Managing Airline Fees

1
Managing Airline Fees

• Frank Schnur
• VP, Advisory Services
• American Express
• Business Travel

2
Survey Questions

• Do you have specific policies around baggage
  fees?
• Seat choices?
• In-flight meals?
• Caron offsets?
• Have you negotiated successfully for elevated
  frequent-flier status?
• Do you have good information about how much you
  are spending on these fees across your company?

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Types of Fees
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Understanding theImpact on Your Program

• Meals and Snacks Meals have been gone for a
  couple of years, so this is just substitution
• Beverage only one US major airline charges for
  non-alcoholic drinks
• Seat Selection what percentage of the time is
  this option available and how often do travelers
  take advantage of this?
• Baggage Fees what percentage of the time do
  business travelers check 1 bag? 2 bags?
• Carbon Offsets?

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Minimizing the Impact
Policy
Expense Reporting
Procurement
Airline Fees
Communication Training
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Policy
Procurement

• Policy Decisions
• When will you pay for a checked bag? Two bags?
• Will you pay for seat upgrades within economy
  class? To premium economy?
• How much will you pay for meals and snacks?

• Procurement
• Negotiate to avoid fees
• Negotiate for frequent flier status

7
Communication Training
Expense Reporting

• Communication and Training
• Creating Culture of Frugality
• Demand and Change Management

• Expense Reporting
• Add expense types to capture fees at the
  individual expense report level
• Report on fees from Expense Management System