The dissipation of Hurricane Mitch, which just couldn't bring
itself to leave Florida alone since it missed it the first time
around, seems to signal the end of the ferocious hurricane season
of '98. But no sooner did that bad-weather chapter end that another
begins -- the Midwest's first winter storm of the season, which is
assailing the plains as I write this and is producing
"life-threatening" blizzard conditions in Minnesota, according to
published reports. You're damned if you're north, you're damned if
you're south. Let's all just move to San Diego and be done with
this unpredictable weather business.
Should corporate travel departments be eligible to receive IATAN
cards and their accompanying benefits, usually reserved for what
traditionally have been called travel agents? I guess how you feel
about the issue depends on how tenaciously you cling to tradition.
Between this development and ARC's pilot program, under which
select travel departments can be accredited, it seems the line
between the agency and the corporate travel department is getting
as blurry as trade's vision of its own future.