Global Travel Management | Business Travel Specialists

Finnair introduces new business class amenities by Marimekko and L:A Bruket

3, April 2019/in News /by Kelly

Finnair has introduced a new range of amenities for business class passengers, designed by world-famous Finnish design house Marimekko.

The amenities will be rolled out for all trans-continental flights on Airbus A350 and Airbus A330 aircraft. They are designed to complement the new sleep textiles in Finnair’s long-haul business class, which feature the classic Kaivo print in a dark blue tone on tone colourway, designed by Maija Isola, one of the most iconic Marimekko designers.

The amenity kits and eye shades feature four different Maija Isola designs from the 1960s – Rautasänky, Joonas, Jenkka and Pieni Melooni, with each pattern in two different colourways.

Finnair will introduce two new designs at a time, changing them for another two every six months.

David Kondo, Head of Cabin Interior Development at Finnair said:

We wanted to introduce more patterns more often, so there is something new and fresh for our frequent flyers. The new kits have also been sized so they can live on after the flight for a variety of uses.

Finnair and L:A Bruket are both Nordic brands that value sustainability.
We view this partnership as a great initiative to increase the appeal of our amenity kit. We’re also trying to connect the lounge and in-flight experience more and more for our customers, and offering organic and natural L:A Bruket products both on the ground and in the air is a great step in that direction.

As sleep is such an important part of the business class experience, Finnair has also upgraded the business class eye shades with soft-touch fabric and higher-quality straps and the ear plugs in the kit are designed to be more effective too.

Each new amenity kit comes wrapped in a cardboard band – instead of plastic – with a QR code that customers can scan with a personal mobile device to read more about Isola’s inspiration for the patterns.

**L:A Bruket skin care products in lounges, aeroplane cabins and amenity kits**

Improved sustainability with recycled plastic, bio plastic and on-demand concept Sustainability in all its forms is key for Finnair, and environmental considerations have played a big part in the product design of the new amenity kits as well. The toothbrush is made from bio-plastic containing cornstarch, and plastic wrappings for the earplugs have been replaced with wax paper. In addition, the new business class slippers are a Nordic-style design made entirely from recycled PET plastic bottles.

As with the amenity kit, each new pair of slippers comes wrapped in a cardboard band instead of the previous plastic packaging.

With these changes, Finnair will be able to reduce plastic waste by almost 4,500 kg per year.

Finnair also provides an on-demand concept for some of the less commonly used amenity items, including razors, socks and combs. Memory-foam pillows are available on demand too, along with shawls made of a modacrylic-wool-blend with a soft and warm feel.

The new amenity kits will have products from L:A Bruket – the natural and organic skincare brand from Sweden. Each amenity kit includes aluminium tubes of almond-coconut lip cream and a chamomile-lavender facial hydrator from L:A Bruket.

Finnair will also offer L:A Bruket hand soap and hand cream in its on-board business class lavatories, as well as L:A Bruket products in its airport lounge bathrooms and shower suites.

Scents of cucumber-mint, lemongrass and grapefruit leaf have been chosen to help customers feel refreshed and invigorated.

Contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to book a business class flight on Finnair.

Manchester Airport completes first phase of £1bn transformation

2, April 2019/in News /by Kelly

Manchester Airport is celebrating the completion of the first major phase of its £1bn transformation programme this month.

Passengers flying out of the UK’s third largest airport are able to use a giant new pier, which connects to Terminal 2, for the first time.

