"The company has become a strong, growing global business on a scale that warrants its own distinct brand," Egencia said in a statement.

Expedia Corporate Travel has not left the building, but we have changed the nameplate and commited to our next era of innovation and leadership with the Egencia brand. While remaining an individual operating unit within Expedia, Inc. like our other brands (i.e. Expedia.com, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor), the name of and the goals behind Egencia will differentiate and clarify our brand and position in the marketplace as a leading travel management company and trusted business partner. 

News Release Issued: June 30, 2008 7:00 AM EDT

Expedia Corporate Travel Commits to Next Era of Innovation and Leadership With Egencia Brand

Strength of Egencia brand signifies Expedia, Inc.'s commitment to the corporate travel space

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 30  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expedia® Corporate Travel today announced that the company has updated its brand to clarify its promise to customers, business travelers, travel bookers, suppliers and partners.  The company has become a strong, growing global business on a scale that warrants its own distinct brand.  As part of this effort, Expedia Corporate Travel is changing its name to Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. Company.

The Egencia™ brand will serve as a platform to further define and differentiate how the company is pushing the industry forward and driving the next evolution for its customers.  Whether arming travel managers with the most in-depth global reporting tools available in the marketplace or enhancing the business traveler experience through access to user-generated content, Egencia is dedicated to delivering results that matter to corporate travel clients.  As the corporate travel brand within Expedia, Inc., the world's largest online travel marketplace, the company is paving the way for further growth and increased global competitiveness.

"We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to our customers changing needs and deliver the services expected of a true business partner, and the Egencia brand reflects who we truly are as a company," said Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Egencia.  "Having led innovation in the corporate travel industry, we see this as an opportunity to further define ourselves in the marketplace and set a foundation for further advancements in the years to come."

Egencia is also introducing new tools for business travelers, travel managers and travel bookers that truly transform the business of travel.  As the fifth largest travel management company in the world, Egencia is known for taking great strides and delivering meaningful solutions that create true value for customers, suppliers and partners.

"Expedia Corporate Travel has had a huge impact on the corporate travel industry," said Dara Khosrowshahi, president and chief executive officer of Expedia, Inc.  "As Egencia, the company has the platform to grow its position in the marketplace and further evolve to stay ahead of the competition.  With Expedia, Inc.'s strength and support, this change elevates the company to a whole new level, a true win-win situation for Egencia, its customers and partners."

Improved Customer Experience

Egencia continues its strategy of smart and strategic innovation with today's announcement of new solutions and technologies that benefit travel bookers, business travelers and travel managers.  In line with today's announcement, Egencia is introducing several tools:

-- SeatGuru® -- A color-coded interactive airplane seating charts that outline the pros and cons of different seats for over 275 airplanes and more than 40 airlines.  Provided by a community of frequent business travelers, the integrated intelligence tool takes convenience and comfort factors -- such as legroom and ability to recline -- into account.  This informative SeatGuru content is integrated within the seat selection process for travelers and their bookers to help make more informed decisions for flights.

-- Hotel Reviews -- Traveler feedback and commentary appears on the hotel search results page.  A blend of leisure and business traveler feedback further enables Egencia customers to make better decisions by sorting choices by opinion rating and link to content from their My Itineraries page.

-- TripAdvisor® City Guides -- Gives Egencia business travelers access to detailed destination information from the largest travel community in the world.

"We led a paradigm shift within the industry five years ago when we launched our powerful self-booking platform, showing companies that they should expect more from their travel management company," said Remy.  "That was just the beginning.  With today's news, I want to send another loud and clear message:
Egencia will continue driving innovation within the industry, not because of trends or the latest headlines, but through a focused and strategic approach.
 We never lose sight of the fact that we're in this business to deliver results that matter to our clients."

Maximizing Value

Egencia also remains focused on delivering outstanding value to corporations globally without compromising service.  The introduction of several new tools devoted to this goal include:

-- Ticket Performance Report -- As part of Egencia's commitment to arming its customers with meaningful data to make real-time decisions, the company is adding an unused ticket performance report.  This added functionality will help travel managers monitor their usage of unused ticket inventory, review tickets that are about to expire, evaluate lost credits and determine overall savings.

