Corporate Travel News For Europe/MEA

Collinson partnered (21-Sep-2023) with Visa to enable Priority Pass to offer eligible Visa cardholders in Asia Pacific instant access to premium airport lounges in the event of flight delays or cancellations. Collinson's SmartDelay provides customers with instant benefits without the need to complete a claim form. As soon as travellers are advised of the delay or cancellation, they can instantly redeem lounge access, including complimentary food and beverages. [more - original PR]

OAG reported (19-Sep-2023) the following highlights from its 2023 'Megahubs' report, ranking the most internationally connected airports:

• London Heathrow Airport reclaimed the position of the most internationally connected airport. British Airways remains the airport's dominant airline with a 50% share of flights;
• New York John F Kennedy International Airport ranked second, up 16 places from 2019;
• Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ranked third, with KLM accounting for 53% of flights;
• Kuala Lumpur International Airport ranked fourth and is the most connected airport in Asia Pacific. AirAsia operates 34% of flights at the airport;
• Tokyo Haneda Airport ranked fifth, up from 22nd in 2019;
• Frankfurt Airport ranked sixth;
• Istanbul Airport joined the top 10 at seventh. Turkish Airlines is the airport's dominant airline with a 79% share of flights;
• Seoul Incheon International Airport ranked eighth;
• Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport ranked ninth;
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport ranked 10th. The airport is ranked first in the US for domestic connectivity. United Airlines accounts for 48% of flights at the airport;
• Dubai International Airport is the top ranked airport in the Middle East and Africa at 16th;
• Seven of the top 20 airports are in Asia Pacific, six are in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and six are in North America. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II] [more - original PR - III]

Emirates Airline and SriLankan Airlines signed (19-Sep-2023) a reciprocal interline agreement encompassing 30 routes, increasing connectivity via Dubai and Colombo using a single ticket with baggage transfers. Effective immediately, Emirates will codeshare on the following Asian services operating by SriLankan Airlines:

• Colombo-Bangalore;
• Colombo-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi;
• Colombo-Chennai;
• Colombo-Cochin;
• Colombo-Gan Island;
• Colombo-Guangzhou;
• Colombo-Hyderabad (India);
• Colombo-Jakarta;
• Colombo-Kuala Lumpur;
• Colombo-Madurai;
• Colombo-Male;
• Colombo-Seoul Incheon;
• Colombo-Singapore;
• Colombo-Tiruchirappalli;
• Colombo-Tokyo Narita.

SriLankan Airlines will codeshare on Emirates services to 15 destinations including Amman, Bahrain, Cairo, and other Middle Eastern destinations, as well as Moscow, New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Franciso, Chicago, Boston and Houston. [more - original PR]

Airbus announced (19-Sep-2023) Lufthansa will be the first retrofit customer for the Airspace L cabin bins. 38 Lufthansa A320s will be refitted with the new bins from Jan-2025. The new bins are expected to provide 60% more bag capacity than previous generation A320 bins. Airspace L bins are designed to be retrofitted in three to five days and allow space for three extra bags per bin. The bins will be manufactured by Elbe Flugzeugwerke. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]

Air Belgium announced (18-Sep-2023) its board of directors decided to focus its development exclusively on cargo and ACMI, and to discontinue its own passenger business which "is proving to be chronically unprofitable to date", in the face of increased competition. In order to address its current debt and return to profitability, the board has filed for judicial reorganisation by way of amicable agreement. While budget forecasts expected a return to profitability in autumn 2023, the "financial difficulties of the past, coupled with the current uncertain and challenging environment, are forcing Air Belgium to change its strategy". Air Belgium stated "numerous disruptions over the last three years" have "severely impacted the profitability", highlighting COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Flights scheduled after 03-Oct-2023 will be cancelled and passengers "reimbursed as a matter of priority in the scope of the proceedings". Employees in the passenger segment will continue to work during the proceedings and beyond, as management intends to reassign them gradually to other activities operated by the company. [more - original PR]

EUROCONTROL reported (18-Sep-2023) the following highlights for European aviation, for the period between 06-Sep-2023 and 12-Sep-2023:

• The network recorded 32,514 average daily flights, +7% year-on-year, -1.4% week-on-week and at 94% of 2019 levels;
• Intra Europe: 25,556 daily flights, -1% week-on-week and 94% of 2019 levels;
• Intercontinental: 6124 daily flights, -3% week-on-week and 89% of 2019 levels;
• On the intercontinental network, the main regional flow was Europe-Middle East (1591 daily flights, 2% above 2019 levels);
• The flows to the North Atlantic and North Africa were also 2% and 6% above 2019 levels, respectively;
• Flows with other Europe (including Russia) remain "massively reduced" at -66% compared to 2019;
• UK-US was the top long haul country pair, with 332 average daily flights, unchanged week-on-week and +11% compared with 2019;
• Mainline (+20% compared to 2022), regional (+3%), low cost (+5%) and charter (+1%) sectors are recording growth since the pandemic;
• Business aviation (-9%) and all cargo (-6%) are recording fewer flights year-on-year, with both segments levelling off. [more - original PR]

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) commenced (14-Sep-2023) processing payments for Business Travel Group's Business Class brand through the ARC Pay API. The solution is embedded into the Business Class online booking system and provides customers with a "one-click" payment option when booking air travel. Business Travel Group is the first customer to transact through the ARC Pay API, which enables features such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and 3DS. ARC Pay API embeds payment processing directly into the booking workflow and can be integrated into mobile, web based and custom software applications. [more - original PR]

Fiji Airways announced (18-Sep-2023) plans to launch twice weekly Nadi-Noumea Tontouta service on 30-Nov-2023. The service will be operated under an existing air service agreement which allows the carrier to provide services in French territories. The destination is Fiji Airways' 26th globally. [more - original PR]

Emirates Airline introduced (15-Sep-2023) inflight meal preordering for all business class passengers onboard services to and from the following destinations:

• Bologna;
• Brussels;
• Dublin;
• Hamburg;
• Istanbul;
• Madrid;
• Mauritius;
• Moscow;
• Prague;
• Rome;
• Saint Petersburg;
• Seychelles;
• Venice;
• Vienna;
• Warsaw.

The service allows passengers to preselect their main course between 14 days and 24 hours prior to departure to reduce food wastage. This follows the successful launch of the initiative on UK routes in Jul-2023. [more - original PR]

Etihad Airways announced (15-Sep-2023) all meals served in economy class onboard short haul services will be vegetarian, effective immediately. The carrier stated it is no longer able to cater to some meal requests for economy passengers onboard flights less than two hours due to operational reasons. Specific dietary requirements including gluten intolerance, diabetes and low-lactose will remain catered to. [more - original PR]