December 2009
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CWT keeps you informed
CWT Traveler Trendbarometer: Online booking as popular as ever more
Airlines pay for long delays more
CWT Telepresence: Saving costs by optimizing meeting strategy more
CWT Traveler Trendbarometer: Online booking as popular as ever
Our last CWT Traveler Trendbarometer asked about the current use of online booking by our CWT Traveler readers. How did your online booking of business trips change during 2009? – that’s what we wanted to know. And this is what you told us:
- I complied with policy by booking more trips online: 15.4 %
- I booked more trips online on my own initiative: 23.1 %
- I booked the same proportion of trips online as before: 53.8 %
- I booked fewer trips online: 7.7 %
The results are clear: Almost 93 percent of CWT Traveler readers are booking business trips online just as often or more often than in 2008. Cutting travel spend and complying with corporate travel policy – both of which can be achieved through online bookings – continue to take high priority.
Influenza A (H1N1) is the topic addressed in this month’s CWT Traveler Trendbarometer. The new flu is causing many people concern, especially when they travel. That’s why we would like to ask you:
Has your travel schedule changed due to Influenza A (H1N1)?
Airlines pay for long delays
Recent rulings in both Europe and the United States have addressed the issues of passenger compensation and air carrier fines for significantly delayed flights.
In November, the European Court of Justice ruled that passengers have the right to seek compensation from airlines not only for cancelled flights, but also for flights delayed for more than three hours. Existing EU regulations allowed passengers to seek compensation between 250 euros and 600 euros for cancelled flights, and the new ruling likens the impact of a significantly delayed flight to that of a cancelled one. Airlines may not be required to compensate passengers if they can prove the delay was caused by a situation beyond the airline’s control.
Also taking place in November, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued fees to three airlines involved in the August delay that caused 47 passengers to be confined within an aircraft overnight in Rochester, Minn. The fines issued against Continental Airlines, Mesaba Airlines and ExpressJet totaled USD $175,000. These fines set a precedent because, as described by the DOT, “ They are the first enforcement orders punishing carriers for extended tarmac delays.”
Click on the following link for more information on EU legislation: europa.eu
CWT Telepresence: Saving costs by optimizing meeting strategy
Minimizing
conference costs, maximizing return on investment, and at the same time bringing
employees together who don’t usually travel to meetings – all this can now be
accomplished with CWT Telepresence. This innovation is made possible by a
cooperation between CWT and Tata Communications – the leading international
provider of communication solutions. CWT Telepresence gives CWT clients access
to telepresence rooms operated by Tata Communications that can be rented
worldwide, plus comprehensive services – from help deciding whether and when a
virtual meeting makes sense, to reserving a telepresence room, all the way to
regular reports on the adoption rate and the resulting savings. “By integrating CWT Telepresence into our extensive demand management offerings, CWT provides an appealing alternative while consolidating its role as a vital partner when it comes to a measurable return on investment,” says Pauline Quéré, Vice President Customer Product Marketing at CWT.
The telepresence technology from Tata Communications lets small groups deploy high-resolution video and audio transmissions in real time to hold virtual meetings worldwide any time of day or night. Thanks to life-size images and highly sophisticated technology, participants feel like they are really sitting across from each other in the same room.