-- Customized Hotel Tools -- Powerful new tools that give travel managers the control they need at their fingertips to customize hotel policies.  These tools allow them to easily configure how hotels are displayed based on preferred suppliers and deliver personalized messages to travelers.

-- Global Customer Service Support -- Egencia continues to invest in delivering strong, globally consistent customer service.  By measuring the performance of its travel consultants down to the individual level, the company brings additional accountability and oversight to a travel program, ensuring that travelers receive the same quality experience time after time, wherever they travel with Egencia.

-- Egencia™ Preferred Program -- Egencia is dedicated to negotiating unique rates and services on behalf of its customers that would not otherwise be available.  As part of this effort to pass savings on to business travelers and corporations globally, the Egencia Preferred Program is expanding beyond hotel rates to include air and car rates.

"Expedia Corporate Travel has been a key partner for Continental in reaching additional business travelers around the world, allowing us the opportunity to promote our quality service and products to ECT's very valuable client base," said Dave Hilfman, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Continental Airlines.  "As Egencia, the company will continue to be an integral part of our long-term distribution strategy, particularly in light of their strong management team, superior technology and ability to provide true value to our mutual customers."

Expanding Global Footprint

Egencia integrates the components of business travel so that companies can maintain a global edge.  A global view combined with a deep knowledge of local markets ensures that our customers have the support they need where it matters.  To this aim, Egencia Canada has entered into an agreement regarding the acquisition of Mississauga, Ontario-based Synergi Global Travel Management, a leading Canadian corporate travel management, meetings and incentives company.

The acquisition builds upon Egencia's existing presence in Canada and expands on its current strong service and product offering to Canadian business travelers and companies who do business on a local and global scale. It will enhance Egencia's existing team with additional experienced corporate travel professionals and expand its customer base with key clients.

About Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. Company

Egencia is the fifth largest travel management company in the world.  As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world's largest travel marketplace, Egencia helps business get ahead by offering the only truly integrated corporate travel service.  Egencia's industry expertise and the partnerships the company has built help drive results that matter, delivering meaningful advancements that have a real impact.  By combining a powerful offline and online service, Egencia delivers a complete corporate travel offering supported by global market expertise and a best-in-class technology platform.

For more information, go to Egencia.com.

Expedia, Expedia.com, Expedia Corporate Travel and Egencia are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  TripAdvisor and SeatGuru are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.  Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

© 2008 Expedia, Inc.  All rights reserved. CST# 2029030-40, 2083922-50.

SOURCE: Expedia Corporate Travel; Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. Company

CONTACT:  Jordan Rittenberry of Edelman, +1-312-233-1226, Jordan.Rittenberry@Edelman.com, for Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. Company

Web site:  http://www.expediacorporate.com/

Posted by Tom at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Checking In With New Airline Baggage Policies

As the first U.S. carrier to charge for a passenger's first checked bag, American Airlines was joined by US Airways and United Airlines in matching the fee. Passengers traveling in first and business class or as elite-status frequent flyers are exempt.

United Airlines New Fees
United Airlines announced two changes to its domestic checked bag policy. The service fee to check one bag for domestic travel will be $15 each way and the fee to check three or more bags, overweight bags or items that require special handling will increase from $100 to $125 or from $200 to $250, depending on the item. These changes apply to customers who purchase a ticket on or after June 13, 2008, for travel within the U.S. and to/from Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after August 18, 2008.

US Airways New Fees
US Airways will begin charging a $15 fee for passengers' first checked bags on July 9, 2008. The new checked bag policy applies to all flights to and from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as flights within the U.S. The airline also announces new charges for such in-flight services as soft drinks, ($2 for soda, water, juice and coffee) and a price increase from $5 to $7 for alcoholic drinks.

How Baggage Policies and Fees Add Up

These days keeping track of airline baggage policies is a lot like keeping track of Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First?" You're never sure who's doing what. Sometimes it helps to have all the information in one place as travel rules change from week to week. Here's the latest in airline baggage policies with links to each airline's baggage policy section for the most up-to-date rules and fees as posted by the carrier.

