Dave

The ‘Twenty Heroes

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Global Travel Management recognises the hard work put in by many individuals, groups and companies to ensure that business travel has been able to continue throughout 2020.

We have selected twenty outstanding contributions that have been made in this unique year that have resulted in businesses continuing to be able to travel and win business now, and continue to do so as we move into another year.

We have picked twenty recipients of this virtual honour. They are listed below. Each has provided a unique and enduring legacy, ensuring people, businesses and the travel industry have been able to survive the year and can look forward to the future with more confidence, certainty and expectation.

Here are the ‘Twenty Heroes.

1 Navitas Solutions

Navitas is a business run by travel technology experts, Darren Waughman and Paul Toomey who deliver a suite of solutions, including decoders, a PNR watcher and ticketing management.  These products are created by Darren and Paul and thanks to these two – and Emma Griffiths – travel management companies like GTM have been able to keep running, efficiently, throughout 2020.

If you need something, Navitas is always the first place to go – if they haven’t got it, they’ll make it for you. If they can’t do it; it can’t be done.

Scott Pawley

2 7r Group

7r Group is a UK based business, providing fantastic, cloud-based services to the travel industry.  In a year in which working from home has become a necessity across many industries, 7r’s connectivity solutions have kept many travel management companies working remotely, but efficiently.  Thanks to 7r, all GTM employees have been able to access all systems as efficiently from home as from the office.

3 Agentivity

Agentivity analyses booking data and provides reports that enable travel management companies to mange and develop their businesses. Thanks to Riaan van Schoor and Edd McArdle and the team at Agentivity for helping Global Travel Management to react in a timely manner to every changing issue from business travellers across the year.

A great tool!  We use it all the time for bookings that require attention. It’s also great for finding bookings quickly where flights have been cancelled

Jane Marrison

4 Travelogix

Travelogix provide travel management companies an intuitive, accurate, fast and simple to use platform giving access in real time to data. Thanks to Chris Lewis and the team at Travelogix for their work throughout 2020.

5 Travelport

Travelport provides a platform through which travel management companies can access availability and fares on any flight at any time.  Of the hundreds of hard-working people at Travelport, special thanks go to Emily Whalley and Kelly Thompson for their help throughout 2020.

6 The Editors

It’s been a busy year for business travel news.  And there have been few busier than the editorial teams of TTG, BTN Europe, Travel Mole, Business Traveller and the travel editors of Which! and the Independent. These journalists have brought us thousands of stories and kept us all up to date with the changing face of business travel throughout 2020.

7 The Focus Travel Partnership

Global Travel Management is a long-term member of the Focus Travel Partnership, the leading business travel consortium for independent travel management companies.  Focus has a membership of more than sixty, delivering – in normal times – more than £1bn worth of business travel. Thanks are due to CEO Abby Penston and her team at Focus for sharing knowledge, information, opportunities and events this year; and for keeping focus.

8 The BTA

The BTA is the representative association for the business travel community and travel management companies, with our TMC members accounting for over ninety percent of all managed travel booked in the UK. The BTA – and CEO Clive Wratten – have worked tirelessly this year to lobby government and industry partners to ensure business travel is protected, enhanced and allowed to thrive. A huge debt of thanks is owed to the team at the BTA for these efforts on behalf of the sector and for businesses who need to travel.

9 United Airlines

United Airlines has been a great corporate citizen throughout 2020. Like every major airline, United has enhanced its cleaning programme to ensure passengers experience the highest-possible level of hygiene through the airport, during boarding, onboard and beyond. But United has gone further still: free transatlantic covid-19 testing, increased diversity in its board, enhanced its mobile apps to accommodate passengers with reduced vision, donated 11 million miles to charities, permanently abolished change fees on Economy and Premium domestic flights and chartered flights to transport the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. And, if that wasn’t enough, this month United announced a programme to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050, effectively becoming “100% green”.

Thank you to United Airlines for their efforts and, in particular to Karolien De Hertogh and Sam Gillespie.

10 British Airways

The UK’s flag carrier, British Airways has continued to support British business travellers throughout the pandemic. To illustrate how British Airways is getting it right, here’s what they have won this year: Best Short Haul Carrier, Best Airport Lounge, Best Frequent Flyer Programme, Best New Seat and Best Travel App. And that’s just from the Business Traveller Awards.

