American Airline’s fourth quarter earnings call included an assessment of corporate travel:
American Airline’s fourth quarter earnings call included an assessment of corporate travel: “We’re seeing signs that business travelers are getting back out on the road. In the last two months of the quarter, corporate passengers were up versus the prior year, the only instances of year-over-year improvement during 2009. ... Corporate traffic continues to slowly climb back and if it continues, that’s an important trend for revenues this year ... Looking forward, our advance bookings are up modestly versus last year, with domestic down about two points and international up nearly five points. Importantly, we’re seeing a return in international premium travel, albeit at lower yields than we saw pre-2009.”
— Tom Horton
CFO
American Airlines
From “Once an Outsider, Always an Outsider? CEO Origin, Strategic Change and Firm Performance,” a Strategic Management Journal study concerning the performance of 193 CEOs: “Newly appointed CEOs, both outsiders and insiders, tend to make changes, and it may take years to observe the performance impact of the changes. Therefore, the relative advantage or disadvantage between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ CEOs in initiating and implementing appropriate strategic changes is not seen immediately. When it comes to strategic change, outsiders typically are good at doing the rapid cost cutting and divestment. As tenure increases (past three years), obvious opportunities for cost cutting and divestment dry up. Inside CEOs, because of their deep knowledge of the firm, are more likely to initiate strategic changes that can build the firm’s long-term competitive advantage.”
— Anthea Zhang
Associate Professor of Management
Rice University
Beginning March 20, the Departmnent of Homeland Security says, it will fine airlines that board a Visa Waiver Program traveler without using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization System: “Electronic authorization for travel is an important security program and the US travel community supports full compliance. But it is common sense to couple mandatory compliance with a substantial effort to register all travelers. If we don’t, we risk $5 billion in losses at a time when our economy can least afford it by senselessly denying entry to travelers that wish us no harm.”
— Roger Dow
President & CEO
US Travel Association