How Have Industry and Government Responded, Adapted and Innovated?

摘要

On the final day of GovTravels, a panel presentation provided insight into ways industry and government have responded, adapted, and innovated over the past year, as well as plans to overcome and push through the friction created by COVID-19. Moderated by Tony D'Astolfo, Senior Vice President North America, Serko Ltd, panelists included Robert Connors, Vice President, Enterprise Holdings, Inc.; David Harvey, Vice President, Southwest Business; Nick Vournakis, Managing Director, Global Customer Group, CWTSatoTravel; and Jim Gregory, Deputy Assistant Administrator Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, TSA. D'Astolfo opened the discussion by asking panel members to describe how their respective businesses had adapted as a result of the pandemic. For Vournakis, when the industry was "catastrophically impacted" by the pandemic, CWTSatoTravel focused on cash management. In addition, it focused on having enough liquidity to continue making strategic investments, drive business continuity, and ensure the company could weather an 18 to 36-month downturn. While TSA's primary focus remains security, Gregory shared that the pandemic necessitated the implementation of myriad protective measures such as plexiglass barriers and wearing PPE to make the screening process safer. The agency also upgraded its equipment to reduce the need for security agents to handle passenger boarding documents and baggage. According to Harvey, matching capacity to demand is key to any airline. The abrupt halt of flying passengers caused the airline to look closely at how to adjust its operations control, network, and schedule. Also, while Southwest already had robust business continuity plans, those plans needed to be adjusted and thought through more thoroughly to address the realities of COVID-19.