Survey Question: Are you using personal frequent flier points to upgrade on a company purchased ticket?
Interestingly, 52% of Safe Harbors clients responded saying they use their own frequent flier points to upgrade while the other 48% do not. This is clearly a sign of the times where in the past, points were typically used for personal use only. What do you think?
Okay, due to changes to the government’s program, we have recognizably made the Secure Flight program a monthly feature of our newsletter. When followed completely, the Secure Flight program can make your travel experience seamless. This past week we had an opportunity to attend a conference call with the TSA that outlined the finer details of the program while answering many questions.
Secure Flight is designed to clear travelers behind the scene using the data required to allow for a boarding pass. Upon clearance, travelers can then proceed to their flight without additional screening. The program enhances the overall security of commercial air travel; providing fair, equitable, and consistent matching across all carriers.
As opposed to before, the TSA is now responsible for comparing the names of all travelers with those names on the watch list. To accomplish this task, they begin by receiving the names of everyone holding a confirmed reservation 72 hours prior to departure. These names are then compared to the watch lists and, after review; the travelers are cleared to access their boarding passes 24 hours prior to departure.
When booking air service, every traveler is required to provide their full name, date of birth, and gender. These details are provided to the air carriers as a part of the ticket and the air carriers submit the details to the TSA.
Currently the carriers and the travel reservation systems are working through their processes to ensure the passenger’s complete name appears on the ticket. This structure change may take some time; however, the TSA ensures that this will not affect anyone’s ability to clear security.
If a passenger’s name is similar to that of an individual’s name on the watch list, then the passenger can work with the TSA to obtain a “Redress Number”. This redress number can be used whenever the passenger makes a reservation for air travel, making clearance much less challenging. To obtain a Redress Number, please visit www.dhs.gov/trip
Next Deadline: August 15th. All traveler information is required to be in the profile and be provided to the carriers. This is an on-going process that is being implemented for the safety and well-being of all passengers.
We have almost completed half of the year and it does not appear the travel industry vendors are seeing the turn around. Unfortunately, some industry watch dogs are predicting further tough times for the air carriers, car companies, and hoteliers. The latest estimates predict a $9billion dollar loss for all carriers globally. In fact, Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airways predicts that a major US carrier will fail this year.
It is difficult to forecast the resilience of an industry so sensitive to outside influences and so reliant on consumerism. However, one thing is certain, whatever may lie ahead, vendors are looking for ways to win your loyalty.
For example, through our “Top 10 Travel Management Tips”, we offer you Tip #8. Does your company spend at least $20,000 per quarter on one airline? Many of our corporate clients are taking advantage of airline soft dollar programs and if your company travels this much it can earn free tickets and other benefits to offset travel costs. Please keep in mind; these programs do not interfere with personal frequent flier award programs.
If you are unsure or need help with the airline programs, we would be more than happy to assist. Please send and e-mail to clientservices@safeharbors.com and we can help identify your programs and eligibility.
Let us know your thoughts about the state of the travel industry!
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