The year in review: 2021

2021 will be remembered as the first, full-year of global pandemic.  Economies around the world suffered consumer decline.  Travel was restricted, regulated and, in some cases, banned altogether. 

But, while many travel companies suffered intolerable operating conditions, Global Travel Management used the year as an opportunity to build the business with a strategy of innovative solutions and careful investments aimed at meeting customers’ current and future aspirations. 

And we had fun doing it. 

Here’s a look back at the highs and even-highers of an eventful year. 

In January, the UK’s relationship with the European Union changed, again. So we prepared a briefing document, UK Business Travel in Europe to show the new rules impact British citizens doing work in the EU.

The comprehensive document covers Entry Requirements, Passport Requirements, Healthcare Cover, Mobile Roaming, Professional Qualifications, Personal Goods and Driving Documentation.

Also in January, Scott Pawley and Paul Baker also made their inaugural appearance on “Football Focus”.

The duo put together a Match of the Day style preview of a football match at Marine FC, a club sponsored by a Focus Travel Partnership travel management company.

Marine played Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Scott and Paul’s predictions pre-match analysis was well received. But their predictions were terrible.

In February, we launched the innovative, industry-leading, GTM Carbon Offset Programme, with our friends from Trees4Travel.

The GTM Carbon Offset Programme enables businesses to offset their carbon emissions. We calculate the carbon cost of each individual trip and the number of trees that would need to be planted in order to sequester that amount of carbon in the lifetime of those trees. We then arrange to collect the cost of those trees and arrange – through Trees4Travel – for them to be planted, in sustainable reforesation projects around the world.

Find out more about the Global Travel Management Carbon Offset Programme
Grant Shapps solicited input into the Global Travel Taskforce

In March, we provided input into the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps MP was commissioned to provide an updated report to steer government’s decisions on the best way to manage a safe return to business travel.

We spoke to customers and gathered input via surveys which helped us to frame our input, which covered testing, travel corridors, the safe implementation of the traffic light system and a reduction in cumbersome regulations which exacerbated issues for business travellers.

In April, global travel technology company Travelport used our comments to promote their latest travel agency product.

Scott Pawley surprised Travelport when they asked whether he would recommend their product

Scott Pawley was interviewed by the company to give them feedback on the use of the Travelport Smartpoint product.

His response? “Absolutely, categorically not”.

But he gave further insight into the business travel sector.

Scott told Travelport he believes the business travel sector has changed permanently in the last year,  and so GTM has had to change as well. Scott says that in addition to being a manager of travel, GTM has also become a trusted, authoritative source of business travel information. 

We’re using a combination of our expert knowledge and the Travelport products to instil confidence in every client, every time they want help determining when, where, and whether to travel.

Our managing director Scott Pawley made more news in May.

He was asked to be the star guest in the latest episode of the the Business Travel Magazine podcast series “Checking In With…”.

You can download the episode here, and find out about how well he’s able to work with his wife; what his most embarrassing flight booking was; how he works up a sweat on his Peloton and how he has become an expert barbecue chef.

The travel industry media were pleased to be able to report some good news in May

Elsewhere, we made more news when we closed the purchase of assets from travel management company Baxter Hoare, rescuing one of the oldest brands in the travel industry and securing the on-going management of several customers who otherwise would have had no travel management.

Scott explained

Global Travel Management now offers all former clients of Baxter Hoare a continuation of the service they are used to receiving, while ensuring they continue to benefit from corporate discounted air fares. In addition, since both Baxter Hoare and Global Travel Management have provided access to fares and rates negotiated by the Focus Travel Partnership, clients transferring business to GTM continue to benefit from such savings.

In June, we launched another ground-breaking, technology first.

reTravel and GTM work together to provide trip-critical information at exactly the right time

Working with reTravel, we put together a behind-the-scenes process that ensures trip-critical information is provided to every traveller, at precisely the time they need it.

