To commemorate our 40th anniversary, NBTA has opened its archives to bring you a timeline of significant milestones throughout the history of the corporate travel industry and NBTA. Dating back to the 1960s when the National Passenger Traffic Association was founded through today’s economic challenges, here’s a look at how the industry we know and love has evolved over the years and examples of how NBTA has supported its members and colleges along the way.
1960s
The National Passenger Traffic Association (NPTA) was founded in New York City in 1968 when a “dedicated group of business travel managers accurately assessed the immediate needs of their firms’ traveling employees and placed these conclusions in perspective with the financial realities faced by corporate consumers” (John M. Bacon, NPTA Chairman of the Board, 1989). The establishment of NBTA was supported by the Passenger Traffic Association of New York, Women’s Passenger Traffic Association of New York, New Jersey Travel Managers Association, Delaware Valley Association of Southern California, Twin Cities Passenger Traffic Association, and Montreal Passenger Traffic Association. Within a year, under the leadership of NPTA’s first President George W. Runnion of the Union Carbide Corporation, membership grew to 344 Direct Members.
1970s
Corporate travel management continued to gain traction throughout the 1970s as costs for business-related travel increased. According to a 1978 report on business travel expenses, the average daily tab for single lodging and three meals had increased by 40 percent since 1974 to $39.23.
NPTA also voted to admit travel suppliers into its membership in 1973, “recognizing that both buyers and suppliers represent a complex set of requirements that must be satisfied in the daily course of business” (Roger Solomon, Allied Council President, 1988).
Airline Deregulation was perhaps the greatest 1970s industry milestone that solidified the value of corporate travel management. After Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, when carrier competition soared and airfare options multiplied, it became increasingly clear that travel arrangement should not be left to amateurs, but rather full-time experts. Early Deregulation was also a time “when the airlines, corporate buyers and business travel agents were starting to arm wrestle for deals based on volume” (Business Travel News, May 10, 2004).
1980s
The airline deregulation process continued through the early 1980s. In 1980 the Civil Aeronautics Board (C.A.B) ordered that travel agency commissions be unregulated, and in 1981 it began allowing carriers and individual customers or agents to negotiate discounted tickets. As the C.A.B. considered deregulating the sale of airline tickets, NPTA “argu[ed] before the board that a major inequity existed in that travel agencies collected commissions from business travelers while business travel departments that performed essentially the same function did not” (The New York Times, December 10, 1982.)
On January 1, 1985, NPTA celebrated victoriously as deregulation of the travel-agent industry went into effect “offer[ing] businesses not only a reduction in travel expenses and great control over business travel, but also the possibility of turning travel departments into profit centers” (The New York Times, March 5, 1985.)
In 1989 NPTA changed its name to the National Business Travel Association and moved its office to Alexandria, Virginia, with four executive staff.
The late 1980s also brought about tighter travel budgets as the U.S. economy slowed. Corporate travel departments scrambled to cut costs where possible. "Small, medium and large companies are trying to manage their T&E by reserving far in advance for promotional discount airfares, joining frequent-flier programs, visiting as many clients as possible per trip, qualifying for corporate hotel rates and not entertaining in expensive restaurants," said Jack Witherspoon, general manager of Electronic Data Systems Corp. in Richardson, Texas, and NPTA President (Crain’s New York Business, August 28, 1989).
1990s
A sluggish economy, exacerbated by the onset of the Gulf War, continued through the early 1990s. “Times are tough,” said Margie Crace, president of NBTA 1989-1991. “[Corporate travel managers] are watching how much they spend” (USA Today, July 3, 1990). Business Travel News even named Saddam Hussein as one of “The 25 Most Influential Executives in the Business Travel Industry” in its December 17, 1990, issue – “Hussein’s August invasion of Kuwait sent air travel costs spiraling upward in the last third of the year, with no end in sight,” noted editors. “Scores of corporations now are talking seriously about reducing travel until costs return to a more rational level.”
Through its increased lobbying efforts, NBTA raised the voice of business travel in the halls of Congress in the 1990s. NBTA spoke out against the rise in business air fares and opposed a 1993 proposed transportation tax that would add nearly a billion dollars to airline operating costs through additional fuel charges, calling it a “crushing burden” and encouraging its rejection. The association also advocated against traveler taxes, an issue NBTA would continue to fight over the years and even still today. Most recently NBTA urged opposition to a proposal that would burden car rental customers in Colorado with a new statewide tax of $6 per day. Representatives from NBTA and the Rocky Mountain Business Travel Association, a chapter of NBTA, met with the Governor of Colorado to explain how the tax would negatively impact local businesses and citizens, as well as the state economy. On May 5, 2008, NBTA congratulated the state legislature for rightly putting the proposal aside.
