Motorcoaches Cruise into the 21st Century

on the road ❖

stephen m. kirchner

MOTORCOACHES

CRUISE A fleet of deluxe coaches is available to tour operators from DATTCO, Inc., a Connecticut-based transportation company.

O

On a recent fam tour in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, we waited outside the Quality Hotel & Conference Center for the New World Tours motorcoach to pull up for loading. I looked around and could see that no one was particularly excited about boarding the motorcoach….it would be just another motorcoach transfer. Just a short ride to the first stop on the tour.

I was really looking forward to seeing the faces and hearing the reactions as our group boarded the coach. I had the advantage. I had been on one of these New World coaches before and knew everyone was in for a treat. Typical of their comments: “Wow, this is incredible!”

“This is amazing, we’ve never seen anything like this.”

“I’ve never been on an airplane this nice.”

As we sat down we glanced at the 24 December October 2009 2009

beautiful 26” flat-screen monitors built into the overhead racks and waited for the introduction from Ronnie Stevens of New World Tours. We learned we were on one of New World’s Corporate Coaches, a luxurious ABC-Van Hool motorcoach equipped with just about every amenity one could imagine. And

it better be, for this coach was just as likely to be hosting a group of corporate executives in Washington, D.C. as it was carrying a group of travel industry professionals on a tour of the West Virginia countryside.

As the motorcoach industry moves into the 21st century, the changes in pas-

New World Tours wows passengers with its state-of-the-art motorcoaches.

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Prevost coaches feature video monitors and other high-tech amenities.

again have a distinct advantage over those who ignore them.

Visit a motorcoach industry trade show today, such as the United Motorcoach Association’s Expo held in January at the Orlando Orange County Convention Center, and you see an incredible array of new vendors offering passenger comforts. Many are technology companies that were never seen before at such trade shows.

For the tour planner, knowing about these new trends is not only important, it may make the difference between a happy customer coming back to you for their next tour, or going next door to

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY senger comfort are coming fast and furious, and it’s safe to say there has never been another time when customer comforts have become as important as they are today.

Twenty years ago when we began seeing the first video monitors on motorcoaches, the industry saw its first real movement toward passenger comforts.

While some in the industry resisted that change (“something else to go wrong”), it soon became clear that onboard video was a competitive advantage to those who had it, and a real disadvantage to those who did not.

But for a long period of time, innovation on motorcoaches, as far as the passenger was concerned, meant going from a tube screen to a flat screen. The picture might have improved, but not much was different.

NEW TECHNOLOGY That’s all changed in the past several LeisureGroupTravel.com

This bus manufactured by Motor Coach Industries offers wireless Internet.

years, and the technological changes have led to a dizzying array of new comforts that motorcoach passengers are now beginning to take for granted.

And those companies in the forefront of offering these new comforts will

the planner who is knowledgeable and makes the right choices in motorcoach transportation.

“Making the experience much more enjoyable for the passenger is the top priority,” said Michael Power, director of December 2009 25

on the road ❖ Michael Power—Director of Marketing and Communication of Prevost

Making the experience much more enjoyable for the passenger is the top priority.

Prevost coaches reflect the most current trends in passenger comforts.

marketing and communication of Prevost, a Volvo Company, and one of the industry’s major manufacturers. “Technology is a large part of it, allowing the individual to control what he wants to see in entertainment.”

Today customers have ipods, iphones, individual game machines, computer laptops and more. The day of everyone wanting to watch the same video, or engage in the same activity, at the same time, is over.

from 55, 56 and 57), providing more leg room, and the addition of WiFi and satellite TV. A safety feature appearing on new motorcoaches is the standard seatbelt on

every seat. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to keep it loosely around you at all times just as we have come to expect on an airplane.

Companies can choose the option of in-seat video monitors like on some airlines, and customers can plug their ipods and computers into the system for power while onboard the motorcoach.

Prevost offers an AV connector in the front seat that allows the input of a computer into the coach video system, allowing for corporate training presentations or for sports team coaches to review game film on the way to or from a game. It also allows a tour operator to outline the itinerary or make a presentation on what’s coming up on the tour.

Power said technological trends make for safer travel as well. The com-

LEG ROOM AND SEATBELTS Trends today, Power said, put passenger comforts first, and include 52passenger coach configurations (down

Peter Pan passengers can expect the latest in technological advances.

Stephen M. Kirchner —President of the National Motorcoach Network

As the motorcoach industry moves into the 21st century, changes in passenger comfort are coming fast and furious.

26 December 2009

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Patricia Ziska—Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Motor Coach Industries

At MCI, we’re constantly advancing performance and safety features as new technologies become available. pany now offers its Prevost Liaison System, which follows the coach on the road, provides diagnostics of all aspects of the motorcoach above and under the hood, and reports to the operator and the driver any problems. This space-age system is linked to over 30 satellites.

Peter Pan Bus Lines is one of the first intercity bus lines to have wireless Internet available to passengers through the installation of WiFi technology on its fleet. Peter Pan is in the process of installing WiFi on 150 buses.

“We’re proud of our reputation for being on the leading edge of technology in the intercity bus industry,” said Peter A. Picknelly, president of Peter Pan. “We were among the first to include video monitors on our motorcoaches. Other technological advances such as a real-time monitoring system that records the speed and the operation of the vehicle by our operator and a GPS tracking system are routinely retrofitted into all of our coaches.

“Passengers want to use laptop computers, accessing the Internet to do work or to check e-mail, and the installation of the WiFi wireless compatibility on our coaches gives Peter Pan an advantage over air travel or travel by auto,” Picknelly said.

Today motorcoach operators work with the manufacturers to customize the consumer experience before the motorcoach leaves the production line.

“From new interior fabrics and colors to the very latest in onboard amenities, ABC Companies and Van Hool were able to create a series of coaches for us that truly exceed the expectations LeisureGroupTravel.com

and needs of our varied customer base,” said Dennis Lyons, vice president, Coach & Tour Group, DATTCO, Inc. Patricia Ziska, Motor Coach Industries (MCI) vice president and chief customer officer, said, “We plan to bring more innovation to our product.

We take seriously our commitment to advancing employee safety and our continued quest to be environmentally

not all companies are created equal, and not all companies offer all the amenities that your customers expect today.

When you plan your next North American tour, don’t forget that the key component often overlooked is the quality of the motorcoach. Make sure you ask the right questions and demand the right answers from motorcoach operators before you sign the contract.

MCI takes pride in its commitment to environment-friendly technology.

responsible by lowering our carbon emissions footprint.”

She adds, “At MCI, we’re constantly advancing performance and safety features as new technologies become available. We’ve even developed several of our own, including our patented spiral entryway and the very first Hybrid intercity coach. Interiors are more luxurious than ever before, giving passengers the most comfortable travel experience available today.”

If you haven’t been on a motorcoach recently, you are in for a surprise. But you will need to do the research because

The result will be happy customers who will return again for their next motorcoach tour adventure. Even more important, they will tell their friends about all the benefits of traveling on a motorcoach today….friends who, coincidentally, may want to come along on next year’s tour. LGT Stephen M. Kirchner is president of the National Motorcoach Network, a marketing organization that has been promoting motorcoach travel to consumers for over 25 years. It operates the National Reservation Center at www.motorcoach.com. He is also publisher of Byways magazine, a publication featuring North American tour destinations that offers a free subscription to consumers and group tour planners at http://bywaysmagazine.wordpress.com.

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