Thank to you to British Airways and especially to Alexander Keech.

11 The NHS

The National Health Service is the UK’s healthcare system, delivering services that are comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery. It’s been stretched more than most organisations this year. But, staffed by committed, hard-working, diligent and brave professionals, it has managed, magnificently.

In 2020, we put our arms around the NHS, so that it could continue to look after us. We clapped. And we supported. And, today, we’re thanking them for helping us get this far.

12 Cricketers

The commitment and professionalism of the West Indies and Pakistan cricket teams to undertake Test and One Day International series in England in the Summer of 2020 should not be forgotten.

Both these teams – accompanied by medical, technical and management support – took the brave decision to make long-haul trips to the UK and play cricket for a broadcast-only audience. But, by doing so, they – and their counterparts from Ireland also made a short tour – demonstrated that business travel can be successful, even in the most trying of circumstances. These teams’ players and support deserve the thanks they are owed. And the part played by the Hilton Garden Inn, Old Trafford and the Hilton, Ageas Bowl should be acknowledged.

13 Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin

The German-born daughter of Turkish immigrants, Özlem Türeci and her husband, Uğur Şahin, also the child of Turkish immigrants in Germany, are co-founders of the German biotechnology company, BioNTech, which designed and created the first UK-approved Covid-19 vaccine, Tozinameran, manufactured in Belgium, in collaboration with United States and Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

The vaccine is the first to receive regulatory authority in the United Kingdom on 2 December and the first to commence widespread rollout, six days later. We all owe a huge debts of thanks to Özlem and Uğur and to the scientists and businesses that have created and funded further Covid-19 vaccines.

14 John Holland-Kaye

It may seem strange to include, among the heroes of 2020 the Chief Executive of an airport which has suffered a dramatic and unsustainable downturn in passenger numbers and income. But John Holland-Kaye has been a steadfast proponent of pre-fight testing as a means of normalising air travel and has introduced, pioneered and, indeed, demonstrated the use of Covid-19 tests at London’s main airport.

As such, he has brought focus onto the air travel sector, and concentrated minds at the top of governments – at home and abroad – in order to ensure legislation or guidance is brought in to support the industry. Thanks to his media omnipresence, air travel in general and business travel in particular, has received greater attention than otherwise might have been the case.

15 Captain Tom

Captain Tom has had a busy year.

On 6 April 2020, 99 year old Captain Thomas Moore set himself a target to raise £1,000 in aid of NHS Charities Together by walking laps of his garden and, in doing so, set the benchmark for under-promising and over-delivering. By the time of his birthday, 24 days later, he had raised more than £30 million, had received more than 150,000 cards, had been honoured with flypasts from the RAF and British Army, been given a Pride of Britain award and recorded and released a number one single with Michael Ball.

And by the Summer, he had been knighted by Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, received an Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University and an Honorary Degree from the University of Bradford and had been appointed captain of the Football Association Lionhearts squad.

And now, British Airways is whisking him off for a holiday in Barbados.

But, more importantly, he deserves the thanks and praise of a nation that was in desperate need of good news.

An absolute legend [from] an exceptional generation that are still an inspiration for our Yorkshire soldiers today

Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Colonel of the Yorkshire Regiment

16 The Federation of Small Businesses

The Federation of Small Businesses is the campaigning voice and membership organisation for the UK’s small businesses, many of whom rely on being able to travel for work and to create new business opportunities. The Federation offers business services including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice in government.

17 The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP

Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps has had the two-fold objective of ensuring the UK’s citizens are able to travel where necessary, while ensuring that everyone’s safety is taken carefully into consideration. The Secretary of State has introduced measures for the safe use of public transport and ensured that travel corridors are used in order to accommodate safe, foreign business travel.

Shapps is also joint-chair (with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) of the Prime Minister’s Global Travel Taskforce which made fourteen recommendations in its report last month, the first of which – the ‘Test to Release’ process, reducing the quarantine requirement for travellers arriving in England from countries not on the government’s list of safe travel corridors – starts on 15 December.

