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Delta is latest to realign sales.

Article Excerpt
Atlanta - Mired in a business slump likely to drag on throughout 2003, Delta Air Lines is the latest major carrier to reorganize its sales structure. The cost-cutting shuffle, a several-month effort to be completed by April, eliminates the district sales manager layer and refocuses field sales on regional accounts. The new structure also consolidates management of all internal and external distribution channels.

Mirroring financial and traffic trends, smaller low-fare airlines AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways are expanding salesforces as the majors retrench.

A slimmer salesforce at a major carrier can have both positive and negative effects on corporate and agency programs, depending on the size of the account. On the one hand, smaller clients, particularly agencies, either could see their account reps less often or be funneled into airline telesales and branded small business programs. On the other hand, "maybe there is a bright side in that things will get more streamlined for corporate accounts," said John Heilner, Princeton, N.J.-based vice president of Management Alternatives. For better or for worse, he said, "pricing departments and revenue management will be a little more formulaic."

As such, some accounts may experience a shorter negotiating cycle and there may be less ambiguity as carriers employ efficient...

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