Airlines	Applicable destinations	Effective Date	1st bag1	2nd bag1
	Domestic	6/13/08  View policy	No Fee	$103
	Domestic	7/01/2008  View policy	No Fee	$50
	Domestic, Mexico	5/12/2008  View policy	$15	$25
	Domestic, Latin America	5/05/2008  View policy	No Fee	$25
	Domestic	5/05/2008  View policy	No Fee	$25
	Domestic, International	6/10/2008  View policy	No Fee	$25
	Domestic	N/A  View policy	No Fee	No Fee
	Domestic	6/01/2008  View policy	No Fee	$20
	Domestic	5/24/2008  View policy	No Fee	$20
	Domestic	5/05/2008  View policy	No Fee	$25
	Domestic, International	5/05/2008  View policy	No Fee	$25
	Domestic	5/05/2008  View policy	No Fee $15 on/after 8/18	$25
	Domestic	7/01/2008  View policy	$15 on/after 7/09	$25

Posted by Tom at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (36) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Tom at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Q: Tom, are most airlines universal in their standby flight rules? If you get to an airport early and there is an earlier flight, is there usually a charge to change your flight? -CG

A: Standby travel leaves me with sweaty palms and acid reflux, CG. Every seat in the departure could be empty and cloaked in cobwebs, and I'd still stew over not getting on a flight as a standby passenger. While 'confirmed' is one of my favorite travel words, here are some other things to consider.

As with most airline policies, there is not a standard or universal rule for standing by, each airline varies. The first thing to know is standby usually applies to the return leg of the trip and on the same day as originally planned. When you change the day or the outgoing portion of the itinerary, additional airline charges apply in most cases.

Of course, I have experienced the universe-is-perfectly-aligned-today moment when exceptions and customer service prevailed in my favor, but like a solar eclipse, frequency of such an occurrence is rare.

When flights are lightly booked, you're usually standby cleared at check-in and given a seat. When flights seem full, check with the agent. It may be money well spent to confirm your seat and avoid further delay.

Generalities aside, here are specific rules for same-day changes by airline and links to the full page text:

American Airlines
You can get a confirmed seat for same-day flight changes for domestic travel on all fares for a $35 fee. Passengers can call Reservations or handle the transaction at the airport ticket counter or Self-Service Check-In machines. If eligible seats are available within 12 hours of departure of alternate flights for your same itinerary, your flight change can be confirmed. Also, American continues to offer the same-day option of standing by for an earlier or later domestic flight for eligible fares at no charge. Read more.

Continental Airlines
The confirmed seat fee when changing your flight for travel on the same day is $50. The same-day change option is available on Continental Airlines, Continental Express and/or Continental Micronesia. Changes may be confirmed within three hours of your new desired flight at any airport check-in kiosk or with an airport agent. You may also contact Continental Reservations by phone. Read more.

Delta Air Lines
The same-day confirmed option allows you to change your flight time on the same day of travel for a fee of $50. To use the same-day confirmed option, you must confirm your new flight within three hours of the scheduled departure time. Flexible fares such as refundable tickets may be exempt for a change fee. Read more.

Northwest Airlines
Customers may make same-day domestic flight changes for a $25 fee on qualifying flights. This option is available on the scheduled day of departure at the time of check-in for a flight with the same origin and destination either earlier or later than the original flight. Previously, the option was limited to flight changes within three hours of check-in or the original flight. Read more.

United Airlines
Checking in and standing by for an earlier flight is allowed on the same day of travel without paying a fee. Seat confirmation is available for $75 with check-in online or at a kiosk at the airport on the same day of travel within 3 hours of the time of your request. Read more.

US Airways
You may move up to any earlier flight on the same day of your originally scheduled departure time at the airport (with the exception of flights to Hawaii and Europe). You can only make day-of-departure changes at the airport. If there is an open seat available on any earlier flight that departs on the same day as your originally scheduled departure, you may change to that flight and we will automatically confirm your reservation for $25 for flights within the 48 contiguous United States and $50 for flights to Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and Alaska. Read more.

Posted by Tom at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)