18 The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

Rishi Sunak was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer on 13 February and, less than a month later, announced a budget with £12 billion of spending to mitigate the economic effects of coronavirus. Within a week this was enhanced by a further £330 billion in emergency support for businesses. And, in July, a further £30 billion of spending was announced, including a stamp duty holiday, a cut to VAT for the hospitality sector, and a job retention bonus for employers. The Sunak-announced Eat Out To Help Out was a fifty percent discount to restaurant customers, designed to stimulate further the hospitality industry.

In all, Sunak’s interventions have mitigated the economic effects of lockdowns, meaning businesses who might otherwise have gone to the wall will have survived the pandemic and will be able to recommence business travel.

19 Trees 4 Travel

In the on-going battle against climate change, there are several organisation offering to help. Many have complex systems for buying carbon credits in order to ‘invest’ in programmes offering to reduce carbon emissions or to provide other benefits. Other programmes offer solutions centred around atmospheric carbon capture technology, a means of capturing carbon dioxide, transporting it and depositing it where it cannot – yet – enter the atmosphere.

One company, however, has enhanced a technology that is proven, has been tested for a very, very long time and offers the opportunity to capture carbon for decades ahead, increasing biodiversity, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere and without the ongoing consumption of power.

Trees 4 Travel has launched a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-understand and sustainable method to deliver all the benefits of carbon capture, with none of the disadvantages. It is for this solution that Trees 4 Travel make our list of ‘Twenty Heroes.

20 The team at Global Travel Management

Last, but not least, we’re nominating the team at Global Travel Management, for continuing to work diligently and enthusiastically throughout all the trials and difficulties of 2020.

Thank you to those on the front line: Debbie, Deepa, Hayley, James, Jane, Jane, Julie, Juliette, Kelly, Mandy, Natalie, Natalie, Nick, Paul, Preeti, Scott and Yullah; to everyone behind the scenes; to the rest of the ‘Twenty Heroes; and to every client of GTM, up and down the country.

Here’s to 2021…

.

Dave

High value business travel exempt from quarantine in England

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The UK Government has announced a new “business travel” exemption from the normal quarantine rules.  From tomorrow morning, certain passengers travelling to or through countries which are not on the safe travel corridor list will no longer be required to self-isolate on return to England. 

The Department for Transport explained:

Individuals undertaking specific business activity which would deliver a significant benefit to the UK economy – including activity that creates or preserves 50+ UK jobs – will no longer need to self-isolate when travelling or returning from non-exempt countries. Individuals will only be exempt when undertaking the specific business activity and will only be able to meet with others as required by that specific activity.

We understand that the exemption will apply to senior company executives, such as directors or their equivalents, either returning or travelling to England who can deliver ‘significant’ economic benefit (e.g. work that creates or preserves 50 or more jobs for either an existing UK-based business or a new UK business, within one year of the passenger’s arrival). They will only qualify for the exemption if their work requires them to be there in person.

The DfT added

Exemptions will also come into force at the same time for domestic and international performing arts professionals, TV production staff, journalists and recently signed elite sportspersons, ensuring that industries which require specific, high-talent individuals who rely on international connections can continue to complete their work.

If you are planning overseas trips and have any questions with regards to this exemption, or the self-isolation process in general, please contact me or my team.  We will be happy to help.

Dave

easyJet sees growing confidence for travel

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Low-cost airline easyJet has reported seeing growing confidence for domestic and international travel after experiencing a significant increase in demand for flights.

Following the news that UK-wide restrictions over the Christmas period would be eased, searches for flights and holidays increased by over 200% week-on-week.

The airline also saw a significant rise in demand for December flights, with domestic connections between London and Bristol to Belfast and London to Edinburgh proving amongst the most popular. 

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet said:

Following the government announcement we have seen a 200% increase in searches for both flights and holidays, with domestic bookings significantly up week on week proving popular for those looking to visit friends and family over December. So we know underlying demand is there, which we see every time travel restrictions are lifted.

We continue to closely review our flying programme to ensure we are aligning our schedule with customer demand. We also launched our Black Friday Sale and the positive response in terms of bookings seems to show a growing confidence to make travel plans. 

