The 25th annual Business
Travel News Corporate Travel 100 ranking shows the biggest buyers of travel
notably increased 2011 spending, but they are approaching 2012 very
differently.
[Please click here to view the digital edition of the 2012 Corporate Travel 100, featuring all company
rankings and listings, downloadable as a pdf.]
Among 63 companies who spent at least $30 million in
U.S.-booked air volume, most of which are listed in these pages, 2011 U.S.
travel and entertainment spending increased by an average of 8.5 percent year
over year, but those same buyers projected an average 3 percent decrease this
year. Similarly, 2011 companywide air volume increased by an average of nearly
15 percent, but CT100 buyers projected a return to 2010 levels this year.
The CT100 is based on 2011 air tickets purchased for
business travel at all U.S. points of sale. Most listed organizations provided
information for use both in their specific listings and aggregate benchmarking
data, some of which is highlighted here.
Respondent organizations completed an online questionnaire;
some provided additional information in interviews. For organizations that did
not participate, BTN used industry
sources, published reports and other intelligence to compile data.
Thirteen firms not included last year qualified for this
list, including first-time members BASF and NBCUniversal. Those falling off
include such familiar CT100 organizations as American International Group,
Cargill, CSC and Motorola.