The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) -- the voice of the global corporate travel community -- has assembled a task force to address issues and find solutions to the challenges airline ancillary fees present for the managed travel industry. The Airline Ancillary Product Global Task Force represents the full spectrum of the international business travel industry that touches on the processes of booking, charging, and tracking air travel expenses, including credit card issuers, global distribution systems (GDS), airlines, travel management companies (corporate travel agencies), and corporate travel buyers.

Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, NBTA President & CEO, said, "The need arose to create a group of industry leaders to help educate the managed corporate travel community about this emerging trend. The task force was not created to assess why airlines are adding ancillary products but to provide a centralized repository of information and to evaluate methods that can increase transparency and improve reporting. Travel buyers must understand their total travel spend to successfully manage corporate travel budgets and policies."

In addition to working on specific initiatives, this task force will serve as a resource for NBTA members around the world. The group will first develop a best practices proposal about the improvement of airline data submission to credit card companies. Improvement in this critical area would result in enhanced corporate reporting on ancillary fees, regardless of purchase point.

Banikowski added, "NBTA is well positioned as an international, buyer-led organization to facilitate a solutions oriented approach to these complex issues that require insight from industry leaders from all corners of the world. By increasing awareness of the different facets of airline ancillary fees, both buyers and suppliers will gain the required knowledge to effectively support strategically managed travel programs. Our industry continues to expand, and NBTA is poised to meet the demands and needs of the 21st century travel manager."

Members of the task force include executives from such companies as: Air Plus International, Amadeus, American Express, ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation), ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing Company) , BCD Travel, Concur, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, EADS, MasterCard Worldwide, Sabre, Thomson Reuters, 3SIXTY Global, TRX, US Airways and Visa.