The safety and wellbeing of our customers remains our highest priority and during the pandemic this is more important than ever so we continue to have a number of safety measures in place onboard in line with guidance from the relevant authorities. This includes daily enhanced cabin disinfection effective in protecting against coronavirus for at least 24 hours and mandatory mask wearing for customers and crew. All of our aircraft are already fitted with HEPA filters, similar to those used in hospitals, which filter 99.97% of airborne contaminants in the cabin, including viruses and bacteria.

easyJet’s Black Friday offer runs until 2nd December.


Dave

Serve up your own slice of British Airways history

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You can pick up a piece of British Airways memorabilia as the airline is selling off surplus inflight crockery, glassware and blankets, and even trolleys.

For the first time in its history, British Airways has decided to unlock the doors to its warehouse this Christmas to give customers and aviation fans the unique opportunity to get their hands on items from British Airways aircraft which have circled the globe hundreds of times.

Customers and collectors can order bespoke British Airways inflight dining items such as William Edwards plates, soup bowls, cups, saucers and even a butter dish for reasonable prices, allowing them to create an authentic First Class flying experience at home over the festive period.

Bread baskets, hot towels, hot towel plates, champagne flutes, coasters and even the Club World casserole dish can be picked up. And customers can relax in slippers and a day blanket which are also on sale.

For a limited time there is the opportunity to purchase a piece of history with items such as aircraft trolleys and canisters taken from the Boeing 747, which British Airways has now fully retired. 

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said,

This is an incredible one-off opportunity for people to bring the magic of flying with British Airways in to their own homes. We know that these special items will fly and we are delighted to be able to offer them in time for Christmas to give people the opportunity to make it memorable during a difficult year.


Items have been made available to purchase from whatabuy.co.uk/british-airways.

British Airways First coaster
(Set of 3)
British Airways First Hot Towels
(Set of 10)
British Airways Champagne Flute
(Set of 6)
British Airways William Edwards Medium Dinner Plate (24cm)
(Set of 6)
British Airways Full Meal/Equipment box


Dave

Global Travel Management Client benefits

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Global Travel Management clients can benefit from a range of products and services sourced and made available on their behalf by the team at GTM. Many of these come with exclusive discounts.

Whether you are looking for pre-flight testing and negative Covid-19 certificates, flight-specific personal PPE products or a secure means of tracking, tracing and relocating lost baggage, there is a range of products and services available with exclusive discounts for GTM clients.

This page is updated with new products and services on a regular basis, so please bookmark and check back regularly.

The Gate 8 Multi-trip Hygiene Kit comprises a washbag, facemasks, hand sanitiser, medical gloves and disinfecting wipes.

The Gate 8 Multi-trip Hygiene Kit comes in a TSA-approved washbag and includes face coverings and masks, hand sanitiser, gloves and wipes.
  • Washbag – TSA approved
  • Washable face covering – double layer
  • 5 disposable face masks – non-woven, with latex-free elasticated loops
  • 30ml hand sanitiser – alcohol content 70%
  • 2 pairs of gloves – vinyl, en455.1.2.3 certified
  • Disinfecting wipes – 75% alcohol

GTM clients benefit from a 20% discount on the Multi-trip Hygiene Pack.

For more information, and to purchase packs, please click here and use discount code GTM.

For the Gate 8 Multi-Trip Hygiene Kit, use discount code “GTM”

There is a growing list of countries which require passengers to present a certificate confirming a negative Covid-19 test prior to arrival.

GTM has relationships with two suppliers, DiamondAir and Confirm Testing. Both organisations can test passengers pre-flight and provide negative test certificates by email, paving the way for unhindered progress through the airport and on to their destination country.

DiamondAir

The customer is tested in person, choosing to be tested either at Heathrow Airport or at one of Diamond Air’s London facilities in Mayfair or Enfield. The result of the PCR swab test is provided within 4-24 hours.

Customers can choose from several levels of service, including:

  • Test – this is a straightforward test, with results emailed to the customer
  • Test and rest – this comprises a test and overnight hotel accommodation
  • Test and destress – a test, plus departure/arrival meet and assist service including car transfer to/from the test clinic/airport

For more details about DiamondAir testing, how the process works and to access the exclusive rates available to GTM clients, contact your GTM Account Manager.