We are now able to ensure that every traveller is supported en route with the precise information they need at the time. But, harnessing the machine learning and artificial intelligence experise of reTravel, we are able to determine the precise moment on a trip when the traveller is most likely to engage with that message.

reTravel anlyses, in real time, millions of messages that are sent to travellers. And, from the output of this data, we are able to ensure each message we send to a traveller – whether it’s trip-critical information, crisis alerts, flight detail changes, accommodation alterations or simply terminal and gate information, we’re able to ensure it’s delivered in the most useful format at exactly the right time.

In July, we participated in the nationwide #TravelDayofAction.

A team from GTM took centre stage in Whitehall as the travel industry gathered to make its demands for the protection of the sector clear.

We joined travel journalists, travel agents, tour operators, pilots, cabin crew and members of Parliament to make clear what was required to support the industry.

In July, we joined hundreds of other travel industry participants in a protest at the Houses of Parliament

In August, we rolled out enhancements to our industry-leading product PinPoint.

PinPoint is our online Duty of Care, Traveller-tracking and Covid resource tool, that provides out customers with a 360-degree of the status of their staff travel.

See a demo of PinPoint

In the same month, we re-vamped our weekly news video service, Business Travel News.

Every Friday, we produce a short video clip that highlights some of the most important – or fun – items of news for business travellers.

You can see the Business Travel News playlist on our YouTube channel here. Subscribe to receive alerts for each of our episodes of Business Travel News, which appear every Friday morning.

In September, we participated in a very special movement designed to help travel industry employees suffering from mental health issues.

We took part in the first #ribbonfortravel campaign

The #ribbonfortravel initiative was put together bu travel industry leaders to give an opportunity for those suffering from mental health issues to discuss and share their thoughts with others from within the industry.

We shared a story centred on mental health every day during the Mental Health in Travel Awareness Week with the sole aim of bringing attention to the week’s events via the #ribbonfortravel campaign.

The stories we shared were How Are You?, Time. Travel., Duty of Care, Removing the Stress of Travel and Forget About It. You can see these stories on our LinkedIn page, here.

For the second time in 2021, we closed a deal to acquire assets of a former travel management company, in October.

Our acquisitions made the news again in October

Flightline Travel customers were assured of a continuation of service when we took over the accounts previously managed by the southeast England-based company.

Scott Pawley talked to the media about the acquisition,

It is very sad that the brutal effects of the global pandemic have removed another great name – and a superb SME TMC – from the business travel industry. But we are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with new customers from 1 November 2021.

In November the eyes of the world were on Glasgow and the COP26 meetings taking place to agree the targets and strategy to drive carbon emissions lower and to reduce the man-made effects of global climate change.

As the travel sector is leading the way in carbon emission reduction and developing new techniques, processes and solutions to meet the global challenge, we invited leading travel suppliers from around the world to go on record to share how they’re looking to solve the problem.

We issued a challenge: tell us what you’re doing to meet your own carbon emission targets, in just ten seconds.

We called this the GTM COP26 Challenge. You can see the results from from some of the best travel suppliers in the world on our YouTube channel.

See how British Airways, Lufthansa Group, United, Emirates, Air Canada and Travelogix met the GTM COP26 Challenge

In December, we were able to share the biggest piece of news yet.

Global Travel Management has been shortlisted in the prestigious TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies awards for 2022.

We’re obviously delighted to be in the short list of just 100 names for the 50 places. And even more delights that we are one of just five travel management companies to have been nominated in the category BEST BUSINESS TRAVEL AGENT 2022.

Nomination for these huge honours is a really big achievement for us and it’s recognition for some of the very hard work our team has accomplished in a very difficult year for the industry.

The winners will be announced in an event in Birmingham in March 2022. But, for now, we are ecstatic to have our work acknowledged in this way.

Roll on 2022.

GTM shortlisted for prestigious nationwide award

Global Travel Management has made the shortlist for the prestigious TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2022 award.