The 216 metre pier provides extensive, panoramic views of the airfield and will be used by all airlines currently operating out of T2. The first flights to depart were operated by TUI Airways and went to Madeira and Naples.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said:

This is a significant milestone for Manchester Airport as we deliver the first phase of the biggest investment we have made in our 80 year history.
We’re delighted to wave off the first handful of flights from the new pier, as we build up to bringing it into full operation in the days ahead.
What that means is our customers can start to enjoy the new facilities, at the same time as getting a taste of what to expect from the next stages of our £1bn transformation programme.
Over the coming years we will transform the airport for all of our customers, giving the North the world class airport it deserves. The investment we are making and the range of destinations we connect to, in all corners of the world, underlines the vital role Manchester Airport plays in creating jobs and driving growth across the North of England.
Having first put a spade in the ground in July 2017, a huge amount of work has gone into getting our new pier and multi-storey car park ready to open and I would like to thank all of our colleagues and delivery partners for their efforts.

The new pier was opened at around 4.30am on Monday, with passengers treated to entertainment by the NoTTwins, who featured on Britain’s Got Talent, the Loose Change Buskers who are raising money for Cancer Research, guitarist Jack O’Malley and Christian Marshall, a caricaturist to mark the occasion.

Also, attending the celebrations was TUI Airways crew member Caroline Cox from Bolton. She operated on the first flight out of Terminal 2 to Alicante when it opened back in 1993. Having worked for the company for 33 years, her elder son is now following in her footsteps and is a First Officer for the airline.

The opening marks the next phase of the airport’s transformation programme that will see Terminal 2 become the focal point of its operations. More than 1,750 people are currently working on the project which recently welcomed its 100th apprentice as work gathers pace. Over the coming weeks more and more flights will gradually move over to the new pier as it becomes fully operational.

Manchester Airport’s new pier is the first phase of a £1 billion transformation

The next phase of the £1bn transformation is the extension to the existing Terminal 2. Work is well underway and will see the terminal more than double in size. The extension will open in summer 2020 with 40 plus new food and beverage outlets and shops, followed by a further 40 when the existing building is fully refurbished

Peter Jones, Operations Leader for Laing O’Rourke, said:

It is a significant achievement to have the pier, link bridge and multi-storey car park ready for airport guests within 18 months. The project’s design, construction methods and logistics were all planned digitally before construction on the edge of the live airfield began. Our digital engineering approach meant we, and our project partners were able to work together efficiently; putting productive solutions in place to minimise disruption to passengers and staff, while delivering new facilities for Manchester Airport on time.

The opening comes as the airport continues to see passenger numbers continue to grow as it attracts further long-haul routes to likes of Addis Ababa and Seattle. The transformation will ensure the Northern hub can continue to play its role as a global gateway and economic and employment generator, as it plugs the region into key global destinations and widens UK connectivity.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you next need to fly into – or out of – Manchester Airport.

Austrian Airlines is turning plastic cups into fuel

25, March 2019/in News /by Paul

Since the end of 2018, Austrian Airlines flight attendants have been separating the plastic cups used by passengers from the rest of the waste. A disposal company then cleans and shreds them before delivering them to the ReOil pilot plant at the Schwechat Refinery. A process known as thermal cracking is used to produce synthetic crude from plastic waste.

This crude is then processed in the Schwechat Refinery into fuel or other raw materials for the plastics industry. With this recycling initiative, Austrian Airlines is supporting a circular economy that conserves resources.

The OMV ReOil pilot plant has been processing drinking cups used by Austrian Airlines passengers since January 2019.

Vera Renner, Vice President Cabin Operations of Austrian Airlines, commenting on the cooperation with the home carrier as part of OMV’s ReOil pilot project said,

Austrian Airlines is consistently striving to reduce waste on board our flights. Our flight attendants have been making a key contribution for many years by recycling. I am delighted that – together with OMV – we have been able to take another crucial step towards this goal on the initiative of the crew members from the Austrian Airlines “Fly greener” team“.

Thomas Gangl, OMV Senior Vice President Refining & Petrochemicals said,

The exceptional properties of plastic as a material mean make it hard to imagine life without it. In the ReOil plant, we are able to turn the AUA drinking cups into synthetic crude and then process them into fuel or back into plastics. Our OMV research project allows us to close the circle and reduce waste. These joint efforts send a clear signal of how important conserving resources is to both of our companies.

