For Immediate Release!
December 11, 2002
Business Traveler Confidence In United Still High
(Alexandria, VA - Dec. 11) Business traveler confidence in United Airlines is still high, though it maybe subject to tremors generated by published reports, according to a poll of ranking US business travel managers conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives two days after the nation's second largest carrier filed for Chapter 11 protection. Today's figures represent a slight increase in the concern factor initially expressed by ACTE members last week. Association leaders credit intense media coverage of the United story (and the inevitable speculation on service cutbacks) with raising doubts.
Forty percent of ACTE's poll respondents indicated that a "small number" of business travelers expressed "some concern" about future plans that involved flying on United. Thirty-five percent stated that there has been no concern regarding the potential for changes in United's service, while the remaining twenty-five percent reported substantial concern.
"Our members indicated that business travelers believe that service on United Airlines will continue as usual, at least for the immediate future," Said Nancy Holtzman, ACTE's executive director. "United Airlines may be the largest carrier ever to face this dilemma, but it hasn't been the only one. It's challenges like these that bring out the creative best in American business."
"United's filing may also have a positive impact on the business travel, as recent developments may assist the airline industry in coming to grips with cost structures, pricing models, and the reasons why business travelers will fly in the future," said Holtzman. "ACTE members are ready to help United, or any carrier, find the route to profitability through dialogue and debate on common objectives for buyers and sellers."
For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe, ACTE Communications
1-610-256-0124 or [email protected]
Founded in 1988, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a member-driven organization wholly dedicated to the science of business travel management with an international constituency. ACTE membership totals more than 2,400, including business travel executives in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., with regional offices located in Brussels, and Singapore. ACTE's web site is www.acte.org.