The awards recognise the achievements of travel agencies around the UK and are organised by highly-respected travel trade publication group TTG.

The Top 50 Travel Agencies 2022 comprises several categories, split both regionally and by agency type. But there is only one nationwide category devoted to business travel agencies.

GTM is one of just five nominated travel management companies in the category, receiving its first-ever nomination.

Following the release of the shortlist, Scott Pawley, Managing Director of Global Travel Management praised the staff of the business in a special video message.

Scott said,

I would like to thank all the staff at GTM for their hard, enthusiastic work throughout the year.  We have achieved an incredible amount in very difficult circumstances this year. But there’s lots more to come in 2022.

The shortlisting recognises the formidable advances GTM has made during 2021. The business has remained focused on the day-to-day management of customers’ business trips and travel-related requirements and aspirations. But GTM has also enhanced and developed its set of products and services, often with ground-breaking initiatives.

Scott added,

We are ambitious enough to ensure that we continue to innovate and bring industry-leading tools and technologies to our set of products. But we insist on ensuring every customer receives expert, careful and meticulous support before, during and after every trip, every time.

We can only achieve this by having a great team. And I would like to pay a heartfelt tribute to everyone at GTM who continues to ensure we provide through, studious and scrupulous attention to every element of our customers’ business travel.

400 companies participated in this year’s awards. The shortlist of 100 companies was published by TTG, but was limited to just five companies in the Business Travel category. You can see the full list, here.

TOP BUSINESS TRAVEL AGENCY: Scott Pawley reacted to the news of GTM’s shortlisting.

British Airways relaunches short-haul flights from Gatwick

British Airways has revealed the initial destinations for its new Gatwick subsidiary, which will start flying from March 2022.

The airline announced its intention to create a short-haul standalone business at Gatwick in August, similar to its operation from London City Airport, which operates under the British Airways name but exists as an entirely separate entity. The offshoot will launch later in 2022, with short-haul services at Gatwick being operated by mainline BA until the new entity’s Air Operators Certificate is issued.

British Airways Airbus A320
Tickets for BA short-haul European flights from Gatwick are available from GTM now

BA short-haul flights will start operating from Gatwick at the end of March, with three Airbus short-haul aircraft initially, ramping ramp up to 18 aircraft by the end of May.

The subsidiary will herald the airline’s return to short-haul flying from the London airport, which had been suspended as a result of Covid-19 in Spring 2020. During the pandemic, several routes were moved to Heathrow, some of which will return to Gatwick, as well as being maintained at Heathrow to give customers choice, including Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Marrakech and Tenerife. In addition, other new routes will be added at Gatwick including Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Milan Malpensa and Santorini.

The new services will be branded and known as British Airways. Customers will receive the same high level of service they expect of British Airways as well as enjoying the benefits of travelling with the UK’s flag carrier including a generous baggage allowance, free water and snacks, free seat selection and frequent flyer benefits which include lounge access.

Club Europe customers will also receive complimentary food and drink and Euro Traveller customers who want to order additional food will benefit from access to the airline’s ‘Speedbird Café’, which features a selection of products from a range of carefully selected British brands.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said:

[This] is a landmark moment for British Airways. The creation of a new British Airways short-haul organisation means Gatwick customers will benefit from access to a premium service from the UK’s flag carrier at competitive prices. We are looking forward to bringing a short-haul network back to Gatwick, with a fantastic flying team in place, to serve our customers from London’s second hub airport, which we feel sure will be a success.

Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport, said:

This significant news will be very welcome for many people connected to the airport.  Despite the ongoing public health situation, today’s announcement is a positive signal that consumer confidence is returning as people start thinking about making travel plans for next summer. Given the difficult period we have all just been through, we expect BA’s new and extensive network of services from Gatwick to destinations across Europe to be in high demand and our staff, retailers, restaurants, cafes and bars are all looking forward to welcoming BA passengers back in larger numbers from April next year.


