News for South Pacific

Lamb Weston senior director of procurement for capitals & indirects Bhart Sarin, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) "A lot of people that were caretakers or participants in this industry have exited, yet there is a new generation about to enter". Mr Weston added: "There is a magic to this business", noting the industry will "be back to even or greater than we ever were before".  

Lamb Weston senior director of procurement for capitals & indirects Bhart Sarin, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) duty of care and risk management "is going to be the foundation of all program redesigns, globalisations and truncations". He noted travel approvals will "move away" from the cost aspect, adding: "The pennywise and pound-foolish approach will find its way out of the system. You're going to go back to more of a demand driven model". 

Marriott International regional director global sales Australia & New Zealand Karryn Cutcheon, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) air capacity issues are causing "a lot of reliance" on domestic travel, adding: "I see that going into next year". Ms Cutcheon said there is "a lot of pent up domestic demand moving around", noting this is affecting hotel availability. She added customer expectations have "completely changed", and that they are expecting "more high standards than ever because they've sat at home for two years". 

Marriott International regional director global sales Australia & New Zealand Karryn Cutcheon, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) hotels are used to running high occupancies, therefore there is a "natural duty of care towards cleanliness". Ms Cutcheon said: "Contactless is where hotels have had to advance their technologies as quickly as they could, and adjust technologies to provide that contactless experience". She added this includes enabling customers to bypass reception and go to their room, as well as changes to things in their room such as QR codes and wireless charging. 

Marriott International regional director global sales Australia & New Zealand Karryn Cutcheon, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) customer experience is the company's "biggest challenge" in regards to recovery, adding it is "working hard" to attract new talent and appeal to new generations. Ms Cutcheon said the company is also working to diversify talent and "bring in new ideas and new people". 

AirPlus International director APAC operations Piers Gibbons, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) there is a "big problem" with forecasting and budgeting, due to "up and down" bookings and refunds over the past two years, adding: "So how do you forecast how much you'll spend if you don't have consistent historical data to go on". Mr Gibbons said real time data is important, adding the company is working closely with travel management companies to come up with "what is meaningful from massive data". He noted the company is also simplifying this down to "meaningful points that allow them to make decisions". 

AMEX GBT director of commercial Danielle Russom, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) "We're seeing some pretty expensive trips", adding customers are currently weighing up budgets and available capacity. Ms Russom said there is "a lot of focus" on sustainability, including some customers focusing on whether travel is a requirement. She added: "Sustainability will play more of a role in decision making moving forward". 

AirPlus International director APAC operations Piers Gibbons, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) the company's data is seeing an 80% return to business travel, noting the cost of each trip is "going up significantly". Mr Gibbons said this is impacting how the budgeting process is going with clients, adding it is starting to see some trepidation about what's coming up in 2023. He noted clients are also looking for additional partners to help them with travel and bringing in secondary providers.

AMEX GBT director of commercial Danielle Russom, speaking at the CTC Australasia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Awards, stated (22-Nov-2022) "As we look across the industry, disruption is the new norm, and I don't see that changing in the next six to 12 months". Ms Russom noted the disruptions have "implications" for travel management companies and buyers, as business travellers need to be supported "in a different way" from a leisure traveller. She added the topic of having better support for a traveller "has become an important one". 

Australia's Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) reported (21-Nov-2022) the following domestic on time performance highlights for Oct-2022:

• On time departures: 68.5%;
  • QantasLink: 74.5%;
  • Qantas Airways: 73.1%;
  • Regional Express: 70.5%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 69.2%;
  • Virgin Australia: 62.6%;
  • Jetstar Airways: 61.6%;
• On time arrivals: 69.3%;
  • Qantas Airways: 74.2%;
  • QantasLink: 74.1%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 73.7%;
  • Regional Express: 68.3%;
  • Virgin Australia: 64.5%;
  • Jetstar Airways: 64.4%;
• Cancellations: 2.9%;
  • Qantas Airways: 1.2%;
  • Regional Express: 2.2%;
  • Qantas Link: 3.0%;
  • Virgin Australia: 3.6%;
  • Jetstar Airways: 3.9%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 5.1%. [more - original PR]