Corporate Travel News For Europe/MEA

Tunisia's Government reportedly plans to sign an 'open skies' agreement covering all airports in the country, except Tunis Carthage Airport, on 11-Dec-2017 (TAP, 20-Nov-2017). The agreement is expected to help alleviate capacity restrictions at Tunis Airport. The Government also reportedly approved plans to develop Remada Air Base to handle civil commercial services.

Rwanda's Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration announced (16-Nov-2017) a new visa regime and noted the following details:

• Rwanda will grant free 90 day visas to visitors from Benin, the Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Haiti, Senegal, the Seychelles and Sao Tome and Principe on a reciprocal basis, in addition to East African Community partner states, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, the Philippines and Singapore, effective immediately;
• Citizens of all countries will receive a visa on arrival without prior application from 01-Jan-2018;
• Citizens of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member states will receive a 90 day visa on arrival, effective immediately;
• Rwandans living abroad with dual nationality may use national IDs on entry;
• Returning residents may use valid residence cards on entry, including using e-gates at Kigali International Airport.

Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo said: "The new visa regime opens Rwanda to the world and is good for business. Rwanda believes that the free movement of people fosters trade and tourism, and is good for the continent's integration policy. We are aware of the challenges of open borders, but as a country, we also believe that the benefits of our policy outweigh the potential setbacks". (The East African, 17-Nov-2017). [more - original PR]

Groupe ADP announced (20-Nov-2017) My Paris Aeroport, the loyalty programme of Paris CDG Airport and Paris Orly Airport, partnered with Air France-KLM's Flying Blue frequent flyer scheme. Points accrued in either programme are now directly transferrable. [more - original PR - French]

Air Sial chairman Fazal Jilani commented on the airline's operational plans, stating: "Other local airlines fly regionally, only up to the Middle East... We too shall commence with flying to the Middle East including Jeddah, Dubai, and Qatar, but we won't stop there" (Pakistan Today, 06-Nov-2017). He continued: "Our plan includes reaching up to Europe in the next 3-5 years, and then fly farther - to North America. We will decide on it after looking at the routes that suit us the most".

Turkish Airlines offered (20-Nov-2017) Exclusive Drive private and luxury transfer service to business class passengers who purchase flexible return tickets. The service is available to passengers travelling from Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Cairo, Karachi, Kuwait City, Lahore, Islamabad, Mumbai, Tehran, Tel Aviv to the US and Canada and return services. [more - original PR]

Wizz Air announced (20-Nov-2017) plans to expand its London Luton Airport base with the addition of four A320 aircraft from Jun-2018, five new routes and additional frequencies. The allocation of four 186 seat A320 aircraft increases the total number of aircraft in Wizz Air's Luton fleet to five.

New London Luton routes:

• Larnaca: Daily from 30-May-2018;
• Tirana: Three times weekly from 31-May-2018;
• Bratislava: Daily from 20-Jun-2018;
• Tallinn: Four times weekly from 17-Sep-2018;
• Lviv: Three times weekly from 18-Sep-2018;

Frequency increases:

• Tel Aviv: From four times weekly to daily from 25-Mar-2018;
• Suceava: From five times weekly to daily from 20-Mar-2018;
• Pristina: From two to three times weekly from 25-Mar-2018.

Wizz Air handled 5.5 million passengers on London Luton routes in the 12 months to 31-Oct-2017, up 11% year-on-year. The traffic results position Wizz Air as the second largest carrier at London Luton Airport. Wizz Air plans to expand capacity at London Luton by 15% to more than 6.9 million seats across 46 routes to 20 countries in 2018. [more - original PR]

Travelgenio signed (20-Nov-2017) an agreement with Sabre Corporation to expand its global travel solutions. Sabre will provide the online travel agency with shopping and booking travel technology including a low fare search, workflow efficiency tools and data and business intelligence. Travelgenio operates a smart search engine for travel, available in 32 countries. Sabre Corporation VP Western Europe and Online, EMEA, Sabre Travel Network Antonella Vecchio said the agreement aims to provide "highly personalised search results based on a traveller's budget, profile and preferred vacation themes". [more - original PR]

Zurich Airport published (20-Nov-2017) a study by BAK Economics and Infras highlighting the airport's "significant economic importance". Highlights include:

• 27,000 direct and indirect jobs;
• CHF5 billion (EUR4.3 billion) in added economic value;
• One in four overnight tourists travel to Switzerland via Zurich Airport;
• Accounting for 40% of exports in terms of value in Switzerland. [more - original PR - English/German]

Embraer CEO John Slattery reported airline yields in the Middle east are "down about 10% over the last 24 months" and most intra-regional traffic is handled by narrowbody equipment that are not necessarily the most cost effective aircraft for the routes they serve (The National, 17-Nov-2017). Mr Slattery noted that 48% of regional narrowbody flights operate with less than 120 passengers, and 60% of the Middle East's regional markets are served with a less than daily service. Mr Slatter said there is an opportunity for airlines to "consider more cost-effective intra-regional feed" for their widebody aircraft market and createg an origin and destination market for the region.

Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) reported (17-Nov-2017) on construction issues at Berlin Brandenburg Airport:

• Door and sprinkler issues "have made further progress", with 77% of hydraulic calculation for sprinklers completed and more than 80% of doors ready for use;
• Technical and commercial clarifications with construction companies "are progressing well";
• New opening date to be decided at extraordinary meeting on 15-Dec-2017. [more - original PR - German]