
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 10, 1994                   TAG: 9406170087
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WE DON'T HAVE THE BIG SPENDERS

Roanoke companies probably aren't big enough spenders in the travel industry to demand the kind of discounts from airlines that a few national companies are negotiating, said Ted Moomaw of World Travel Service.

Moomaw said Thursday he is not aware of any local company engaged in such talks. "A lot of things go on in major markets driven by competitive forces we don't have here," he said.

The companies involved in the plan, he said, buy "millions and millions of dollars" worth of airline tickets. Companies in Roanoke, he said, don't have that kind of business to lay on the table.

Richard Burton, spokesman for Appalachian Power Co. in Roanoke, said the idea of negotiating for lower fares "is not exactly new." But, he said, Apco has not been involved in such programs because "we don't fly enough. We have no clout to deal with airlines."

Most of Apco's travel is to Columbus, Ohio, headquarters of the utility's parent company, American Electric Power Co. Because of the high cost of flying, Burton said, President Joseph Vipperman and other officials almost invariably drive to Columbus - a trip that takes more than six hours.

Roger Farley, spokesman for General Electric Co.'s Drive Systems and Industrial Systems & Services units in Roanoke, said all company travel is arranged by a GE travel center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The travel center gets discounts, Farley said.

Ron Downing of Westvaco Corp. at Covington, said all company travel is coordinated through corporate headquarters in New York. He had no knowledge about negotiations over frequent flyer miles.

Rob Chapman, spokesman for Norfolk Southern Corp. in Norfolk, said the company is reviewing its entire travel and entertainment policy. He said he has heard of no situation that ties discounts directly to abolition of frequent flyer miles.

by CNB