ITM UPDATE United's fuel goal
DIANE STEED Head of sales and marketing, Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM)
Interaction at ITM I
nteraction is the action that occurs as two or more objects
or, in this case people, have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect
UNITED Airlines is aiming to save 85 million gallons of fuel this year, a figure that equates to nearly 830,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and financial saving of around $275millon. The airline, which has already
improved fuel efficiency by 32 per cent since 1994, says it will achieve the savings through improved flight planning, single engine taxiing and lighter onboard products. The target is part of United’s
wider environmental programme, called Eco-Skies, that includes waste management, carbon offsets and fleet renewal with modern, more efficient aircraft. “We are committed to reducing
our fuel consumption and our environmental footprint,” says United’s chairman, president and CEO, Jeff Smisek. “I am proud of the actions that help shape a more sustainable future for our customers, our co-workers and the communities we serve.”
AIR NZ TAKES GREEN PLAUDITS
is essential in the concept of interaction. The ITM Conference was aptly titled 'Intelligent Interaction' this year and saw over 330 like-minded people coming together in a truly interactive way. It would be fair to say I think we all had a positive effect on one another! The Conference started with buyer to buyer engagement via our focus groups – round table discussions where buyers were willing to share best practice on topics such as TMC contracting, airline contracting and hotel contracting, plus going global and automating the booking and expense process.
Kilgannon from AstraZeneca to talk about the proven benefits of social media applications in driving compliance. Other sessions included the
Future of Airline Co-operations and Consolidations and their impact on a travel programme; and Industry Affairs, including the benefits and risks of NDC (new distribution capabilities) plus the value of payment solutions. A little light-hearted interaction
was provided in The Price is Right session, with buyers asked to ‘come on down’ and tackle the complex topic of airline, hotel and TMC pricing and the money flow in our industry. The interactive exhibition
provided an informal setting for buyers and suppliers to engage and catch up over coffee or lunch.
"A little light-hearted interaction was provided in The Price is Right session, with buyers asked to ‘come on down’ and tackle the complex topic of airline, hotel and TMC pricing and the money flow in our industry"
Check out the ITM calendar
(
www.itm.org.uk/go/site/events/) to see additional ITM buyer focus groups being held around the country this year. Back at the Conference, the
AIR New Zealand took top honours at the recent Tourism for Tomorrow awards. Taking place at the World
Travel and Tourism Council’s annual global summit in Abu Dhabi, the event saw Air NZ named the winner of the Global Tourism Business category. The carrier’s chief executive
officer, Christopher Luxon, says, “We take our responsibility to promote sustainability very seriously and continue to shrink
our carbon footprint as we work towards our goal of becoming the world’s most environmentally sustainable airline. In fact, we’ve already reduced our carbon emissions by 15 per cent over a five year period.” Entries for the awards were
received from 46 countries across the world. Air NZ was up against Abercrombie and Kent in the United States and India’s ITC Hotels as finalists in the Global Tourism Business category.
interaction continued with buyers and other industry experts sharing their experiences on the conference stage. Our opening plenary saw business leaders go head to head on the social and economic impact of the business travel industry and tackle issues such as the third runway at Heathrow and Air Passenger Duty, while our ‘In the Hot Seat’ series included interviews by Justin Webb, the Today Programme anchor and ITM Conference moderator, who asked Marnie Court from Sony Europe to share her knowledge on European consolidation and Louise
A conference app was the platform for everyone to electronically collaborate, whether to ask questions of speakers, QR scan business cards or provide opinions in sessions including voting for your favourite gadgets and whether they were epic, ok or 'woteva' – according to Kevin May of Tnooz this is how the younger generation communicate! This interactive conference
would not have been complete without the opportunity for everyone to socially interact, which included a networking reception, and a James Bond gala dinner and silent disco. To view photos from the ITM
Conference, and for more information, go to
www.itm.org.uk and click on the conference button. Photos kindly provided by The Business Travel Magazine.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 59
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