Tom Nulty [title, company] delivered a keynote address regarding the state of the industry. Tom noted that business was off prior to 9/11 but that transactions were actually moving up the week before the tragedy. He pointed out that the crisis helped underscore the benefits of using one travel management company. Their firm was able to assist customers with MIS needs in identifying the whereabouts of travelers.

Tom's organization surveyed more than 250 of its customers who in total spend $2B per year air transportation services. After normalizing the data for travel volumes, it was found that these companies' volumes should essentially return to pre 9/11 levels by year's end.

Tom spent some time describing his personal experiences lately while navigating the security processes at several airports. He finished by communicating the need for travelers to get back in the air for the good of their companies and the national economy.

Frank Kent [title, company] described how an economy can "talk" its way into a recession. Negative growth or earnings projections can cause other companies' senior management to pull back on their own spending plans turning the talk into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Frank mentioned that the U.S. airline pricing structure must change. He stated that we need to work from more of a partnership than from a pricing vehicle. Corporate Pricing Agreements were originally designed as a framework for partnering where price was just one component. United Airlines is now endeavoring to develop a new pricing model wherein economic benefits are created for all parties.

United's chief of security [name] provided an overview of what the airline is doing to adjust to the new airport and airplane security requirements. He spoke about how we as passengers will fall into one of two groups at the airport based upon a risk profile of "selectee" or "non-selectee." The point is to focus on those passengers the airline knows the least about.

Frank also mentioned that each United aircraft is scrubbed each day to find any suspicious items. A Summit participant noted her concern regarding reports of crew and passengers actually profiling other passengers and "voting" some off airplanes.