Walk a Mile: The Traveler Experience

Northwestern Travel Management's most recent forum, Walk A Mile: The Traveler Experience, focused on the "life cycle" of a traveler, from the time a reservation was made until it came time to fill out an expense report. The October 2 event was held at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, sponsored by Northwest/KLM and hosted by the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Walk a Mile: The Traveler Experience

A Corporate Travel Forum Hosted by Northwestern Travel Management

Sponsored by Northwest Airlines / KLM

Northwestern Travel Management's most recent forum, Walk A Mile: The Traveler Experience, focused on the "life cycle" of a traveler, from the time a reservation was made until it came time to fill out an expense report. The October 2 event was held at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, sponsored by Northwest/KLM and hosted by the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

First on the "getting back to basics" agenda was a tour of the $3 billion in renovations to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Although not completely finished (such as the Concourse A tram), guests were able to see the many new moving walkways; the connector bridge at the back of the new parking ramp; and the satellite terminal for commuter carriers. One new climate-controlled tram, a la "Atlanta-Hartsfield," is already in operation and whisks travelers from the (lower) transit area to the new rental car facilities, to the group drop-off area and to the red/blue general parking ramps. Also noteworthy are the 30 new regional gates on new concourses A and B; the development of the award-winning Northstar Crossing dining and shopping space; 12 additional jet gates and a new food court on Concourse C; and the children's play area on Concourse C.

The actual forum took place in the Commission Chambers of the Pierson M. Grieve Conference Center. This state-of-the-art facility hosts meetings for both travelers and the non-traveling public with prices of $20/hour for a private office up to to $500/day for the Commission Chambers. The Chambers includes personal microphones and monitors for each participant.

Northwest Airlines/KLM, represented by Lisa Bardon, Sandy Owens and Susan Franson, touted its new livery purchases, including the flashy A330 trans-Atlantic jet. The jet is currently flying Detroit-Amsterdam and will be in operation at MSP in 2004. NWA is the first airline to update its equipment with the latest version of a fully interactive in-flight entertainment system. With the new Delta-Continental-Northwest alliance already in place and the latest buzz about expansion of the SkyTeam alliance, 2004 is sure to be another dynamic year in the travel industry.

Northwestern Travel Management concluded the event with a "walk-through" of the traveler reservation experience, passing along some reminders to travel managers on how to educate travelers about the entire process. Most of the time was spent with "exceptions to the rule," such as voids, refunds, exchanges and stand-by policies.

Walk A Mile Forum Gallery

Please click on the thumbnails below to view the pictures.