2007 Newsletters
1 March 2007
In This Issue
- UATP-Airline Business: Airline Distribution 2007; REGISTER TODAY!
- LANDMARK AVIATION JOINS UATP CARD NETWORK, FIRST PRIVATE BUSINESS JET MERCHANT
- BEARSKIN AIRLINES JOINS UATP TO MEET CORPORATE DEMAND and LOWER CREDIT CARD COSTS
- INFOSEARCH: AIRLINE MERCHANTS & SUPPLIERS EXPLAIN BENEFITS OF UATP
- CASMA 2007 SPRING CONFERENCE: UATP PARTICIPATION AND SPONS
- UATP OPENS BEIJING OFFICE, WELCOMES STEVEN LUAN, REGIONAL COMMERCIAL MANAGER
- UATP Insider's Club travel protection plans are specifically designed for airline employees and their families!!!
UATP-Airline Business: Airline Distribution 2007; REGISTER TODAY!
Straight from (in some cases, ongoing) negotiations to lower GDS costs, airlines are now setting their sites on lowering the cost of credits cards by taking a hard look at merchant service fees and alternative forms of payments. Join Travis Christ, vice president, Sales and Marketing, US Airways; Deborah Dickens, senior manager, Global Distribution, British Airways; and, Kevin Healy, vice president, Planning, AirTran Airways for an executive session discussion of how their airlines are attacking their distribution costs on all fronts. This interactive session is moderated by Airline Business Editor Mark Pilling.
Airline Distribution 2007 is an international conference that will feature a session focusing on two fast growing markets: Latin America and Asia/Pacific. Panelists include: Giancarlo Taliente, senior director of Distribution, COPA Airlines; Darren Peisley, general manager of Distribution Strategy & Sales Planning, Qantas; Emre Serpen, senior vice president, SH&E
Also featured at Airline Distribution 2007 is a session on Payment Models moderated by industry expert Pascal Burg, director, Edgar Dunn and Company. This panel will probe the question of what payment models are working, what’s not and how airlines can leverage their options to increase sales and revenue. Panelists include: Chris Phillips, director, Domestic Sales Development and Strategic Planning, Delta Air Lines; Alan Wyley, CEO, Eurocommerce; Scot Bealer, vice president Worldwide Sales, UATP; Humberto Rivero, IATA director, The Americas, IATA.
Full conference panels to date include:
Wednesday 25 April
Executive Session: AirTran Airways, US Airways, British Airways
International Airline Session: COPA, Qantas, SH&E
Keynote: Jeff Smisek, President, Continental Airlines, Inc.
Payment Models - Driving Efficiency: Edgar, Dunn & Co, Delta Air Lines, UATP, IATA, Eurocommerce
New Revenue Streams and Dynamic Packaging: Air Canada, LOT Polish, Datalex
Thursday 26 April
Keynote: Needs of Corporate Travel Managers: Duane Futch, Director Global Travel, Wal-Mart
Distribution Deals - Good, Bad or Indifferent? Brussels Airlines, TACA, Sabre, American Airlines, Travel Technology Research, Galileo
Working the Web - Sales and Marketing Innovations: Forrester Research, Dale Moss, Innovata, ITA Software
Networking lunch sponsored by ACS, Inc. (no speeches!)
REMinder: The hotel conference rate of USD 169/night double occupancy is available ONLY until 1 April, MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!
Full details, agenda updates, sponsor information and registration online at: http://uatp.com/distribution2007
LANDMARK AVIATION JOINS UATP CARD NETWORK, FIRST PRIVATE BUSINESS JET MERCHANT
Landmark Aviation has become the first business charter operator to accept the UATP and incorporate the low-cost payment network into its distribution plans.
“UATP corporate travel accounts provide an alternative form of payment for our charter customers and offers Landmark access to companies whose preferred form of payment is UATP,” said Shawn Vick, President, Landmark Aviation. “It will help our charter customers better manage their travel expenditures.”
Landmark Aviation is one of North America’s largest providers of comprehensive services for the business aviation industry. Serving 43 locations in North America, the company offers a full range of fixed base operations; maintenance, repair and overhaul; aircraft charter, sales and management; and large aircraft completions.
Additional information about Landmark Aviation is available at www.LandmarkAviation.com
BEARSKIN AIRLINES JOINS UATP TO MEET CORPORATE DEMAND and LOWER CREDIT CARD COSTS
Bearskin Airlines, Ontario, Canada is a new UATP Merchant effective immediately. Bearskin joined UATP to address the needs of its corporate travelers and lower its distribution costs.