OMV has been exploring the potential of used plastics since 2011. After a test unit in the technology centre of the Schwechat Refinery yielded successful research results, the significantly larger ReOil pilot plant started operations in early 2018 in the Schwechat Refinery. 100 kilograms of used plastics can produce 100 litres of synthetic crude.

The cooperation with OMV on the ReOil® project can be traced back to the initiative of the Austrian Airlines team from “Fly greener”. “Fly greener” is a project spanning the entire Lufthansa Group. Its goal is to reduce waste volumes and mitigate the environmental impact while optimizing the requisite processes on aircraft. Every Lufthansa Group airline is developing its own ideas and concepts to this end. Several years have already passed since Austrian Airlines started to sort various materials on board and send them for recycling. This involves PET bottles, glass bottles, tetra packs, cans, paper and newspapers. Various projects are currently underway to make air travel more efficient and more environmentally friendly across the group.

To book your next flight on Austrian, contact your GTM Account Manager.

British Airways to launch Gatwick – Milan route

21, March 2019/in News /by Paul

Customers will soon be able to reach Milan from Gatwick with a year-round British Airways route to Milan Bergamo. The six-per-week service launches on 1 September 2019.

Milan is Italy’s second city and is a renowned centre for art, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research and tourism.

Bergamo Airport is conveniently nestled between some of Italy’s most picturesque lakes and Milan. The airport is 45km from the fashion capital. And for customers wishing to extend their business trip and to enjoy an extended sunshine escape, Bergamo is the closest gateway to Lake Como and driving distance from Lake Garda, as well as the Franciacorta Wine Region. Bergamo also borders the Alps, providing access to a number of ski resorts during winter.

Adam Carson, British Airways’ Managing Director of Gatwick, said:

Milan Bergamo adds another exciting destination to our Gatwick network and is perfectly located for a city break, a summer visit to the lakes or even a skiing holiday in the Alps.

From Gatwick we fly to over 70 destinations as our network continues to expand we’re adding new routes designed to appeal to both leisure and business customers.

Paul Baker, Sales Director of GTM, said:

Flying from Gatwick enables BA’s Milan-bound passengers additional choice and convenience. And, as Milan Bergamo is perfectly located for the sunshine of Lake Como and Lake Garda, it’s a great way to turn a purely business trip into a “bleisure” trip – something more people are asking us to arrange for them.

Seats are available to book from today with flights operating from 1 September, every day of the week apart from Saturday. Fares start from £25 one-way in Euro Traveller and £99 in Club Europe. They can pick from a range of savings by destination and cabin while still collecting Avios and Tier Points on their bookings.

To book a flight to Milan from Gatwick, contact your GTM Account Manager.

BRITISH AIRWAYS UNVEILS ITS NEW "CLUB SUITE" AND A350 AIRCRAFT

British Airways unveils its new A350 aircraft and the new business class “Club Suite”

18, March 2019/in News /by Paul

British Airways has unveiled its highly-anticipated new business class seat – Club Suite – and confirmed it will arrive on the first of its A350 aircraft in July.

The airline’s sophisticated and newly-branded Club Suite offers direct-aisle access, a suite door for greater privacy and luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Boasting 40% more storage, including a vanity unit and mirror, Wi-Fi, a 17″ or 18.5″ inflight entertainment screens, high definition gate-to-gate programming, and USB power; every aspect of British Airways’ Club Suite has been designed for today’s customer.

The A350 aircraft itself will also promote a feeling of well-being, space and calm due to its reduced noise levels, high ceilings and ambient lighting which is intended to compliment the time of day and outside light. Customers will leave their flight feeling rested thanks to higher levels of humidity and refreshed air as the cabin pressure is equivalent to an altitude of just 6,000 feet. There are also environmental benefits to flying on the state-of the-art A350 as 25% lower fuel burn significantly reduces CO2 emissions.

