Corporate Travel News For Europe/MEA

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines introduced (29-Jun-2023) its new 'World Business Class' (WBC) seats onboard its Boeing 777 fleet. The Jamco Venture seats are installed in a 1-2-1 configuration and will be fitted on the carrier's entire 777-300 and 777-200 fleet. This fleet will also be fitted with the latest 'Premium Comfort' cabin, with the full revamp to be completed during the course of the coming year. Features of the new seats include:

• Direct aisle access, with a sliding door to enable the seat to be closed off;
• More personal adjustment options and user friendly functionality, including an adjustable lower-back support and a relax setting with a back massage feature;
• Full flat lie seat, into a 198cm long bed;
• Multiple charging sockets and a wireless charging option;
• Storage in a lockable compartment, which has a built-in mirror.
• Recessed bottle holder. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]

Lufthansa Group general manager Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei Philipp Bonkatz, speaking at the CTC Singapore Corporate Travel Summit, stated (27-Jun-2023) that post COVID-19, "seamless travel is more important than ever before". Mr Bonkatz highlighted the focus is on making travel efficient, including through services such as facial recognition, mobile check in, and partnerships with local governments so that passport data can be used to do pre-checks.

German Travel Association (DRV), via its 'Chefsache Business Travel' study, reported (27-Jun-2023) an increasing number of business travellers and companies are attaching importance to being as ecologically sustainable as possible when travelling. The survey found 75% of business travellers are choosing train travel instead of air or rental car travel for domestic connections. In the cases where a flight cannot be avoided, 81% of business travellers stated they take CO2 emissions into account when booking, for example by choosing the most direct connections possible, with 61% even offsetting emissions out of pocket. Lufthansa City Center managing director Markus Orth stated sustainability is becoming increasingly important on business trips and is shifting from a benefit to essential. Mr Orth added business travel is increasingly shifting to rail, in particular for short distances. He said the drivers for this are employees, who place increasing value on sustainability, as well as the positive impacts corporate targets for reducing emissions and practiced sustainability have on reputation and employer branding. [more - original PR - German]

Al-Futtaim Group corporate travel services head Souhilla Taarabit, speaking at the CTC Singapore Corporate Travel Summit, stated (27-Jun-2023) "We cannot be a champion of sustainability just because everyone speaks about sustainability". Ms Taarabit added sustainability is a journey that takes three steps, including learning about and understanding the impact of business travel on the environment, understanding what is available in the market, setting up objectives and starting to track emissions, and offsetting against these objectives and implementing the sustainability strategy.

Al-Futtaim Group corporate travel services head Souhilla Taarabit, speaking at the CTC Singapore Corporate Travel Summit, stated (27-Jun-2023) "Pre trip approval questions should also include sustainability question, and not only questions related to itinerary and policy compliance and cost efficiency".

Dublin Airport, via its official Twitter account, announced (28-Jun-2023) Hainan Airlines resumed twice weekly Beijing Capital-Dublin service with A330-300 equipment on 27-Jun-2023. The airline is the sole scheduled operator on the route, according to OAG.

Air Europa signed (22-Jun-2023) a multimodal agreement with iryo, to enable passengers to combine the company's respective train and flight journeys on a single ticket. The rail connections offered by iryo between Madrid and Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza, Cuenca, Valencia, Albacete, Alicante, Málaga, Antequera, Córdoba and Seville, can be combined with Air Europa's flights to 33 continental and 21 trans-Atlantic destinations. The product is expected to be implemented before the end of 2023. [more - original PR - Spanish]

Air France-KLM, via its official website, announced (21-Jun-2023) Kenya Airways left the Flying Blue programme on 15-Jun-2023, to launch its own frequent flyer programme. As previously reported by CAPA, Kenya Airways revealed its loyalty programme is called 'Asante Rewards'.

London Gatwick Airport announced (21-Jun-2023) it is preparing a planning application to bring its Northern Runway into regular use for departures, alongside its Main Runway. The airport estimates the project would create approximately 630 new jobs for local construction workers and nearly 1400 jobs at its peak nationally, if given regulatory approval. [more - original PR]

Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) announced (16-Jun-2023) the Italian Court of Auditors approved the agreement for the sale of a minority stake in Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) to Lufthansa Group. As previously reported by CAPA, Lufthansa will obtain a 41% stake in ITA Airways against an investment of EUR325 million. The MEF and Lufthansa Group shared business plan for 2023-2027 provides for revenue growth from the expected EUR2.5 billion in 2023 to EUR4.1 billion for 2027. [more - original PR - Italian]