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Tools to get the lowest airline discounts anywhere."AIRLINE DISCOUNTS"
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"Corporate purchasing for airline discounts is using cost-cutting strategies and technology to rein in cheap flights travel costs, finds the 10th biennial American Express Survey of Business Travel Management". For instance, many companies have adopted or plan to implement corporate Web-based cheap airfares booking systems designed specially to incorporate their preferred airline tickets deals and booking policies, as well as automated expense reporting tools to cut the time and cost of processing employee expense vouchers. To better manage administrative costs in funding their airline discounts travel programs, a growing number of companies pay their agencies transaction fees for specific services, in exchange for passing through airline commissions. And, to pare average airline tickets prices with suppliers, more are now negotiating cheap airfares, many of which are net of commissions. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
"Over the past four-and-a-half years, the average airfare bought by business travelers has risen an incredible 40%, catapulting T&E to the second-largest controllable expense at companies today from its traditional third place," says Rusty Carpenter, vice president, American Express Consulting Services. "Only salaries eclipse T&E as a controllable expense these days. So, there's a new urgency out there in corporate America to rein in spiraling T&E costs, and companies are becoming more aggressive in implementing innovative strategies and technologies to help." The survey polled discount travel decision-makers at more than 400 large and midsize companies around the country on their travel-management practices. U.S. T&E spending American Express estimates that large and midsize businesses in the U.S. will spend $157.1 billion on managed T&E in 2000, up 8% from $145.4 billion in 1998. Reflecting substantial price hikes in unrestricted domestic airline discounts airfares over the past several years, air travel now makes up 45% of the average company's T&E budget, while 17% is devoted to lodging expenses. In the 1998 survey, these categories accounted for 44% and 22%, respectively. Companies now allocate more of the T&E budget to entertainment and car rentals, which account for 8% and 10%, respectively. In the car rental sector, rising fuel prices are responsible for much of the increase. In the last survey, respondents said entertainment made up 6% of budgets, while 8% went to car rentals. Meal expenditures, which made up 13% of the typical T&E budget in 1998, now account for 10% of the pie--due to consistently mild price inflation in this sector. Meanwhile, over the same period, telecommunication outlays went from 5% to 8% of budgets, reflecting higher usage of wireless phones and other telecom devices by road warriors. Miscellaneous expenses, such as taxis, tips and tolls, make up the remaining 2% of firms' T&E budgets. Use of technology rises According to the survey, 21% of respondents say their companies have implemented an online reservations airline discounts booking system. Another 44% report that their firms plan to do so within three years. "Companies are incorporating them into their cost-containment programs as recognized, proven tools--not only to cut airfares, but also to slash the administrative cost of booking" says Carpenter. The growth of online bookings and the reduction of airline tickets commissions have not substantially altered the travel agency's role: 89% of respondents say their company uses a dedicated travel agency, consistent with the 1998 and 1996 responses. What has changed is the financial relationship between companies and travel agencies. The most common arrangement today is a transaction-fee contract, which 29% of respondents report having. Another 21% have management-fee contracts, while only 12% have a rebate or commission-sharing arrangement. Under the fee-based contracts, airline discounts commissions traditionally paid to the agency are passed through to the corporate customer. Just two years ago, the order was reversed, with rebate-based contracts most popular, as transaction-fee contracts were just catching on. Negotiating airline discounts In response to rising prices for airline travel, companies are getting more aggressive in negotiating with airlines and putting teeth in discount travel policy, such as encouraging use of non-refundable airfares. According to survey results, 63% of respondents say their companies negotiate discounts with airlines. Airline discounts were much less common in 1998, when only 44% of respondents said their firms had discounts. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Of firms with negotiated cheap airfares, the largest group (28%) have discounts with more than three airlines. Another 25% have programs with two carriers, and the next largest group, 20% have deals with a single airline. Nineteen percent negotiate with three carriers. Corporate discounts generally take the form of a percentage off the lowest available coach airline tickets, but a growing number of companies with deals (26%) are negotiating a relatively new form of discount, "net fares" or fares reduced by the amount that would have been paid in agent commissions. Another rare form of discount, "flat fares" usually available only to airlines' best corporate customers in limited routes, typically shuttle routes, is mentioned by 21% of companies with negotiated airline discounts. Corporate cards continue to gain popularity among companies as a way to pay for T&E and provide service to traveling employees. Seventy-four percent say employees use corporate cards to pay for T&E. Only 28% say their firms issue cash advances to employees to pay for travel. Survey results also show that 38% of respondents currently use some kind of technology (which may include a simple spreadsheet program) to process employee vouchers, with another 28% planning to implement a system within a year. Only about one-third report that their firms are not planning to use electronic expense processing. By automating some or all elements of the expense processing cycle--which includes creation and submission by the traveler, approval and administrative processing--companies can lower costs by reducing manual steps. Overall, even among companies not using a comprehensive electronic expense processing system, many firms have automated at least some aspect of their airline discounts expense processes, according to survey results. Among other tactics, 51% say their firms are enforcing policy compliance, while 45% are mandating use of all preferred suppliers in policy..... Find major airline discounts here /cheap airfares home |