As well as a new 56-seat Club World cabin, the three-cabin A350 will feature the latest World Traveller Plus cabin (56 seats) with new furnishings including a plush new pillow and warm quilt, new amenity kits and an enhanced service and an improved dining experience. The World Traveller (economy) cabin offers 219 seats. Customers will also benefit from high-speed Wi-Fi, allowing travellers to browse the internet on their personal electronic devices.

The airline, which is marking its centenary this year, will roll out the new suites in a carefully managed programme designed to minimise disruption to customers.

During phase one, the first A350 aircraft will start some short-haul flying between London and Madrid to allow the airline’s teams to perfect their customer service delivery and familiarise cabin crew with the aircraft layout.

In phase two, from 1 October 2019, the aircraft will begin long-haul flying. During this period another three A350 aircraft will join the British Airways fleet and two Boeing 777 aircraft will also be retrofitted with the new cabin.

At the start of 2020 phase three will begin which will see British Airways rolling out its Club Suite on further long-haul aircraft across the network.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said:

The arrival of our first A350 featuring our new Club Suite is one of the most exciting developments in our £6.5 billion investment programme.

Each new suite has direct aisle access and comes with a personal door – design features which were incorporated as a direct result of the feedback we’ve had from our customers. We’ve worked hard to ensure every aspect of the Club World experience from the lounges we’ve refreshed, to the new gourmet menus from Do&Co on flights from Heathrow, and the luxurious bedding we’ve introduced from The White Company exudes the very British style and quality customers expect from us.

At British Airways we have one of Europe’s largest long-haul fleets and most far-reaching global networks, so it will take some time to make the cabin available to everybody. We hope that as more customers have the chance to experience it, they’ll enjoy travelling in it as much as we’ve enjoyed designing it.

Paul Baker, Global Travel Management’s Sales Director, said:

British Airways has invested significant time and money in producing the Clube Suite product. It offers GTM’s clients with the things they tell us they want most: Wi-Fi, power sockets, flat-bed seats and more storsge. At GTM, we like to make sure we are offering the best-possible service to all business travellers. And BA’s offering appears to be doing exactly the same.

As part of British Airways’ £6.5 billion investment for its customers, the airline is also delivering changes to its First, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins, delivering exceptional new restaurant-style catering from Do&Co, rolling out industry-leading Wi-Fi on board and opening new lounges across the world.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you want to book on First, World Traveller Plus or World Traveller on British Airways routes.

Four in five travellers have trouble sleeping

17, March 2019/in News /by Paul

A global study commissioned by InterContinenal Hotels Group has revealed that a lack of sleep is a primary concern for travellers, with four in five stating they have trouble sleeping when travelling away from home.

The launch of the findings coincided with World Sleep Day, an annual day devoted to tackling important sleep issues.

The findings from the survey revealed:

The business traveller loses around 58 minutes of sleep each night when staying away from home, averaging just five hours and 17 minutes of sleep, per night.
The biggest causes of a restless night’s sleep for those travelling are:
- Different environment (44%)
- Unfamiliar noises (35%)
- Working late (35%)

Dr. Steven W. Lockley, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School commented:

It’s no secret that travelling can be challenging for our health, particularly when it comes to maintaining our normal sleep patterns. Light is the major environmental time cue that resets the circadian clock in our brains each day, which is easily thrown off when travelling.

Over two thirds (67%) of those surveyed stated they feel more tired when they are away from home. To aid sleep, nearly a half either try listening to music (47%) or watching TV (45%) to try and fall asleep. To help travellers combat a restless night away from home, IHG has piloted the use of portable and versatile JOURNI Mobile Task Light designed to help regulate sleep when travelling.

Dr. Lockley continues:

Light can also be a stimulant, directly alerting the brain, or promote sleep before bedtime, depending on the spectrum and intensity of light exposure. Having greater control of light exposure when travelling can help promote sleep at the right time or wake at the right time, preserving some sense of sleep normalcy when on the road.

