Analysis for The Americas
Charting the trends – new research indicates that ‘it is safe to return to conducting and attending in-person professional meetings and events’ but business travel’s return will remain a slow process
The use of videoconferencing and technology platforms have helped us to maintain business relationships while the world has worked to find a solution to the biggest global health crisis of modern times.
The CEO perspective – airline bosses open up on COVID, the recovery, and the future of air travel
Over the first six months of 2021 airline CEOs from across the world have spoken openly at the monthly CAPA Live virtual summit about air travel, the coronavirus crisis and the path to recovery. To say 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge for these professionals is a major understatement and each shares the journey for their respective airlines through one of the biggest crises to hit the world.
Charting the trends – Chinese and Japanese travellers are most reluctant to travel far overseas, US and Brazilian travellers put Europe on hold, while August is perceived as most secure option for trips to the Continent
Airlines and hotels are starting to see lifts in bookings and traveller sentiment is strengthening in many parts of the world as vaccination programmes continue. As projected, the leisure and VFR markets are showing the strongest recovery, short-haul is ahead of long-haul and LCCs ahead of legacy models due to this current traveller demographic.
Going supersonic – United’s Overture signing comes with strong caveats but still represents massive boost to Boom Aerospace’s supersonic aspirations and the return for high-speed air travel
The closure last month of Aerion Supersonic highlighted just how much of a technical challenge the proposed return of high-speed commercial air travel beyond the sound barrier truly is, especially with sustainability quite rightly a major topic right now. They were seen as one of the most likely among a raft of start-ups aiming to break into this market space, one that corporate travellers have been watching closely.
CAPA Live: The role of travel managers is changing – as we enter an new era of travel they have a unique opportunity to elevate their role
The past 12 months or so have given many organisations a time to pause and evaluate their business activities. This time has certainly put the role of travel managers in the spotlight and highlighted the valuable role they play within organisations.
A glimpse into the future – a hybrid approach to working from UK businesses may indicate a muted take-off for international corporate travel
A report this week from the BBC that four in five of Britain's biggest firms plan on adopting a 'hybrid' model of working in the post-COVID recovery highlights how senior management are looking differently on working arrangements. The same attention could also see changes in how they approach staff travel.
Charting the trends – Cryptocurrencies have become more widely accepted, but are already under threat and their use may ultimately be limited by the arrival of central bank digital currencies
The news this week that the iconic auction house Southerby’s will accept Bitcoin and Ethereum payments when it sells a copy of the 'Love is in the Air' Banksy painting highlights how cryptocurrencies are now firmly embedded in our financial system. The famed painting – described by Sotheby's as a “unique work” based on an artwork first sprayed onto a wall on Jerusalem – depicts a protester hurling a bouquet of flowers and is the first piece of auctioned fine art that can be paid for using cryptocurrencies. It has a reserve price of USD3-5 million.
Uber builds with CarTrawler to introduce Uber Rent concept in the US and meet the upturn in demand
After successfully offering availability in France, Australia and New Zealand and the United Kingdom, ride-hailing technology company Uber has expanded its partnership with B2B car rental and mobility platform Car Trawler to introduce its Uber Rent service in the United States of America.
The CEO perspective – airline bosses open up on COVID, the recovery, and the future of air travel
Over the first four months of 2021 airline CEOs from across the world have spoken openly at the monthly CAPA Live virtual summit about air travel, the coronavirus crisis and the path to recovery. To say 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge for these professionals is a major understatement and each shares the journey for their respective airlines through one of the biggest crises to hit the world.
The number’s game – the scale of corporate travel recovery remains uncertain, but there is generally growing optimism on its revival
“Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random,” is a saying from Donald Ervin Knuth, an American computer scientist, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, and winner of the 1974 Turing Award. Right now there is still a feeling that attempting to correctly forecast the scale and timescale for the recovery of corporate travel is still little more than an educated guess.