Confirm Testing

The customer orders a test to be sent to their home address at least five days prior to departure by Royal Mail Tracked 24 hour delivery. The test can be stored at home until it is required. The customer follows the test instructions, takes the test sample and returns it using the Royal Mail Tracked 24 hour label and packaging, putting them into a designated priority post box.

The test sample is analysed and results provided to the customer in time for the flight.

For more information about the Confirm Testing service, click here. And for the FAQs, click here.

For the Confirm Testing PCR tests and negative test certificates, use the discount code GTMCT10.

At Global Travel Management, we take care of business trips. That doesn’t just mean taking care of your travel bookings. We can also help you look after your possessions.


HomingPINs can be attached to luggage and valuable possessions, so that owners can quickly retrieve them if the items are lost.

That’s why we’re recommending HomingPIN luggage tags and asset labels from HomingPIN.com, the world’s first global lost property recovery system. HomingPIN is integrated into 2,800 airports, and it also works on airlines, trains, taxis, ships, buses everywhere.

Simply purchase a pack of HomingPINs, activate them, then attach the activated loops to bags (or with optional keyring to keys) and asset labels to your mobile phones, cameras, laptops, wallets, passports, bikes etc. and you will travel knowing that your important possessions are traceable through the HomingPIN service.

To use HomingPIN, first set up your account, here and use the discount code GTM20 when purchasing HomingPIN luggage tags and stickers for valuable items.

For HomingPIN, use discount code “GTM20”

Dave

GTM rolls out Testing for Travellers

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Global Travel Management has announced the roll-out of two Covid-19 testing services for customers planning international travel.

GTM has relationships with two suppliers, Confirm Testing and DiamondAir. Both organisations can test passengers pre-flight and provide negative test certificates by email, paving the way for unhindered progress through the airport and on to their destination country.

Scott Pawley, managing director of GTM said

There is a growing list of business destinations that require a negative test certificate from UK-based travellers. So we are pleased to have put together testing programmes from two industry leaders, so that our customers can get tested and can receive certificates prior to travel.

Any customer can now choose the most convenient method, suiting their requirements. Tests can be carried out at home, at Heathrow Airport, or in specific locations in London.

We can even arrange a hotel stay prior to departure, so customers can receive take the test a day prior to their fight, relax in the hotel overnight before receiving their negative certificate the following day and transfer quickly and easily to the airport.

GTM customers will have a choice of supplier to administer and carry out their testing. The two programmes work as follows:

Confirm Testing

The customer orders a test to be sent to their home address at least five days prior to departure by Royal Mail Tracked 24 hour delivery. The test can be stored at home until it is required. The customer follows the test instructions, takes the test sample and returns it using the Royal Mail Tracked 24 hour label and packaging, putting them into a designated priority post box.

The test sample is analysed and results provided to the customer in time for the flight.

DiamondAir

The customer is tested in person, choosing to be tested either at Heathrow Airport or at one of Diamond Air’s London facilities in Mayfair or Enfield. The result of the PCR swab test is provided within 4-24 hours.

Customers can choose from several levels of service, including:

  • Test – this is a straightforward test, with results emailed to the customer
  • Test and rest – this comprises a test and overnight hotel accommodation
  • Test and destress – a test, plus departure/arrival meet and assist service including car transfer to/from the test clinic/airport

Paul Baker explained the service further

Testing for Covid-19 is mandatory for a growing number of countries. So we have negotiated a discount for GTM customers with these providers, meaning that, not only will they get a fully professional, secure testing process, they will get it at a discounted rate.

Some countries demand that the test certificate is produced within a short time-frame of their planned arrival in the country. So our teams of travel consultants can help passengers decide which testing service best meets their needs.


If you are planning to travel on business to a country that requires a negative test, contact your GTM Account Manager.

Dave

United is Back at JFK

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United Airlines has announced it will be returning service to New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport next year.

The airline will resume flights from JFK, after a gap of five years, on 1 February, 2021 with a non-stop service to the west coast. The new service will operate out of Terminal 7.

From February, United will serve both JFK to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and JFK to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with two round-trips for each city.

