MAY 2017 NEWSLETTER

Italian Air Traffic Strike Disrupts Flights PAGE 3

Visa Joins Amex & MasterCard in Enabling Mobile Wallets for Corporate Cards PAGE 3

British Airways Owner to Launch Low-Cost Long-Haul

PAGE 2

1 INFocus Newsletter BA Owner to Launch Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline By Tom Newcombe

The launch by ’ owner of a low-cost long-haul airline could be a key staging post in the development of the growing trend for cheaper and longer flights.

'' has been unveiled by International Group as a low-cost, long-haul carrier operating out of Barcelona from June with flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The move will put the company in direct competition with companies such as Norwegian, which has tried to carve a niche for itself in the nascent cheap long- passengers paying for things like food if “Experience has shown that customers haul flights market. they want it rather than it being bundled are willing to forego some comforts, into all ticket prices. Only 21 of the 314 amenities and niceties for cheap, safe, Level will be run by IAG’s Spanish seats have these things bundled in as a reliable travel.” carrier ’s flight and cabin crew and ‘premium economy’ seat. fares with start from €99 one-way or $149 The move comes almost a decade after compared to the lowest price for flights Loizos Heracleous, a professor of British Airways launched OpenSkies, on Norwegian from Barcelona to San strategy at Warwick Business School who which ran flights non-stop from to Francisco of €162, according to prices has researched the aviation industry, said New York but is not prominently mentioned published on its website. budget airlines had, on average, higher by the company now. growth and profitability than flag carriers. Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said Liberum transport analyst Gerald Khoo “Ryanair is a case in point, routinely Level would become IAG’s fifth main said the long-haul low-cost model was achieving the highest margins through airline brand alonside , British something that “seems to be increasingly intense efficiency, scale and aggressive Airways, Iberia and . pursued” by the airline industry. growth; while delivering an acceptable to good flyer experience,” he said. Mr Walsh added Barcelona was “just “It has taken longer [than the short the start” and that other European haul market] because the number of "It certainly makes sense from a destinations would be added. opportunities to take the cost base down corporate strategy perspective for a are not as big,” he said. company such as IAG, that already plays in all aviation sectors, to wish to expand Mr Khoo said it was likely IAG could use further in the sector that has the highest its Vueling brand as a feeder carrier for growth promise, ie the budget sector.” Level and stated he thought IAG had been able to do this in part because of Iberia’s Mr Heracleous added long-haul, low- “competitive cost base” and also because cost travel was the “next logical point of of what he called menu pricing - meaning market development for this sector”.

2 INFocus Newsletter Italian Air Traffic Strike Disrupts Flights By Tom Newcombe

Alitalia has cancelled almost 40 per Other airlines including British Airways, “Just like other airlines we are subject cent of Monday’s flights (March 20) due Easyjet and Ryanair have also confirmed to Italian air traffic regulations and expect to industrial action from Italian air traffic some flights will be cancelled and delayed delays and cancellations on the day if the controllers. due to the strike. strike is confirmed.”

The four-hour walkout will take place “We will be using larger aircraft, where The action is in protest at the Italian from 1pm – 5pm involving several air possible, to help affected customers government’s attempts to restructure the traffic unions, and will hit airports including and are doing all we can to reduce any transport sector. Fiumicino and Linate airports. disruption,” British Airways said. Flights set to operate during the peak All passengers due to travel to Italy times between 7 am to 10 am and from EasyJet warned: “The strike may affect today have been advised to check with 6 pm to 9 pm will go ahead as scheduled. flights flying to and from Italy. their airline before arriving at the airport.

Visa Joins Amex & MasterCard in Enabling Mobile Wallets for Corporate Cards By JoAnn DeLuna

Visa has enabled Android Pay, Apple capability with multiple companies across numbers and information being stolen." Pay and Samsung Pay for corporate cards, "hundreds to thousands" of cardholders. and U.S. Bank will be the first corporate American Express was the first card card issuer to enable them for clients, said Clients' requests for mobile solutions issuer and network to enable Apple Pay U.S. Bank general manager of corporate for their workforces drove the move, capability for U.S. corporate cards in and public sector bank card programs according to Rankin. Because mobile 2015. Later that year, MasterCard enabled Jeff Rankin. Once companies approve the wallets use tokenization, Rankin said the corporate card use with Android Pay, use of mobile wallets for their travelers, payment method is safer than magnetic Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. employees download the mobile wallet app stripe cards. "It's similar to using a chip of their choice and input their corporate card," he said. "It decreases the chances card details. U.S. Bank has piloted the of fraud and the chance of account

