News for Europe/MEA

CAPA - Centre for Aviation published (Oct-2022) a report entitled: 'The new shape of the aviation industry - CAPA's 2022 megatrends', addressing the biggest trends that faced the aviation industry in 2022 and the influence of these trends on future strategies. These megatrends will be the focus for the CAPA World Aviation Summit in Gibraltar on 01/02-Dec-2022. At the event, hosted by Gibraltar's Government, global airline leaders will share insights and perspectives on the changes in the aviation sector over the last year, how the industry has adapted and development targets for the future. Topics will include rising costs, environmental sustainability, operational issues, the paths of international recovery, government ownership, digital transformation, partnerships and alliances. [more - CAPA Report] [more - CAPA Events]

airBaltic announced (30-Sep-2022) a new loyalty programme cooperation with Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. airBaltic Club members will be able to earn points on codeshare services operated by Air France and KLM and spend points with Air France and KLM. [more - original PR]

Institute of Travel Management (ITM) published (27-Sep-2022) a report, revealing that most travel buyer members are facing challenges with their chosen online booking tools (OBT) as business travel resumes at scale. The report noted clear concern regarding the capabilities of OBTs to meet the needs of travel managers and travellers now and in the future. Key findings of the survey include:

• 45% of respondents stated that their existing online booking tool is not 'fit for purpose' in the current environment. This rises to 57% in the mid to long term;
• 75% feel that their current OBT provider is not listening to their needs;
• 70% were very or somewhat dissatisfied with responsiveness to requests;
• 90% of buyer members are satisfied with their OBT's policy configuration capability. User friendliness also largely met with satisfaction (80%);
• The top three factors rated as most important by respondents when selecting an OBT are proactiveness with solutions, responsiveness to requests and offline support;
• The top three factors rated as most important when selecting an OBT based on functionality are user friendly experience, policy configuration capability, reporting and data analytics including sustainability;
• In terms of content, 75% are satisfied with basic air single/return and accommodation;
• The top five items on buyers' OBT wishlist are full NDC content, user-friendly interface/experience, EU/UK rail integration, better CO2 information (by aircraft cabin, hotels and comparison of air to rail) and sustainability aspects/reporting;
• Despite buyers' concerns, the majority (75%) do not plan to change their OBT in the next 12 months. [more - original PR]

Amadeus reported (27-Sep-2022) modernising business travel "will yield tens of billions in economic value", according to a study commissioned by the company. Amadeus commissioned the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) to model the economic benefits should the industry apply the latest digital spend management technology. Based on research with corporate travel and finance teams from large companies in the US, UK, France and Germany, Amadeus stated CEBR's work highlights the economic opportunities of digitally transforming travel and expense. According to the study, end-to-end digital spend management delivers economic benefits in the following areas:

• Productivity improvements for travellers, managers and finance teams from digitalising expenses save 147 minutes per expense claim, equating to 188,000 full time equivalent employees and USD20.6 billion in gross economic value across the four economies;
• Direct travel spend efficiencies result in savings of USD31.4 billion or 8.2% of direct travel spend made by large companies across the four markets. Savings are achieved through reductions in fraud and error and more consistent application of company travel policies;
• End-to-end digital spend management enables travellers to be provided with a virtual card containing a pre-agreed budget for the trip. Travellers no longer need to submit expense reports and finance teams also gain efficiencies in accounting, auditing, reimbursement, control, budgeting, forecasting and international VAT reclaim. [more - original PR]

British Airways and Qatar Airways completed (26-Sep-2022) the last phase in the expansion of their partnership, stating they now offer "connectivity between more countries than any other airline joint business". The airlines added 42 countries to their shared network, including Italy, Maldives, Norway, Singapore and Sweden, expanding access between destinations in Europe and the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The expansion will enable connecting journeys on single tickets through Doha and London, bringing the number of destinations served by the two airlines to 185 across more than 60 countries. Customers can engage with both airlines' loyalty programmes, earning and spending the common Avios currency. Cooperation on "a small number of routes" remains subject to pending regulatory clearances. [more - original PR - British Airways] [more - original PR - Qatar Airways]

Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) surveyed (21-Sep-2022) travel and procurement leaders from Europe and North America, finding 54% say business travel has rebounded faster than expected, while 77% report they are spending more time troubleshooting traveller issues. Highlights include:

• 67% believe that once all their offices are open, hybrid work scenarios will dominate. Only 9% anticipate that all their colleagues will return to the office full time;
• 40% report that their companies have reduced their office space;
• 39% say their company is hiring more remote workers than they did prior to the pandemic;
• Almost four of five travel managers responding (79%) say remote working policies boost employee morale, while 72% believe these policies help with talent recruitment;
• 17% say the procurement and management of co-working spaces is fully-managed;
• 44% "don't know" how their company procures co-working spaces;
• More than seven in ten (71%) say they would gain from having the consolidated data from hotel, meeting and co-working bookings, with 67% noting it would be easier for employees to use validated corporate payment tools via a singular booking source;
• Nearly three-quarters (74%) say it would be easier for employees to book both hotels and co-working spaces at the same time in the same shopping/booking technology.

74% of survey respondents were from the US and Canada. [more - original PR]

Lufthansa City Center (LCC) reported (22-Sep-2022) its business travel segment is "recovering faster than expected", and forecasts the pre-pandemic level could be reached by the end of 2023 "if the development continues". Following "very strong recent bookings", the company expects to achieve 80% of the 2019 levels of turnover in 2022. Managing director Markus Orth stated LCC is currently detaching itself from the general development in the market with its strong recovery, highlighting the company "benefits greatly from its focus on medium-sized companies". Mr Orth said employees of medium-sized companies are currently going on much more frequent business trips compared to large corporations, while "a large number of high-revenue new customers were gained who were specifically looking for a TMC with a high level of consulting expertise". Mr Orth expects a "push in Asia" for 4Q2022, with demand for trips to China high and customers willing to pay the currently high prices. LCC also expects travel to Hong Kong and Singapore to continue to increase, while the "important North American business is also continuing to do well". [more - original PR - German]

China Southern Airlines, via its official Weibo account, announced (16-Sep-2022) the first London-Guangzhou passenger service resumed on 15-Sep-2022, marking the first resumption since Jan-2021. China Southern resumed Guangzhou-London passenger service in Aug-2022.

Flybe, via its official Twitter account, announced (21-Sep-2022) plans to launch services from Isle of Man to London Heathrow and Belfast City, effective 29-Oct-2022.

Xiamen Airlines plans to operate the following 19 international services in Oct-2022 (Carnoc.com, 20-Sep-2022):

• Xiamen-Los Angeles: Twice weekly;
• Xiamen-Vancouver: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Amsterdam: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Sydney: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Melbourne: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Seoul: Three times weekly;
• Xiamen-Phnom Penh: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Manila: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Kuala Lumpur: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Singapore: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Bangkok: Twice weekly;
• Fuzhou-Tokyo: Weekly;
• Fuzhou-Jakarta: Weekly;
• Xiamen-Hong Kong: Four times weekly;
• Xiamen-Taiwan Taoyuan: Daily;
• Xiamen-Taipei Songshan: Three times weekly;
• Hangzhou-Hong Kong: Weekly;
• Fuzhou-Hong Kong: Four times weekly;
• Tianjin-Hong Kong: Twice weekly.