The flights will utilise the reconfigured Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on the routes offering customers an extended premium cabin featuring 16 additional United Business class seats – providing all-aisle-access seating – bringing the total premium cabin seat count to 46.

Scott Kirby: “United Airlines is back at JFK”

The aircraft will also feature 22 United Premium Plus seats, 47 Economy Plus seats and 52 Economy seats.

United claims to offer the most premium seats between the New York City area and Los Angeles and San Francisco markets. Tickets are now available for purchase on United.com.

Scott Kirby, United Airlines’ CEO said,

I have been waiting a long time to say this – United Airlines is back at JFK.

Come early next year, we will be serving all three major New York City area airports with a best-in-class product to provide our customers unmatched transcontinental service from New York City and the west coast.

United’s premium cabin will feature flat-bed seats on all flights similar to the current Newark-Los Angeles and Newark-San Francisco offerings, providing a consistent and comprehensive NYC-west coast product.

Additionally, United’s wide-body service can participate in the robust cargo market between JFK and the west coast.

If you need to fly out of JFK, contact your GTM Account Manager.

Dave

Half of travellers intend to travel again within months: survey

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Airports Council International has released a survey showing nearly half of respondents intend to travel again within the next three months.

The findings of the Airports Council International (ACI) World ASQ Global Traveller Survey can be attributed to a strong level of confidence in the environment safety provided by airports and airlines.

The survey found that 48% of travellers considered themselves likely to travel within the next three months but, despite this eagerness to travel, the recovery is dependent on a multitude of factors.

Passengers expect that new measures are put in place to address health risks, including mandatory masks for passengers and staff, Covid-19 testing prior to the trip, hand sanitising stations and the development of a more contactless airport experience.

The survey found an overall slight decrease in travel frequency is expected. This will have an impact on the proportion of traffic type with domestic traffic helping recovery in the short term.

Completion of the report was supported by KONE Corporation, Munich Airport International, Plaza Premium Group, and POTLOC.

ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said,

One of the keys to recovery will be the aviation industry’s understanding of the changing needs of passengers and ACI’s new survey provides insight into how Covid-19 is affecting passenger expectations and future travel plans.

It is reassuring that travellers are eager to travel again and our survey will help airports make the right decisions in providing the best and safest customer experience. Airports, airlines and their partners need to continue to increase the level of confidence in the entire passenger journey and provide and communicate the measures they are introducing to keep passenger healthy and safe.

ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme provides airports with not only a tool to assess their health measures against globally-recognized standards but also a way to communicate to passengers about these measures.

Dr. Sascha Brozek, Senior Vice President, Major Projects, KONE Corporation said,

As air travel and the industry navigates changes in order to gradually return, there’s no doubt the way passengers move through airports has been changed permanently. In this respect, safe and efficient people flow management is vital. At KONE, we believe that technology and smart solutions will help us reconfigure environments like airport terminals, keeping safety and health as a top priority.

Dr. Ralf Gaffal, Managing Director at Munich Airport International said,

Covid-19 has a never-seen impact on our aviation industry – not only did it cause traffic movements to hit rock bottom, it also changed the overall behaviour and expectations of our passengers and requires the implementation of new processes and systems. As a global world-class airport operator, it is essential for us to understand all changes and requirements to quickly adapt processes, facilities and information flow. The results of this ASQ  Global Traveller Survey will provide guidance to define our strategy and actions in order to maintain the highest level of customer satisfaction.

Bora Isbulan, Chief Commercial Officer of Plaza Premium Group said,

It is a pleasure for us to support ACI World, global trade representative of world airports on their global passenger survey. It is important for the airport community to work together for the revival of travel, especially during these unprecedented times. As a leader in airport hospitality, it is fundamental for us to understand the behaviour of global passengers and how it will continue to evolve through the importance of wellbeing, digital advancements and loyalty programmes in the new age of travel.

Rodolphe Barrere Co-Founder & CEO at POTLOC said,

Covid-19 has forced the travel industry to completely rethink the status quo and the way it operates. Airports that have answers from consumers will have more chances of overcoming a post-COVID world. With this study, at Potloc we wanted to help them understand consumer perceptions facing this new reality. We were able to reach far and wide, by extracting travellers’ insights via social networks, to get a clearer picture of where we stand now, and what the future holds for airports in their eyes.

