to procure travel services in 1984 and started using Lodged Credit cards to pay for their purchases to alleviate the burden on travel agents who usually pay the ARC every week since the airlines now will have to charge the credit card for the value of tickets instead of agents.
Two other programs followed; in 1986 SDDC was tasked to handle the Rent a Car issues like discounted rates, unlimited mileage & CDW. Responsibility for the rent a car agreement has been assigned to Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO). The 2nd program also followed with regulations for the hotel industry by issuing the “Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990”.
In conclusion we can say that the government has succeeded in revamping the government travel to its advantage by using all of the above mentioned programs and facilities.
By Metri Altwal
]]>By the late 1970s airlines were installing CRS’ in travel agencies throughout North America. For almost two decades, approximately 80 percent of the CRS’ in travel agencies came from two CRS companies—Sabre which was owned an operated by American Airlines, and Apollo by United Airlines. Travel agencies leased the CRS’, including the hardware, from the airline. The system looked much like a personal computer does today, but it was different in an important way. It was a dumb terminal: meaning it could exchange information with the airline’s central computer, but it could not do any processing of its own. Reservations on hundreds of major airlines throughout the world could be made on any of these systems.
The 1990s brought many changes to CRS’, partly because of the spreading use of the personal computers and the Internet. The systems themselves are now usually called global distribution systems (GDS) and most systems are owned and run by companies independent of the airlines. Other changes in GDS’ are more obvious to users. Dumb terminals are a thing of the past; on today’s GDS’, users can run a host of programs to perform tasks such as word processing, accounting, and database management. Both command interfaces and graphical interfaces are available. And GDS’ offer a wealth of information on all travel products, not just air travel.
The companies that run GDS’ are sometimes called hosts or vendors. They obtain revenue from suppliers that pay to have their services included in the system as well as from travel agencies that subscribe to the system.
Many suppliers such as Southwest, Airtran, and Jet Blue have their own computerized reservation systems but still participate in a GDS. They have the choice of various levels of participation, for various costs. For example, an airline might have its schedule displayed on the GDS, but not information about the availability of seats on its flights–this is the least expensive level of participation. More expensive levels of participation may indicate the availability of seats on a particular flight or allow the reservations to be made through the GDS. At the most expensive level of participation, there is a direct link between the supplier’s computer system and the GDS allowing the user to receive up to the minute reservation information.
Airline, hotel, and rental car participation in a GDS paved the way for today’s E Gov Travel Systems. Our E Gov Travel vendor provides a one-stop shop that allows our government travelers to process their travel documents, book their reservations and claim reimbursement once their trip is complete all using the same system. This progressive evolution came from the government and the travel industry working together to forge relationships that modernized government travel.
by Carole Byrd
Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency. Use of this equipment is consistent with the agency’s policy governing limited personal use.
]]>How will the government have the latest changes on travel trips, since many changes occur hourly and/or daily? This is another issue that should be resolved or be more of an importance to the government.
Other reporting techniques from credit card companies are contributing to make this process smoother, by reporting hotel bookings are payments. However, there should be more focus on this matter.
The travel should not have the burden of searching for other hotel properties when arriving to their “booked hotel site.” If the particular site is booked then this is the responsibility of the government’s assigned department. This is an inconvenience to the traveler and in my opinion; the traveler is not being protected. The traveler then has to search for another available property.
The per diem reports provide traveler’s hotel information. This report is an overall status of the government traveler’s actual hotel rates and discounts offered and usage. This is a very important component report, as the government is able to capture and track its traveler’s rates and discount usage. And determine whether they are saving money. Perhaps, the government should institute a better program in the future.
The government should improve or revise the hotel report, this will help track hotel bookings – cancellations, and last minute changes.
by Ana Ferrara
]]>IATA defines the three letter airport codes, used for baggage routing and airport identification.
Travel agents responsible for government travelers have training on a continuing basis for trip planning and ticketing. The GDS provides an information base which aids in higher productivity for the travel industry.
Agents should have capability requirements such as corporate/government experience; information on past contracts; understanding of day-to-day operations; an understanding of the government TDY travel process.
As the airlines incurred additional costs of operations, the commissions to agents went from 10% to 2% and eventually phased out. To off set the loss of income, agent transaction fees were established. Fees have a complex cost model and have multi considerations and agents are expected to propose prices that are better than their best customer’s transaction fee for the same service.
The DoD uses a different approach when soliciting agents using a monthly fee for the CTO operation which includes travel service, transaction fees and ancillary services. Use of electronic travel systems must interface with ARC.
ETS vendors can select a TMC agency from the GSA schedule, using queues for the delivery and receipt of information between the two. The DTS was created to meet the multifaceted travel, payment and reporting requirements of the DoD, interfacing with over 30 financial systems requiring comprehensive security systems.
By: Brandy Webber
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