Concur Will Release Mileage Tool Powered by Motus By JoAnn DeLuna

Concur will white-label mileage to track mileage, employees input specific Concur incorporated Apple and Android's management software provider Motus' times and dates, such as Monday through best practices for battery optimization so mileage reimbursement tool as Concur Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. the tool is "on and aware just enough to Expense Smart Drive and integrate it into "Smart sensors" know when a traveler know when you started to drive or stopped Concur Mobile. The tool uses the person's is in a vehicle. If a business trip falls driving but uses no more battery life than phone GPS and approved mileage rates outside the specified period, the user also that." from around the world, including the IRS, proactively can tell the tool to track a trip, to calculate mileage reimbursement as a explained Concur VP of global product According to Motus, companies traveler drives. It then creates a line item experience Robb Nielsen. The app also that switch from self-reported mileage in Concur Expense. lets traveler delete legs of a trip that reimbursement to automated GPS are not business related. GPS typically mileage tracking save an average of 20 To let the person's phone know when drains a phone's battery, but Nielsen said percent mileage costs.

May 2017 3 Online Booking Is, Like, So ‘90s: The Humble Travel Agent Is Making a Comeback By Harriet Baskas

It often happens on Mondays. stayed at the hotels, visited the sites and On a two-week, multi-city visit to Spain can negotiate good rates and extra perks. and Portugal, Wickre and a friend figured "I get calls from people who say 'I spent chose the hotels and length of stays in all weekend online trying to work out a trip Travelers who have found occasion each city, but turned to the agent to book and this is exactly what I need,'" said travel to turn from the web to an agent include flights, trains, and airport transfers. consultant Sheri Doyle, the Seattle-based Alyne Ellis, a writer and radio producer owner of Pacific Northwest Journeys. from Washington D.C. who was planning a "All the travel documents and details trip to Rome, Venice, and Croatia with her were in one itinerary," said Wickre, "They Doyle, who specializes in creating husband, who had never been to Europe. even have an app we could look at along itineraries for travelers heading to the way. And it was easy to pay one bill to Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, "We were overwhelmed with the the agent." and beyond, finds that many of her clients logistics as we only had a few days in are travelers frustrated by the overload of Rome and Venice and wanted to be near These experiences fit with the trend information on Expedia, TripAdvisor and everything," said Ellis. With the help of an noted in a June 2016 report by the other online travel sites and who want to agent, "We stayed in some of the nicest American Society of Travel Agents, which be sure they are making good decisions places ever and they all seemed very local surveyed 14,000 U.S. households and about how to spend vacation days — and in their feeling, at our request," she said. found that, despite the rise of online travel making good use of their time. agents (OTAs), in the previous year 22 Karen Wickre, an internet industry percent of consumers booked through a "It's time versus money. A lot of people veteran and founder of KVOX Media, travel agent, the highest share reported in just don't have the time or the expertise relies on a travel adviser who can "see the past three years. to plan a trip and do it well," said Doyle, competitive pricing and scheduling," when and they find value in paying a fee for the planning complex trips outside the U.S. In its most recent Portrait of American knowledge of someone who has actually Travelers survey, travel industry research

4 INFocus Newsletter Maupin Travel that has a storefront in "There's so much information out Online booking is.. CONTINUED Raleigh, North Carolina. there that it makes it more difficult to do your own research now. So we serve as "Ten years ago we were worried about matchmakers, listening to clients, and and marketing firm MMGY found the use the internet and all the sites that were finding what's right for them," said Ezon. of travel agents at a six-year high, with popping up, but I'm seeing a lot more more than 9 million U.S. travelers planning people — especially young people — who And, increasingly, 'what's right' is also to call on a travel professional to help book come to us when planning big trips," said 'special.' a trip this year. Walters. "Sometimes people say, 'I can do it myself,' but then they get into it, it "Younger millennials want the VIP "The higher the ticket price of the gets complicated and they call me and treatment, to be on the other side of the travel being purchased, the more likely are happy to pay a fee. When I save them velvet rope. Older millennials are planning they were to turn to a professional travel money on the overall trip, I get a customer honeymoons, having kids, and wanting to advisor," noted the Travel Market Report for life." create unique experiences," said Ezon. in its review of the study. "And it's not just millennials; increasingly, Jack Ezon, a luxury leisure travel Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are acting "If anything, a good travel counselor consultant, calls that the boomerang like millennials and looking for savvy travel is more relevant today than ever before," effect. advisers who can make things happen." said Grayce Walters, a travel agent with

