Executive Travel : Business Travel Notes : St. Louis Firms Promise Business to TWA

Member companies of Civic Progress, a group of St. Louis corporate chief executives, said they will buy in advance up to six months of travel from Trans World Airlines to show confidence in its future.

The pre-purchase represents nearly 11,000 business trips, the group said. “TWA is vital to the St. Louis economy,” said Andrew Newman, chairman of Edison Brothers Stores Inc. and president of Civic Progress. The St. Louis-based airline has been in financial troubles since it emerged from bankruptcy in late 1993.

United Adds Smoke-Free Transatlantic Flights

United Airlines announced that as of May 1, it will designate all flights between the continental United States and London and Zurich, Switzerland, as smoke-free. In addition, select transatlantic flights continuing on from London Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam and Brussels will also be smoke-free.

“United’s decision is based on very positive customer reaction to the smoke-free flights we have operated between the United States and the United Kingdom since March of 1994,” said James M. Guyette, executive vice president for marketing and planning.

Airbus Expects Big Market

Airlines will be in the market for 13,000 passenger jets worth $1 trillion as global air travel triples over the next 20 years, according to a study by the European plane maker Airbus Industrie.

“Despite the crisis the aviation community has gone through in the past years, this forecast clearly demonstrates that air transport is a growth industry,” John Leahy, senior vice president for the consortium, said at a news conference.

In its first Global Market Forecast for three years, Airbus predicted that the world’s 214 largest airlines will require about 15,000 passenger jets from 1995 to 2015.

Airbus said that with about 1,350 of these aircraft already ordered by airlines and another 250 ordered by leasing companies, the open market for additional new sales is about 13,400, worth $1 trillion at current values. Of these, up to 15% may be used aircraft.

The forecast covers the market for aircraft with more than 70 seats and excludes demand in the former Soviet Union.

The mature North American domestic market will grow at an annual average rate of 3.7%; Asia-Pacific will show 7% growth, and China, starting from a low base, 10%.

Ticketless Travel Expands

United Airlines is expanding its electronic ticketing service to 190 of its daily Business One quick-check-in flights. The airline cited its success with the system on its shuttle flights between the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.

United’s Business One service is generally geared toward business travelers in the East. Electronic ticketing allows passengers to arrange travel by phone or through an agent and receive an advance seat assignment.

Once at the airport, a traveler presents photo ID or the credit card used to purchase the ticket and receives a boarding pass.

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Tips for Frequent Fliers

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