Virgin Atlantic supports World Health Organization Foundation’s ‘Go Give One’ campaign through onboard donations

Virgin Atlantic is supporting the World Health Organization Foundation’s Go Give One campaign through onboard donations this December.

The campaign funds Covid-19 vaccines for middle and lower-income countries to help close the global vaccine equity gap. 

As the impact of Covid-19 continues globally, the campaign calls on everyone, everywhere to play their part in helping to offer much needed vaccines to the world. Created by the WHO Foundation, the money raised goes to an international financing mechanism called Gavi COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC), which buys COVID-19 vaccines, prioritising those who need them the most in countries that cannot afford them. The campaign is asking individuals to donate £4, which is the cost of a single vaccine, with the aim to get 50 million people across the world to take part.

Corneel Koster, Chief Customer and Operating Officer, Virgin Atlantic, said: 

We know that en masse vaccine programmes work, thanks to the success we’ve seen in developed nations around the world, but unless we support lower-income countries in accessing these vaccines, we will not beat this global threat.

By supporting the WHO Foundation in raising funds for the Go Give One campaign through our onboard donations this month, our teams and customers can play a part in helping to close the gap.

The WHO Foundation and Virgin Atlantic are grateful for every contribution. It costs just £4 to buy a vaccine, meaning even the smallest donations can go a long way.

Successful vaccination programmes are the route out of the pandemic and we must all play our part in combatting this virus; together we can do our bit to offer vaccines to the world and beat Covid

Anil Soni, Chief Executive Officer, WHO Foundation said:

Getting vaccines to people who need them most is vital to help end the pandemic. We are delighted to have Virgin Atlantic support vaccine equity through the Go Give One campaign with onboard donations and the additional donation through the Foundation. The travel industry has been stepping up through our coalition efforts. Only by working together can we close the gap and ensure vaccines for everyone, everywhere.

For further information on the campaign and to donate, visit https://gogiveone.org/virgin-atlantic

Gatwick partners with GRIDSERVE to build an Electric Forecourt

A partnership between Gatwick Airport and sustainable energy company GRIDSERVE will build the Gatwick Electric Forecourt – an electric charging, net zero equivalent to a petrol station – that will be available to millions of passengers, commuters, staff, local residents and businesses that pass through the airport and its surrounding motorway network each year.

The new facility – a UK airport first – will be located on the Ring Road South approach to Gatwick’s South Terminal and adjacent to the M23 – it will enable 36 Electric Vehicles to be charged simultaneously, with high-power chargers that can deliver up to 350 kW of charging power, capable of adding 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. Multiple charging connectors will cater for all types of electric cars.

The site is due to open in Autumn 2022 and will host a café, comfortable waiting lounge with free superfast WiFi, convenience supermarket, children’s play area and a dedicated educational space to increase awareness around electric vehicles. As with all of GRIDSERVE’s chargers, the site will also be supplied with low cost, 100% renewable net zero carbon energy generated by GRIDSERVE’s own solar farms.

The Electric Forecourt also forms part of Gatwick Airport’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions for its internal operations before 2040 and its broader aspirations to become the UK’s most sustainable airport, including through involvement in UK industry plans to reach net zero aircraft emissions by 2050. It also contributes to majority stakeholder VINCI Airports’ global environmental action plan – the first in the industry to be applied to a network of 45 airports in 12 countries – to develop carbon-free energy for passengers and users.

Jonathan Pollard, Chief Commercial Officer, Gatwick Airport, said:

Gatwick is pleased to partner with GRIDSERVE to deliver this fantastic and sustainable service. We are on a journey to create a low carbon economy, and Gatwick is keen to play an important role by providing new infrastructure that everyone can use, including a transformed and well-connected railway station, so that together we can start reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

Our new high-powered charging facility – delivered by GRIDSERVE – will help meet the increasing need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the airport, including the growing number of our passengers who own electric vehicles and need fast, convenient and effective charging facilities.

