European airports passenger numbers slightly up in time for Christmas after plunging amid Omicron fears December 23, 2021 Passenger traffic through European airports increased nine per cent last week, as people make journeys to meet loved ones for the festive season, amid a “substantive” drop in traffic since Omicron was first detected. The number of passengers passing through Europe’s airports has fallen by around a fifth in the three weeks after the Omicron [...]
Travel industry 2022 lookahead: Are we back to square one? December 21, 2021 Less than a month ago, Luis Gallego – chief executive of British Airways’ (BA) owner IAG – was telling aviation stakeholders the industry’s recovery was on its way. Speaking at the Airlines UK conference in Westminster, Gallego revealed that “transatlantic bookings have reached almost 100 per cent of 2019 levels.” “I expect North Atlantic routes [...]
Germany to ban UK travellers to slow Omicron spread December 19, 2021 Germany will ban most travellers from the UK tonight as it tries to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
We’re taking fewer flights – now’s the time to bring back aviation’s glamour December 6, 2021 If you’ve tried going abroad lately, you will know that the process has changed drastically. Gone is the relative ease of perusing a travel site and booking your flights, your main concern being whether you’d remembered to pack your passport. Travelling in the age of Covid is dogged with confusing new lingo and a protocol [...]
A hammer blow to the industry: Business travel body slams new restrictions December 5, 2021 The travel industry has reacted with fury following the re-introduction of pre-departure mandatory tests for those travelling to England. Clive Wratten, chief executive of the UK Business Travel Association (BTA), has slammed the government’s decision, calling it a “hammer blow to the business travel industry.” “Public safety is a priority, but businesses will fail, travellers [...]
Business travel equilibrium unclear to everyone, Virgin Atlantic boss says December 1, 2021 Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Shai Weiss believes business travel forecasts are still very unclear to all airlines, because of the pandemic’s unpredictable nature and the consequent measures taken by governments to curb the spread of the virus. Speaking on a panel at London’s World Aviation Festival today, Weiss stated that despite seeing a recovery of [...]
As companies want to bond post-Covid, corporate ski breaks are a growth area November 23, 2021 While the tired old cliche of corporate teambuilding weekends might be orienteering in Hampshire or perhaps a spot of paintballing somewhere outside of Milton Keynes, the reality can be reassuringly different. Award-winning travel specialist Leo Trippi organises ski breaks for corporate groups, from small groups of executives to entire workforces. We caught up with CEO [...]
Go green or go home: employees’ demand for sustainable business travel hikes November 17, 2021 The majority of UK workers want to cut air travel and expect their employers to provide sustainable business travel solutions. Data from Trainline Partner Solutions has revealed that 53 per cent of UK employees believe that, before the pandemic, businesses were irresponsible with their levels of business travel, with 31 per cent admitting they had [...]
Future of travel special: Pent-up wanderlust, streaming and, of course, a lot of tech November 16, 2021 After three strict lockdowns, the old adage ‘trip of a lifetime’ has never been more appropriate. Nearly two years into the pandemic, constant reminders of how precious life is have inevitably left their mark, bringing an increased awareness of what really matters, which is quite a motivation for many people to stop putting off that [...]
On board the first post-Covid BA flight to the US November 15, 2021 What is the collective noun for a group of journalists? Google suggests “pack”, “herd”, “scoop”, and “crowd”. But the word that sprung to my mind while on the BA 001 flight to JFK, fourth glass of champagne in hand, was frenzy. A palpable excitement swelled inside our cabin as the Airbus A350 took to the [...]