T&E magazine is dedicated to helping companies master travel and entertainment expense management by offering policy advice, legal insights, trend analysis and smart solutions for the many challenges facing travel management professionals.

Chief among readers’ concerns:

• Chief among readers’ concerns:
• Establishing and enforcing effective travel policies and procedures;
• Containing costs while maintaining and improving the quality of the travel experience;
• Selecting, negotiating and contracting with suppliers;
• Streamlining processes through new and developing technologies; and
• Staying abreast of critical developments in a rapidly changing industry.

Through regular departments, columns, original research and features, T&E provides a valuable resource that guides readers toward strategic solutions for the considerable challenges inherent in managing a corporate travel program.

FEATURES
| 9 | COVER STORY: Carbon Counting
BY MICHAEL J. SHAPIRO
Calculating the carbon damage of a proposed business trip is a relatively new and inexact science, but that hasn’t stopped a number of suppliers from rolling out tools to do just that for their corporate clients. Some compare a flight’s footprint to that of train travel or videoconferencing. Others actually calculate the damage by type of aircraft. T&E looks at who’s counting — and what they’re doing with the tallies.

| 15 | Taking It to the Streets
BY TOM ISLER
Supporting the drive toward a greener future, car rental companies are adding fuel-efficient vehicles to their fleets and even providing carbon-offset programs to customers. Here’s a look at the latest offerings of the industry’s greenest car rental suppliers.

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UpFront: Escaping the News

In the weeks leading up to the close of this issue, I started keeping notes on possible topics for this column. First, I thought I would write about controlling travel costs in a recession, now that economists were using the “R” word; but then the industry suddenly was buzzing about aircraft maintenance concerns. Within days, hundreds of thousands of passengers were grounded as airlines scrambled to appease a newly strident FAA. In early April, three carriers went bankrupt within the space of a week. On April 14, Delta/Northwest finally agreed to merge.

With the news changing so fast, I decided to put this column on hold while I went on vacation. For a solid week in lovely Barbados, I read only fiction (OK, and the Times Digest).

A week in paradise (found at two truly heavenly properties, The Colony Club and The House) can do wonders to clear one’s mind. While avoiding any decisions except what type of tequila to have in my margarita, it occurred to me that periods of turmoil are hardly new to air travel, and while it might be more of a hassle, we generally can get where we need to go. Furthermore, I reasoned, fares have hardly budged in decades, at least on the domestic front. Stats from the Air Transport Association and Credit Suisse put the average domestic ticket at 12.83 cents per mile in 1981; 26 years later, the average fare was 12.90 cents per mile.

Despite all the turbulence, how much has really changed? I returned, relaxed and tan, and was slammed with more news. Eos had folded its wings, I learned via car radio while shelling out $58 for gas. On April 25, jet fuel was $146.80 per barrel, up 72.7 percent from the previous year. At this point, analysts in all camps agree the airlines simply cannot survive without dramatically raising fares and slashing routes.

The flat fares that have propelled so much of our work and play seem on the verge of extinction. As someone who relishes travel, I’m loath to admit this, but the flawed status quo has reached its breaking point. It’s time to brace for real change.

LOREN G. EDELSTEIN
EDITOR

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