“The Canadian market is in a growth phase, yet we are continuously looking for ways to expand market share” says Ron Hell, director of Marketing & Sales, Bearskin Airlines. “To meet customer demands, Bearskin supplied corporate clients’ requests for UATP acceptance while lowering costs and increasing our competitiveness in the market.”
Bearskin Airlines is Northern Ontario's regional airline, offering over 200 arrivals and departures daily to 15 destinations in Ontario and Manitoba. Scheduled service ranges from Flin Flon and Winnipeg in the west to Ottawa in the east. Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Winnipeg combined offer 60 arrivals & departures each business day including connecting service throughout the world with Air Canada, Westjet and Northwest Airlines.
Visit uatp.com or www.bearskinairlines.com for more information.
INFOSEARCH: AIRLINE MERCHANTS & SUPPLIERS EXPLAIN BENEFITS OF UATP
The InfoSearch workshop is designed for airlines that want to save money, earn incremental revenue and build corporate customer loyalty. This 3 hour session will feature airline Merchants, corporate customers and industry suppliers to explain the benefits of the low-cost UATP corporate travel payment network.
The program begins at 2:00 pm on Thursday 26 April at the Sheraton Yankee Trader, Ft Lauderdale.
The agenda includes:
2:00 - 2:30 pm- Overview of UATP
2:30 - 3:00 pm- Corporate Customer Perspective: Wal-Mart and Amedisys, Inc.
3:00 - 3:30 pm - Issuer Perspective: American Airlines
3:30 - 3:50 pm - Operational Overview- Issuing UATP
3:50 - 4:10 pm - Billing System Vendor Introduction: CedarOpenAccounts and AirPlus International
4:10 - 5:00 pm - Wrap-up and Q&A
Register by sending an e-mail to sales@uatp.com. Your registration and attendance will automatically enter you for prize drawings during the workshop.
InfoSearch follows the conclusion of Airline Distribution Conference 2007 presented by UATP and Airline Businessmagazine.
For more information contact sales@uatp.com
CASMA 2007 SPRING CONFERENCE: UATP PARTICIPATION AND SPONS
UATP is a proud sponsor and panel participant in CASMA’s spring 2007 “Dynamic Distribution: Transforming Your Strategy” conference. UATP continues providing its expertise in the industry by participating on three separate panels during the conference:
Finding Buried Treasure: Ancillary Revenues: UATP’s industry designed insurance program will be featured during this panel discussing how airlines can leverage partnerships with industry partners and create revenue streams through ancillary revenue. UATP will also participate in an insurance specific trade show during CASMA’s conference.
Payments: Integrating the Old and the New: UATP will join CheckFree, PayPal and Sabre on this interactive session to look at cost reduction opportunities in the payment sector and discuss how airlines and GDS's integrate the traditional credit cards with the new forms of payments
Podcasts & RSS: Are You Ready to Walk the Plank? Discussion will revolve around the latest craze, RSS (Real Simple Syndication). Podcasting uses RSS so users only have to tell their computer once that they want to subscribe and each subsequent show is automatically downloaded. Following the recently implemented UATP inclusion of podcasting, UATP will demonstrate podcasting in the CASMA real time environment.
Continue to look for UATP participation at industry wide events such as CASMA!
For more information, visit www.casma.org.
UATP OPENS BEIJING OFFICE, WELCOMES STEVEN LUAN, REGIONAL COMMERCIAL MANAGER
UATP is expanding its business operations to China and has opened a Beijing-based office staffed by Steven Luan, a newly hired regional commercial manager for UATP. Luan brings a wealth of experience to UATP with ten years of sales experience forging relationships with airlines and facilitating sales of aircraft and helicopters. His talents as a consultant and experience in hard sales will be a great asset to UATP as it builds relationships with the Chinese airlines and travel agencies. Luan holds an undergraduate degree from the Beijing Institute of Business and a MBA from the University of Queensland, Australia.
In his new role he will be promoting UATP’s corporate payment network services with prospective airline Issuers in China and throughout the region. Steven will also serve as the primary point of contact for all UATP operations in China.
UATP Insider's Club travel protection plans are specifically designed for airline employees and their families!!!
If you are eligible for industry-free or reduced-rate fares on airlines, you are eligible to purchase Insider's Club plans! ANNUAL plans begin as low as USD 24.95. Coverage includes travel on regularly scheduled airline, cruise line and Amtrak passenger trains! Coverage may also include (depending on the plan that you purchase):
- Checked Lost/Stolen Baggage Protection and Baggage Delay
- Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption and Trip Delay
- Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation
- Travel Accident Protection
- 24-Hour Worldwide Emergency Assistance
