Business Travel News (BTN) recently published a list of the 25 executives in the business travel industry, “whose decisions held the greatest sway over the business travel industry in the previous year.” BTN editors vetted nominations that were submitted by industry professionals, including members of the BTN editorial board and staff.

Of the 25 executives mentioned, several are closely associated with frequent flyer programs. Dennis Cary, senior vice president and chief marketing and customer service officer for United Airlines was credited with introducing several a la carte options for new revenue, including Award Accelerator (paying to receive bonus miles when taking flights) and the airline’s new Premier Line option that “gives non-elite passengers the opportunity to move more quickly through security, and Economy Plus seats, for which customers can pay a fee to upgrade.” Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines was quoted as saying Southwest will offer, “new creative ways for more revenue.” Among those, a new frequent flyer program is in the works, and inflight Internet access will be offered. Also mentioned was Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta; Gerard Arpey, chairman, president and CEO of American; Duncan Bureau, vice president of sales and airline partnerships of WestJet and Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman and CEO of Lufthansa. You can read the full article at http://www.btnonline.com