ACI claim the ASQ Global Traveller Survey has been created to help airports plan for future demand – in the short, medium and long term – and to adapt customer experience accordingly, to help them implement the right measures expected by travellers, improve the most stressful touchpoints throughout the journey, and understand passengers’ needs and expectations.

“We are grateful to our sponsors in supporting this important project which will help inform airports and promote public confidence in the recovery of air travel,” Luis Felipe de Oliveira.

Dave

Finnair is offering free Covid-19 insurance cover

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Finnish airline Finnair has announced it is offering complimentary Covid-19 insurance cover for customers departing from Finland.

Finnair Corona Cover provides extra protection and security for customers for all existing and new bookings, for travel departures between 3 November, 2020 and 31 March, 2021.

The insurance cover comes complimentary with all Finnair tickets booked through Finnair sales channels – including Finnair.com, the Finnair mobile app or via the airline’s customer service – for international travel originating from Finland.

It means any customer who falls ill with coronavirus in their destination can claim for any coronavirus-related medical and quarantine expenses incurred in their destination. The cover supplements travellers’ own travel insurance.

Tiina Tissari, Finnair Vice President, Customer Experience and Products, said:

It is important that Finnair customers feel they can travel safely as we recognise that travelling during the pandemic comes with new kinds of concerns and challenges.

To meet the needs of our customers during the COVID-19 outbreak, Finnair has introduced its complimentary Finnair Corona Cover.

Now Finnair customers can enjoy the peace of mind and additional security which comes from Finnair Corona Cover, including cover for medical and quarantine expenses should those insured with us become sick with coronavirus while travelling.”

Finnair Corona Cover includes the following expenses for customers in their destination:

  • Covid-19 related medical expenses and medical repatriation up to €50,000, e.g. for a hospital stay or doctor visits
  • The price of a coronavirus test, if the result is positive
  • Additional quarantine costs, resulting from falling ill with coronavirus, up to €100 for a maximum of 14 days, which could cover additional overnight accommodation
  • A new return flight back to Finland, if the original flight is missed due to illness related to coronavirus.

The cover is valid in all foreign destinations, with no excess fees.

As well as including Finnair Corona Cover with all Finnair tickets booked from Finland, the cover is included also in Aurinkomatkat package trips and Finnair Holidays bookings, when the destination is outside Finland.

Customers are advised always to contact Finnair’s insurance partner for a consultation and approval for any medical or other expenses, before using local services. Expenses will be settled directly with local service providers, provided each customer first contacts and is given approval from the insurance partner. This prevents customers from having to pay for the services themselves or carry any risk for the costs.

The service is provided to Finnair customers, 24/7, with English-speaking customer service agents on hand to provide assistance.

For more information and advice on Covid-19 insurance contact your GTM Account Manager. T

Dave

British Airways demonstrates Covid-19 safety at the airport and on board

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British Airways has released a video highlighting the measures introduced at the airport and onboard to keep customers safe during the pandemic.

In the video Head of Global Sales Mark Muren interviews Dr Mike Harrigan, British Airways’ medical lead, on the measures in place including:

  • Asking customers to check-in online, download their boarding pass and where possible self-scan their boarding passes at the departure gate
  • Requiring customers to wear a facemask at all times and bringing enough to replace them every four hours for longer flights
  • Social distancing markers and hand sanitiser stations placed throughout airports
  • New ordering system in lounges to reduce contact
  • Cabin crew wearing PPE and a new food service, which reduces the number of interactions required with customers
  • Providing customers with a personal protection pack including a sealable disposal bag, hand sanitising gel and an antibacterial wipe.
  • Enhanced cleaning measures and HEPA filters

They also discuss the latest research from IATA which showed that since the start of 2020 there have been just 44 cases of COVID-19 reported in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight (that includes confirmed, probable and potential cases). Over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled, which is just one case for every 27 million travellers.

If you have any questions about Covid-19 safety at airports or on board, or if you simply want to discuss your plans for your next British Airways flight, please contact your GTM Account Manager.