Brian McGuiness, IHG’s Senior Vice President of Global Guest Experience, commented:

With so many travellers experiencing sleep disruptions when they’re on the road, we want to do everything possible to make sure our guests at any one of our 16 IHG Hotels & Resorts brands have a restful sleep while staying with us.

We’re excited to be the first hotel company to pilot this technology that uses LED lighting to improve guest sleep, and it’s just one of the many programs we’ve introduced over the years to improve guest experience, such as our Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage programme with premium bedding and aromatherapy kits and our Holiday Inn pillow menu.

Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport will be the first IHG Hotels & Resorts property to install the JOURNI Mobile Task Light as part of this pilot project. Guests can easily adjust the light from the blue-enriched white spectrum to boost energy and performance when awake, to the blue-depleted spectrum for use in the evening in preparation for bedtime, to promote a more restful night’s sleep.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you need to book hotel nights at any IHG hotel property, including the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport.

How we fix the aircraft type for passengers

14, March 2019/in News /by Kelly

At Global Travel Management, it is quite common for a passenger to ask what type of aircraft a specific flight is going to use. The good news is that this is information we can provide.

From time to time we have travellers with specific requests about their flights. Most passengers need to know the departure and arrival times, of course. And some passengers make choices based on flight times. But some passengers also want to know what type of aircraft will be used on a given flight.

Sometimes we get requests to make sure the flight booked is a certain aircraft type; other times we have passengers who want to avoid specific models.

We are able to help out passengers with these requests, in two ways.

First, whenever we search for airline fares, we use a system that provides lots of information including the aircraft type used on that flight. We can see what plane the airline intends to use and can use graphical displays to determine which seats are still available to book. So, whenever a passenger wants to make sure their booking is on a certain aircraft model, we can confirm that for them.

Second, once the booking is made, we send the passenger a full itinerary that gives them everything they need to know about their flight booking, including an explanation of the aircraft make and model.

Sometimes, for a number of reasons, an airline may need to change the type of aircraft used for a particular flight after the booking is made. But it is very useful for passengers who have specific preferences to be able to know what aircraft is planned for a journey before making the decision to book.

This is another way we are happy to help passengers have the best experience on business trips.

Global hotel pipeline hits record highs

12, March 2019/in News /by Paul

The hotel industry continues to boom, with a record high of more than 2.2m hotel rooms in the pipeline – a 6% increase over the last year.

Lodging Econometrics, the global leader for hotel real estate intelligence has released its year-end Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report, which compiles the construction pipeline counts for countries and markets around the world. At the close of 2018, LE analysts state that the total global construction pipeline hit record highs with 13,573 projects/2,265,792 rooms, a 7% increase in projects year-over-year.

The global pipeline has ascended for eight consecutive years after reaching its cyclical low in 2010. All regional pipelines, with the exception of South America, continued their upward trend year-over-year. Four of the seven global regions reached all-time highs in 2018: Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

There are a record high 6,352 projects/1,172,591 rooms currently under construction worldwide. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 3,860 projects/572,483 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 3,361rooms/520,718 projects, also at an all-time high. The United Kingdom the pipeline is 266 projects/38,590 rooms.

Around the world, the cities with the largest pipeline counts are New York City with 171 projects/29,457 rooms, Dubai with 168 projects/49,943 rooms, and Dallas with 163 projects/19,476 rooms. Los Angeles follows with 147 projects/23,404 rooms, and Guangzhou, China with 132 projects/28,694 rooms.

The leading franchise companies in the global construction pipeline by project count are

Marriott International with 2,544 projects/420,405 rooms
Hilton Worldwide with 2,252 projects/333,209 rooms
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 1,716 projects/249,379
rooms
AccorHotels with 966 projects/177,052 rooms.

These four companies account for 55% of all projects in the global pipeline.

Contact your Global Travel Management Account Manager next time you need to book a hotel room, anywhere in the world.