The new charging infrastructure will also benefit people right across our community, including thousands of staff who live locally, businesses looking to introduce electric vehicle fleets – even those operating busses and trucks – and also local residents who may be considering buying an electric-powered car but were undecided due to the lack of charging facilities.

Toddington Harper, CEO of GRIDSERVE, said:

Gatwick isn’t just an airport, it’s an ecosystem of commuters, travellers, staff, taxi drivers, car rental companies, local residents and businesses, all culminating in a transport hub that hosts tens of millions of drivers every single year. The Gatwick Electric Forecourt® will give these drivers and businesses the confidence to switch away from petrol and diesel cars, making electric journeys to and from one of the country’s most important transport hubs straightforward and sustainable.

For maximum accessibility, all of GRIDSERVE’s chargers offer contactless payment and require a £1 bank card preauthorisation check to activate a charge, which, the airport says, makes it ‘even more convenient to pay’.

GRIDSERVE® is a tech-enabled sustainable energy business whose purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change.

GRIDSERVE is also developing several large-scale hybrid solar + battery farms to supply renewable solar energy as part of a “sun-to-wheel” ecosystem. Every kW of energy taken out of the grid by a GRIDSERVE EV charger is netted off against a kW of zero carbon solar energy put back into the grid by a GRIDSERVE solar farm, creating a net zero carbon, low cost transport system today. GRIDSERVE claims this means it is able to provide ‘the most competitive rate for high-powered charging today’.

GRIDSERVE also leases EVs, with 100 trees planted for every EV leased, offsetting embodied emissions.

How would you spend two extra hours on your next transatlantic trip?

That’s a question a number of business travellers are facing, thanks to a great time-saving initiative for business travellers flying from the UK to the United States.

One of the most frustrating, time-consuming issues business travellers entering the US face is the long lines ahead of customs clearance and border control.  After a long haul flight, the last thing many travellers want is to be faced with a lengthy wait and interrogation before even being able to leave the airport.  

Given the opportunity, many business travellers would prefer to clear customs and border checks before arriving in the country.  

Now, thanks to several routes that incorporate a stopover in Dublin Airport, passengers can “preclear” US customs and border control at a leisurely pace ahead of their onward flight to the United States.  

Global Travel Management Sales Director, Paul Baker explained, 

Paul Baker, Global Travel Management

At Global Travel Management, we will always help customers find the best fare.  But ‘best’ very rarely just means ‘cheapest’.  What customers look for as well as the lowest-cost is the most convenient route: the best value services on board: and the best and most efficient use of time. So, we often find that a route to the US through Dublin, allowing customers to preclear in the terminal building ahead of the transatlantic portion of the flight is a very welcome, very useful way to save a couple of hours – or more – on landing.

Making a stop in Dublin Airport offers a great alternative for passengers who might otherwise travel to Heathrow or Gatwick before boarding a direct flight to their destination city in the US.  Because many regional airports across the UK offer connections to and through Dublin.  This can often mean saving even more time. 

Paul explained further, 

A long haul flight means eating into a lot of otherwise productive time.  Add to that the time taken to travel to London’s two main airports and clearing customs – with passengers arriving from all over the world – and you have a lengthy addition to your travel time. 

But more and more passengers are taking advantage of travelling from UK airports closer to their homes or places of work.  If you live in the southwest of England, the south coast, the northeast, near the midlands, in Wales or close to airports in Scotland, you can hop on a short haul flight to Dublin, preclear US checks at the airport, and get on your transatlantic flight.  

You’ll cross the ‘pond’ in the knowledge you will be straight through the airport and heading for your hotel, meeting or other destination without having to hang around.

Several airlines have opened transatlantic routes through Dubin, with Aer Lingus among the most celebrated. 

Keith Tenn of Aer Lingus told us, 

Keith Tenn, Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus has established routes to several cities all over the United States.  So, passengers can choose to take advantage of this well-established opportunity at Dublin Airport. 