How This Futuristic Scanner Could Make Airport Security Faster By Marisa Garcia

The same technology used in hospitals manufacturer, Analogic, showcased a like an iPad. You have the CT rendering to identify disease could help airports machine using Computed Tomography — of the bag, with contrast control,” Mark identify dangerous items in luggage— also known as CT or CAT scan — which Laustra, Vice President, Global Business without requiring passengers to separate is nearly detailed enough to help airport Development and Government Programs electronic devices, liquids, and gels at security find a needle in the haystack of at Analogic. screening. your wardrobe. “If there were something concealed in At the Passenger Terminal Expo in “It's a 3D image, with high definition. the bag, like explosives in the lining of the , one Massachusetts-based You can zoom-in by pinching your finger bag, or liquid explosives in containers, those areas would be a bright red. They would really stand out to the operator,” he said. “It uses the density of the material and the atomic number to find explosives and liquid explosives.”

The luggage CAT scan is perfectly safe to use, Laustra says. It won’t damage film or mess with electronic devices.

There is some competition in this field: U.S. technology giant L3 offers a machine which also applies CT technology, as does Beijing-based Nuctech — but Laustra is confident that the space is open to competition and that Analogic offers superior technology.

May 2017 5 are undergoing trials. One is at the TSA Futuristic Scanner... CONTINUED lab and the other at a lab in Germany. These machines aren’t cheap. Laustra Analogic is also building 10 machines says the price difference between CAT for airport trials and evaluation. Laustra scanners and the X-Ray machines we see “The way the system works now — says the company could build up to thirty at most airports today is pretty high. But without adding any detection algorithms machines per month to meet airport he believes airports can count on a good — is better than most everything out there demand. return from their investment. today,” he said. “Also, it's an open network system. So if there's a new threat, airports The 50-year-old company has had “We've been talking about the can hire a software engineer to design the success with gaining approvals of its CAT checkpoint of the future, but the future algorithm and respond quickly.” scan technology before, and has deployed is now. The checkpoint of the future is an earlier version of its CAT scan machine moving passengers very quickly. You Two of Analogic’s new CAT scanners at Luton Airport in the U.K. have to consider that you'll process more passengers per hour,” he said. “When passengers aren't waiting in line they're spending money at the airport. You have to consider the added revenue from restaurants and shops.”

No more rustling to get electronics out, or waiting for inexperienced travelers to put their toiletries in airport-supplied baggies, would be a welcome change.

Call Travel Vacations to Book Today: 800-627-2987

6 INFocus Newsletter The Concur Brand is becoming SAP Concur

By Concur

As a valued part of the Concur family, values and culture will remain the same. start to appear. Over three years, we’ll we want you—our customer—to be the You will have the same Concur team update our logo within Concur products, first to know about this evolution of our and your contracts will still be valid and communications and training materials. brand. unchanged. We’ll also provide our new logo materials to you so that you can update your own Beginning in January 2018, the Concur Concur’s strategy continues to focus on end user and admin training materials in brand will change to SAP Concur. an open ecosystem where we integrate 2018 and 2019 in time for the completion with the tools that you use and support of the brand transition by the 31st of While our company name is the core processes and systems your December, 2020. changing, our goal remains the same: to business relies on. transform and simplify travel and spend For questions regarding these management so that you can see spend Coming together changes, please refer to our Concur clearly and manage it proactively. This brand change helps Concur and newsroom or reach out to your Concur SAP leverage each other’s expertise to team. SAP acquired Concur in 2014, and deliver value to organizations of all sizes. since that time we’ve taken a deliberate Our customer research indicates that the Thank you for your partnership. We and thoughtful approach to integrating SAP Concur brand will merge the best truly appreciate your business. our businesses. parts of SAP and Concur. Your Concur Team What to expect So, what is changing? In light of this brand update, Concur’s Beginning in January 2018, you’ll see a innovative core, organizational structure, new SAP Concur logo and brand colors

May 2017 7