Press Release: Universal Air Travel Plan, Inc.
November 16, 2001
WASHINGTON, DC -- Universal Air Travel Plan, Inc. (UATP) announced yesterday the launch of a new UATP program by
Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The program, named SAS Corporate Card,
is a complete solution simplifying travel and travel administration for corporations.
SAS Corporate Card is a flexible product designed for small and medium- size companies. The UATP platform provides
the most detailed ticket-level data in the industry, regardless of which UATP member airline worldwide the business
traveler flies. The SAS Corporate Card is available as a walking card, or as a lodged account for travel booked
through a preferred travel manager or agency, SAS telephone sales or the SAS Web site at http://scandinavian.net.
A unique customer profile maintains the correct UATP form of payment for all sales channels. The UATP functionality
provides greater control and accountability, as well as ease in reconciliation of all air-travel expenses, regardless
of the purchasing channel.
The SAS Corporate Card is also available as a multi-function card for payment of other travel and entertainment
expenses. Incorporating the UATP corporate payment system with a co-branding arrangement with MasterCard, the SAS
Corporate Card allows purchases other than airfare to be charged. The program offers companies increased control
over travel-related costs with combined and detailed data of all purchases, regardless of location, type of purchase
or sales channel used. Customers receive a single, shared invoice for all purchases and may also retrieve account
information and reports from a dedicated Internet site.
Hakan Olsson, Director SAS Corporate Card, said, ``The UATP corporate payment system provides the platform for
SAS to offer favorable solutions to corporate customers. The SAS Corporate Card is a total solution for companies
and lowers the cost of business travel, regardless of which airline the customer elects to travel.''
Richard Crum, UATP President and Chairman, said, ``We are pleased with the launch and attractive benefits of the
SAS UATP card program. Scandinavian corporations subscribing to the program will now benefit from the worldwide
acceptance of UATP.''
Universal Air Travel Plan Inc., formerly known as Air Travel Card®, is the world's first business travel payment
system. Founded in 1936, UATP was an innovator in the charge card industry, developing such standards as the magnetic
strip and lodged accounts. With annual global billings over USD 8 billion, UATP is owned and operated by each card-issuing
airline and accepted by virtually every airline in the world. UATP offers the most complete data and lowest administrative
cost of any charge product and is the industry's own solution to combat rising credit card costs. Multi-national
corporations, including 73 percent of the Top 100 Global, utilize UATP to better manage travel expenses. Airlines
currently issuing UATP accounts include Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Alitalia, American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), Austrian
Airlines, British Airways (NYSE: BAB), Continental (NYSE: CAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Japan Airlines (Nasdaq:
JAPNY), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (NYSE: KLM), Lufthansa German Airlines, QANTAS, Scandinavian Airlines System,
Swissair, United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) and US Airways (NYSE: U). For more information, visit http://uatp.com.
SOURCE: Universal Air Travel Plan, Inc.