The door-to-door time-savings can be substantial; many of the fares are very competitively priced, in order to offer great savings. Also, passengers can accumulate Avios, one of the most widely-used frequent flyer currencies.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you need to plan your next transatlantic trip or if you want to find out more about how to make use of preclearance in Dublin.

Changes to pre-departure testing from 4am, Tuesday 7 December 2021

From 4am, Tuesday 7 December all people aged 12 years and over must take a PCR or LFD COVID-19 test before they travel to England from abroad.

You must take the test in the 2 days before your service to England departs. If your journey to England is a multi-leg journey, you must take the test in the 2 days before the start of the first leg. This will apply whether you qualify as fully vaccinated or not.

Further information is available on the UK Government website here. You can arrange and book Covid-19 tests here.

Traffic light system

From 4am Monday 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England changed from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The red list of countries was updated on Sunday, 28 November 2021 and, on 14 December 2021, all eleven countries on the list were removed, with effect from 4am, Wednesday 15 December 2021.

What you must do when you arrive in England

*If you are fully vaccinated*

This is what you need to do if you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England.

Before you travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

  • Book and pay for a Covid-19 test – to be taken before the end of day 2 in England. You cannot use an NHS test for this. You must use a private test provider.
  • complete a passenger locator form – to be completed in the 48 hours before you arrive in England. You will need to enter your COVID-19 test booking reference number on your passenger locator form. If you will be in England for less than 2 days you still need to book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test.

You must self-isolate in your home or the place you are staying until you receive your test result.

When you arrive in England

After you arrive in England you must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2. The day you arrive is day 0. This is the lateral flow or PCR test that you booked before travel. If the test result is negative, you do not need to self-isolate.

  • If you took a lateral flow test and the result is positive, you must take a free PCR test to confirm the result. You must self-isolate until you get the result.
  • If you took a lateral flow test and the result is unclear, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.
  • If you took a PCR test and the result is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day of the test is day 0.
  • If you took a PCR test and the result is unclear, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.
  • If your PCR test results are delayed, you must self-isolate until your test result is known or until day 14 after arrival, whichever is sooner. You can choose to take another private test. If the result is negative, you can stop self-isolating.

*If you are not fully vaccinated*

After you arrive in England you must:

  • quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 full days
  • take your Covid-19 PCR tests – you must book these tests before you travel

You must take the first test on or before day 2 and the second test on or after day 8. The day you arrive is day 0.

If you are in England for less than 10 days, you need to quarantine for the time you are here. You need to book day 2 and day 8 PCR tests. You only need to take the tests if you are still in England on those days.

If the test result is positive

If your day 2 test is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.

You do not need to take the day 8 test if your day 2 test is positive. If your day 2 test is negative, you must take your day 8 test.

If your day 8 test is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the day 8 test is day 0.

If the test result is negative

If your day 2 test is negative, you must continue to quarantine.

You must take your day 8 test on or after day 8.

If your day 8 test is negative, you can stop quarantine on whichever is later:

  • day 10 – day 0 is the day you arrived in England
  • when you receive the day 8 test result

You must follow these rules if you:

  • do not qualify under the fully vaccinated rules
  • are partially vaccinated
  • are not vaccinated

Before you travel to England you must:

  • take a pre-departure COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 3 days before you travel to England
  • book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arrival in England
  • complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England

After you arrive in England you must:

  • quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
  • take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8

You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private Covid-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.

Travel from red countries

There are different rules if you have been in a red list country in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

Before you travel to England – red list rules

Before you travel to England you must:

  • take a Covid-19 test – you must take the test in the 3 days before you travel to England
  • book a quarantine hotel package, including 2 COVID-19 tests
  • complete a passenger locator form

You must do this even if you are fully vaccinated.

Read more about taking a COVID-19 test before you travel to England.

When you arrive in England – red list rules

When you arrive in England you must quarantine in a managed hotel, and take 2 COVID-19 tests.

You must do this even if you are fully vaccinated.

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish national or you have residence rights in the UK.

