NEW YORK -- The
SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta, Continental and Northwest,
is giving multinational corporations the option of signing one
contract with uniform discounts for its nine carriers.
Although large
corporations could still opt to sign corporate travel contracts
with individual airlines, the new Global Corporate Contracting
program would provide one contract, a single airline to manage the
agreement, harmonized discounts and a single source of performance
reporting that covers all of the airlines, SkyTeam said.
Global and local
sales forces from each of the airlines would provide
support.
Monisa Cline,
managing director of North American sales at Continental, said the
new corporate program would help Continental and other alliance
members gain share.
The target client
is a global corporation with at least $15 million in annual air
spending, Cline said.
No companies have
signed up yet, but discussions are under way with several
multinational corporations and RFPs have been sent, she
added.
Road warriors in
these multinational corporations would be able to earn and redeem
miles on any of the SkyTeam airlines.
International
members of SkyTeam are Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech
Airlines, KLM and Korean Air.
So when does an
individual airline seek the business of a large corporate client on
its own, and when does it do so on behalf of the
alliance?
Cline said
corporations would have to approach SkyTeam if they want to sign an
alliance-wide contract.
The Star Alliance
has a similar corporate program, Corporate Plus, that provides one
contract and a single point of contact among its 16 carriers. The
program also automates certain administrative functions and
provides real-time tracking and reporting, according to the Star
Alliance.
To contact
reporter Dennis Schaal, send e-mail to [email protected].