In 1997, NBTA founded the Institute of Business Travel Management (IBTM), today known as the NBTA Foundation, to advance and promote the value of business travel and business travel management through the development of education, research and information. In its first few years, IBTM set in place a new paradigm in business travel management and successfully repositioned the manner in which travel managers and service providers relate to each other. Today the NBTA Foundation provides on-going financial resources to conduct research initiatives, support educational offerings, and provide scholarship opportunities for business travel professionals.
The 90s also paved the way for technology in the travel industry, and vendors were sure to showcase all new technological highlights at each annual NBTA International Convention and Exposition. At the 1999 Convention in Minneapolis, at which technologies such as online booking tools, expense reporting software, electronic booking systems, and electronic ticketing dominated the trade show, NBTA President Mark Johnson, CCTE (1997-1999) said, “Ten years ago, 10 percent of the travel managers were familiar with the PC. Today it’s 83 percent. We either master technology or it masters us” (Associated Press, August 7, 1999).
2000s
September 11, 2001, was a tragic day that forever changed the United States, global business relations, and corporate travel. Corporate travel managers worked day and night to get travelers home after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights. In an NBTA survey of corporate travel managers, 25 percent of respondents reported that more than 200 travelers from their companies were left stranded.
Although flyers faced cancellations, delays and previously unheard of airport security checks, once air transportation was reauthorized, a majority of corporations did not suspend travel. Seventy-seven percent of respondents to an NBTA member survey indicated that they had no plans to suspend domestic travel, and 58% were planning to only reduce travel for the time being.
NBTA quickly took action on behalf of its members, calling for immediate government aid to the U.S. aviation industry. “Without immediate and significant financial support, U.S. carriers will be forced to drastically cut back schedules, suspending service and laying off workers, the effects of which would cripple American corporations' ability to do business,” said McInerney. NBTA also called for the U.S. Department of Transportation, the FAA, and the Security Task Force to quickly increase air transport security, considering the implementation of new security measures the first and most crucial step toward restoring confidence in the aviation system.
Airport security disruptions, budget cutbacks, military action in Iraq and changes in airline rules and services all proved challenging for corporate travel managers in the wake of the September 11 attacks and throughout the early to mid-2000s. Corporate travel policies were repeatedly rewritten as a consequence. According to a March 2003 NBTA survey, more than 70 percent of corporate travel managers reported their budgets were flat or had been reduced. “The freedom of selection has been curbed for a lot of business travelers,” said Kevin Iwamoto, NBTA President and CEO (2001-2003). “The profile of the business traveler has forever changed” (The Dallas Morning News, March 12, 2003).
The increasingly global marketplace has played a significant role in the evolution of corporate travel in the 21st century. More than ever, business travelers are now visiting destinations around the world to represent their companies. “Borders do not confine business,” said Suzanne Fletcher, NBTA President and CEO (2005-2007). “Events taking place an ocean away impact our companies and our travelers. The true test of our ability as travel managers is how we continue to evolve in the face of new challenges” (Business Travel News, July 17, 2006). To help members adapt to the international shift in corporate travel, NBTA expanded its 
global offerings to include association affiliates in Canada, Mexico and Asia Pacific and educational and networking events in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Mexico and the UK.
As business travel finally returned to pre-9-11 levels in 2006, passenger security remained a concern for travelers, and NBTA continued to serve its members by voicing support for programs that provide strong security and facilitate business travel. In March 2006 the Transportation Security Administration affirmed the Registered Traveler (RT) program, a program that NBTA had supported since 2004, would be implemented in 10 to 20 airports that year. RT is available in 18 U.S. airports today and NBTA continues to encourage expansion of both the domestic and international RT programs. NBTA also lauded the February 2007 implementation of the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP), aimed at providing travelers with a single, easy-to-use point of access for travelers seeking to rectify misidentification issues and instances in which they are incorrectly delayed or denied boarding scrutiny at U.S. airports; NBTA offered suggestions to improve the system in October 2007.
NBTA also served as a business travel industry advisor and advocate as the U.S. government took steps to improve programs that process and screen international air travelers. These programs include the implementation and expansion of the Model Ports programs, which seeks to make the process of entering the United States more streamlined and welcoming, and expansion of the visa waiver program to include eight more nations, which will enable travelers from those countries to travel to the United States for business without obtaining a formal visa.
Return to Connecting News July 2008