Corporate Travel News

Drukair, via its official Facebook and Twitter accounts, announced (24-Oct-2023) it signed a contract with Alii Palau Airlines to operate Singapore-Palau service "on behalf of Alii Palau", commencing 23-Nov-2023.

Virgin Atlantic Airways launched (23-Oct-2023) three times weekly London Heathrow-Male service with Boeing 787 equipment. British Airways also operates on the route, according to OAG. [more - original PR]

Emirates Airline and Batik Air (Malaysia) announced (23-Oct-2023) a new codeshare agreement, providing Emirates passengers with access to eight southeast Asian destinations using a single ticket and one baggage policy. Effective immediately, Emirates will codeshare on the following services operated by Batik Air Malaysia:

• Kuala Lumpur-Penang;
• Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu;
• Kuala Lumpur-Kuching;
• Kuala Lumpur-Langkawi;
• Kuala Lumpur-Johor Bahru;
• Kuala Lumpur-Denpasar;
• Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta;
• Kuala Lumpur-Singapore.

Malaysia's Minister of Transport YB Tuan Anthony Loke stated: "We are pleased with the partnership, which has the potential to strengthen Malaysia's role as a prime gateway to the region. We hope to see an increase in KLIA traffic, especially to facilitate connectivity to regional destinations". Emirates currently operates three times daily Dubai-Kuala Lumpur service. [more - original PR - Emirates] [more - original PR - Batik]

Nauru Airlines, via its official Facebook account, announced (23-Oct-2023) its Island Hopper service is expanding to Palau from 30-Nov-2023.

United Airlines notified (20-Oct-2023) US Department of Transportation (DoT) of its intent to terminate its codeshare agreement with Aer Lingus effective 27-Oct-2023. The parties entered the partnership in Jul-2008. [more - original PR]

Institute of Travel Management (ITM) reported (18-Oct-2023) the following results from a poll of travel managers who attended its Buyer Knowledge Exchange on 10-Oct-2023:

• The top priorities for travel programmes in 2024 were management/programme savings (77%), policy adoption/adherence to policy (63%) and sustainability (57%). Other key areas include payment and expense solutions;
• 62% were currently undertaking a hotel RFP;
• 12% were satisfied with the quality and accuracy of their travel data, 60% were 'somewhat' satisfied and 28% were not satisfied. All buyers use their travel management company as the primary source for data and 52% also use an expense tool as a secondary source. [more - original PR]

Emirates Airline announced (19-Oct-2023) it has expanded its inflight meal preordering service to 92 routes globally with the addition of 30 new routes to destinations including Riyadh, Jeddah, Delhi, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. The carrier reported over 10,000 meal preorders have been delivered on over 3000 flights to date. As previously reported by CAPA, the service allows business class passengers to preselect their main course between 14 days and 24 hours prior to departure to reduce food wastage. [more - original PR]

Cathay Pacific extended (22-Oct-2023) its suspension of three times weekly Hong Kong-Tel Aviv service until 31-Dec-2023. The airline is the sole scheduled operator on the route, according to OAG. [more - original PR]

Qantas Group expanded a trial of its Neighbour Free programme to the following international routes (Travel News Asia/Business Traveller, 19/20-Oct-2023):

• Singapore-Brisbane;
• Singapore-Melbourne;
• Singapore-Perth;
• Brisbane-Auckland;
• Brisbane-Christchurch;
• Brisbane-Los Angeles;
• Brisbane-Wellington from 29-Oct-2023;
• Melbourne-Auckland;
• Melbourne-Christchurch;
• Melbourne-Dallas;
• Melbourne-Los Angeles;
• Melbourne-Wellington;
• Sydney-Auckland;
• Sydney-Christchurch;
• Sydney-Dallas;
• Sydney-Honolulu;
• Sydney-Los Angeles;
• Sydney-San Francisco;
• Sydney-Wellington.

The programme enables passengers to reserve the seat next to them when travelling economy. The option will start from AUD45 (USD28.43) on trans-Tasman flights, AUD100 (USD63.18) between Australia and Singapore, and AUD225 (USD142.15) between Australia and the US. Chief customer and digital officer Catriona Larritt stated: "We've had a really positive reaction from customers who've opted to travel Neighbour Free on our domestic network and customers have told us they want the option on our international flights too". Ms Larritt added: "The data shows its most popular with customers on our longer flights between the east and west coasts, so rolling it out to our international flights makes a lot of sense".

British Airways announced (19-Oct-2023) plans to resume daily London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi service with Boeing 787-9 equipment from 20-Apr-2024, following a four year hiatus. The carrier plans to operate the service on a year round basis. [more - original PR]