Gender balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue

Gender balance is important to us at GTM

7, March 2019/in News /by Natalie

All day, every day, we aim to ensure that Global Travel Management is among the leading businesses in terms of gender balance. Because, as our Director, Natalie Pawley says, “gender balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue”.

Natalie was the first Company Secretary when GTM started in 1997. And, since then, she has been proud of the way in which the business treats, trains, nurtures and promotes women.

GTM has always had a positive gender balance. Since we started the business, we have always been a women-majority company. Women take key roles in every part of the business, from administration and reservation roles to business development, account management and operational positions, we are proud to ensure that women are well represented throughout the organisation.

How can you ensure you’re offering a comprehensive service to clients unless you are able to share the same issues they have? By employing accomplished women in every area of the business, we are able to empathise with issues facing the growing numbers of female business travellers.

We make sure that GTM is a flexible, accommodating environment for women. So we have a shift pattern designed to ensure employees’ work-life balance is kept in check; we have some staff who split their hours around family commitments; and we have been lucky enough to be able to accommodate great staff who have chosen to return to work after maternity leave and work in part-time, job-sharing positions. We even have a bring-your-dog-to-work rota that has proven popular among the staff that have to juggle home responsibilities with work.

Every year we work with Guildford College to offer places to some of the most talented students, so we can pass on knowledge to the next generation of leaders in the business travel industry. It comes as no surprise that, this year, the two candidates joining us are both women.

I am really pleased that, after more than twenty years, GTM is still at the forefront of businesses in terms of gender balance. I may have been the first Company Secretary and the first female Board member, but I am just as proud that the students we have recruited for work experience are women and the most recent addition to the Board is a woman.

As you might expect from an award-winning travel company, we are continuing to head in the right direction.

Flights will continue in the event of a no deal Brexit

BREXIT: Advice for travellers

7, March 2019/in News /by Paul

Today (7 March 2019) the UK government confirmed details of measures that will ensure flights will continue if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

This follows the publication of technical notices in October 2018 which clearly stated that the UK would adopt a pragmatic approach to securing flights.

This announcement comes as the EU is also about to finalise its no deal aviation regulation that will protect UK airlines flying into Europe. Both these proposals will ensure continued aviation connectivity in any scenario.

Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg said:

Measures put forward by the UK and the EU will ensure that flights can continue in any scenario; deal or no deal.

This is good news, not only for the industry but most importantly it reaffirms the fact that passengers can book flights with confidence, as normal.

We expect these contingency measures will never be needed and our efforts remain focused on securing a deal from the EU.

The government has set out how it will reciprocate to EU airlines the rights granted to UK airlines by the regulation.

Around 164 million passengers travel between the UK and the EU each year so these measures will ensure that passengers can continue to take business and leisure flights in a no deal scenario.

This announcement gives industry certainty and the public the assurance needed to book and fly with absolute confidence.

These proposals are a no deal contingency measure and will only come into force if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The UK remains committed to securing a deal but continues to prepare for all scenarios.

ABTA has welcomed UK Government’s confirmation that flights will continue in a no-deal Brexit. Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said

Today’s announcement provides further assurance that, whatever the outcome of Brexit, travellers can continue to book holidays and business trips with confidence.

Europe is the most popular holiday destination for UK travellers with 58 million trips¹ made to the continent each year. More than three in five people² are planning to take a trip to Europe this year, so travellers will be pleased to see the final confirmation from the UK on their ability to fly even in the event of a no-deal.

It’s worth remembering that if the UK and the EU agree a deal, we will be in a transition period and everything will stay the same for travel until the end of 2020 – meaning people can continue to travel to the EU exactly as they do now.

While it is encouraging that there are plans in place for a no-deal scenario, we encourage politicians to work to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

ABTA and its Members are offering advice to holidaymakers and business travellers heading to or from the UK after Brexit – with the latest information available at abta.com/Brexit.

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