Collins credited for spearheading innovation at ARC

ARLINGTON, Va. — David Collins' 23 years of service as ARC's CEO was feted here this week by over 300 former and current ARC employees, as well as other industry bigwigs.

ASTA CEO Tony Gonchar; Ron DiLeo, executive director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives; and David Lim, Amtrak’s chief marketing officer, were among those who listened to colleagues make emotional tributes to Collins.

They noted his drive for innovation, bringing ARC from the paper age to the digital age, as well as his calm and constant presence.

"Through 9/11 and SARS, he managed for all of us to be that that reassuring voice through everything that happened to this industry," said Al Lenza, former vice president of distribution and e-commerce for Northwest Airlines, in a toast to Collins.

Collins, who turned 65 last month, plans to spend his retirement reading, playing piano and golf, and traveling.

It was clear here that he has developed a rapport with his employees that will be missed: several ARC employees noted that Collins made a point to learn the name of every single member of the organization.

Collins has been CEO for 23 of the company's 27 years in existence.

He said his is most proud of taking ARC into the digital age, by recognizing in the early 1990s the need to go from paper to electronic.

"It was really big for us, and big for the industry," he said.

He also expressed pride in originating e-ticketing before the airlines did.

"We were already on the path of electronic reporting in 1992, and the airlines started talking about it in '94," he said.

He said the introduction of Interactive Agent Reporting (IAR) was among ARC's most important accomplishments, as it brought travel agents out of the paper age.

"That was our theme for the '90's," he said. "We had a strategic plan — go electronic. If we don't, we won't be relevant to the industry anymore."

He also named the Travel Agent Service Fee (TASF) program as a great success, as it broke ARC out of its mold of only being a settlement services company, and gave travel agents the ability to charge service fees for ticketing

"It was very successful and really helped the travel agent," Collins said. "We reinvented ourselves, and travel agents reinvented themselves. We helped the travel agent get an awful lot of income from that program. It was a new revenue stream that helped a lot of travel agents survive and change their business model to be successful."

He said ARC took the ability to reinvent itself into the new century, and that it would continue to evolve and prosper under Premo.

"Companies that survive and grow are those that keep reinventing themselves," he said.

Collins expressed total confidence in his successor.

"He’s been on both sides of the fence, as CEO of another airline-owned company and as a travel agent," Collins said. "It's great for all our customers that he’s been out there and knows a lot about the marketplace. And he’s been here five years so he knows ARC inside out."