Corporate Travel News For The Americas

US TSA announced (28-Aug-2023) the addition of Cayman Airways, French Bee, Titan Airways and ZIPAIR to the TSA PreCheck programme. The expedited screening initiative enables low risk travellers to access a more efficient screening experience at over 200 US airports. The additions bring the number of PreCheck participating domestic and international carriers to 90. [more - original PR - US TSA] [more - original PR - Cayman Airways]

British Airways introduced (24-Aug-2023) an exclusive martini mixer to its Concorde Room in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport. The mixer was designed by British aviation and adventure specialists Bremont, alongside British design and engineering company CALLUM. This forms part of the carrier's efforts to invest in its lounges, with plans to complete its Terminal 5B refurbishment project at Heathrow in coming months. The airline is also undergoing lounge refreshes in Terminal 3 at the airport, as well as its lounge facilities in Edinburgh and Seattle. [more - original PR]

BermudAir announced (24-Aug-2023) plans to launch operations from Bermuda LF Wade International Airport on 31-Aug-2023, with services to Boston and Westchester County. The carrier will also launch service to Fort Lauderdale on 22-Sep-2023. Services will initially be operated with 88 seat Embraer E175 aircraft, with only 44 business class seats sold for each flight. The aircraft is planned to be reconfigured to feature a 30 seat 'Aisle Class' from 01-Nov-2023. Features of the service will include:

• Free WiFi and entertainment;
• At least one complimentary checked bag;
• Freshly prepared light meals;
• Beverage selections from local partners.

The services will be operated six times weekly, according to a 24-Aug-2023 GDS display. Bermuda-Westchester County frequency will increase to 12 times weekly from 19-Sep-2023. [more - original PR]

AirPlus International reported (23-Aug-2023) Austrian companies spending on flight tickets increased by 46% year-on-year in 1H2023, with China as the second most popular long term destination after the US. Highlights for Austrian business travel in 1H2023 include:

• The number of Austrian business class travellers increased from 5.3% in 1H2019 to 7.2% in 2023, with a decrease in number of employees travelling in economy class from 94.4% to 92.2%;
• The number of domestic flights decreased from 3% in 2019 to 1.3% in 2023, while the number of continental flights increased from 82.9% to 86.6%;
• Companies booked airline tickets at less short notice, at an average of 27.4 days before travel compared to 23.7 days in 2019;
• Trips lasted longer, at an average of 5.7 days compared to five days in 2019, while one day short trips that previously accounted for 13.6% declined to 6.7%;
• Just over 13% of business trips started on a weekend;
• Austria ranked seventh as a business travel destination in Europe after Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. [more - original PR]

Air France-KLM, via its official website, announced (22-Aug-2023) Air France and KLM have further rolled out the 'Light fare' option in business, premium economy and premium comfort cabin. The roll out covers routes from Europe, excluding the UK, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to Canada and Mexico for sales as of 22-Aug-2023 and travel as of 23-Aug-2023.

Goodwings completed (21-Aug-2023) its USD1.5 million late seed investment round, including funding from Global Cleantech Capital, JTB USA and existing investors. Goodwings stated the investment adds JTB USA as a strategic partner and supports the development of product features. Goodwings' platform allows businesses to book and manage travel in one place and provides climate features such as emissions calculations, emissions reductions and data for ESG reporting. The company reported a "huge increase" in subscriptions over the last 12 months. Global Cleantech Capital CEO Paul Kloppenborg commented: "There is no other solution that's catering to the surge in post-pandemic travel and the growing demand for businesses to disclose their emissions. Goodwings is strategically positioned at the intersection of this trend and we feel confident they can dominate this space for years to come". [more - original PR]

Qantas Group announced (21-Aug-2023) plans to add over 250,000 seats on the following services:

• Sydney-Bali: A330 aircraft will replace daily Boeing 737 flights from Oct-2023, with more premium seats and fully-flat beds in business class;
• Sydney-Auckland-New York JFK: Frequency will increase from four times weekly to daily from Aug-2024;
• Sydney-Johannesburg: A380s will operate to South Africa for the first time from Jul-2024, nearly doubling capacity during peak periods;
• Melbourne-Los Angeles: Capacity will increase by around 20% with more A380 flights on the route from Jul-2024;
• Sydney-Los Angeles: Frequency will increase from eight to nine times weekly from Jul-2024, operated with a mix of Boeing 787 and A380 aircraft.

Qantas Group is currently at around 80% of its pre-COVID international capacity levels, which has almost doubled in the past year. This is expected to reach 100% by Mar-2024, with the additional flying taking it beyond that level from Jul-2024. [more - original PR]

Google joined (14-Aug-2023) the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programme of American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) and Shell Aviation. The programme uses the Avelia book and claim platform. The programme launched in 2022 with one million gallons of SAF available for corporate customers. [more - original PR]

Sabre Corporation launched (14-Aug-2023) the Lodging AI solution, designed to help travel agencies improve hotel attachment rates, increase revenue opportunities and provide travellers with more personalised options. The solution marks the introduction of Sabre Travel AI capabilities in the lodging sector to analyse property attributes, customer trip segmentation and traveller and agency preferences to generate custom lodging options. Lodging AI will offer relevant lodging options to accompany air travel bookings. Sabre Travel AI uses Google technology as part of the companies' strategic partnership. [more - original PR]

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) reported (10-Aug-2023) the following highlights for 2Q2023:

• Travel revenue increased 23% year-on-year, primarily due to growth in total transaction value driven by continued growth in business travel and an improvement in yield driven by supplier performance incentives and strong growth in international transactions;
• Product and professional services revenue increased 16%, primarily due to increased management fees and meetings and events revenue driven by strengthened demand;
• Operating expenses increased 17%, primarily driven by strong transaction growth that resulted in increased cost of revenue and technology and content costs, as well as increased sales and marketing expenses.
• Total transactions increased 12% and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) transactions increased 15%;
• Total new wins over the last 12 months totalled USD3.4 billion, including a record USD2.3 billion in SME new wins. [more - original PR]