The Red list of countries
Angola – until 4am Wednesday 15 December
Botswana – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Eswatini – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Lesotho – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
MALAWI – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Mozambique – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Namibia – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
NIGERIA – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
South Africa – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Zambia – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER
Zimbabwe – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER

We advise checking with gov.uk for the latest, most up to date information on the restrictions and make up of the red list.

The traffic light system was put in place in order to facilitate non-essential travel in the Summer months of 2020. The restrictions do not necessarily impact business travellers. For further clarification and details, please contact your GTM Account Manager.

Qantas and Accor join forces to reward customers

Members of Qantas Frequent Flyer and Accor’s loyalty programme, ALL – Accor Live Limitless can for the first time be rewarded twice when they fly with Qantas and stay at one of Accor’s hotels.

Members who link their Qantas Frequent Flyer and ALL – Accor Live Limitless accounts can earn points in both programs on eligible hotel bookings and Qantas flights.

Almost 30 million members across both programmes in Australia and the Asia Pacific are set to be rewarded for staying at Accor and flying on Qantas’ domestic and international flights.

Details of the programme include:

Points on the ground:

  • Earn 3 Qantas Points per dollar as well as the usual ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward points on eligible Accor hotel stays in Australia or across the Asia Pacific
  • Plus, earn 3 Qantas Points for every dollar on eligible transactions while staying at Accor hotels, including dining and room service while also earning Reward points

Points in the air:

  • Members who hold Qantas Platinum, Platinum One or ALL Gold, Platinum and Diamond status can earn up to 2 ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward points per A$10 spent on eligible Qantas flights in addition to the usual Qantas Points.

Accor brands include: SO/, Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Mövenpick, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget,

Accor Pacific CEO Simon McGrath said this was a major milestone for the travel industry, enabling greater benefits for loyalty members across more than 1,200 Accor hotels, apartments and resorts in the Asia Pacific region.

We are joining forces to reward our customers, delivering exceptional travel benefits and unrivalled service for people who enjoy our two much-loved brands

Customers are at the heart of this partnership which is set to bring significant extended benefits for travellers. This is a first for a hospitality group and airline in Australia.

Qantas is the perfect partner for Accor to deepen our relationship with, and growing our loyalty members’ benefits will strengthen our customers’ commitment to our leading brands, like Sofitel, Mantra and Novotel. We predict that this relationship will increase membership and engagement across both of our programs.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth said the agreement marks a significant milestone for Qantas Frequent Flyer members

Our partnership with Accor launches at an ideal time, with domestic and international borders reopening and frequent flyers starting to plan and book their next getaway

Eligible members of the Qantas and Accor loyalty programs will earn twice when they fly and stay in a hotel or resort. We know this will be very popular for our frequent flyers whether they are travelling for business or on holidays.

We’ve seen frequent flyers booking flights in record numbers, with billions of points used to book flights in recent weeks. This shows just how important and valuable points are to our members, and this initiative will help members of both programs get away on their dream trip sooner.

How members can earn:

Members need to link their Qantas Frequent Flyer and ALL – Accor Live Limitless accounts to start earning. Qantas has set out the following example of points that Qantas Bronze and Accor Classic members can earn on the ground (correct as at 11 November 2021 for travel on specific dates in January 2022):

Stay 2 nights at Raffles Singapore
in a Stateroom Suite
Earn 4,198 ALL – Accor Live Limitless points, andEarn 7,872 Qantas Points
Stay 2 nights at the
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Earn 1,168 ALL – Accor Live Limitless points, andEarn 2,190 Qantas Points

The point earn potential accelerates the higher the membership tier. An example^ of points that Qantas Platinum and ALL Accor Live Limitless Platinum members can earn on the ground and in the air:

Stay 2 nights at the Sofitel Sydney Darling HarbourEarn 2,044 ALL – Accor Live Limitless points,
and Earn 2,190 Qantas Points
Fly Business return with Qantas to Singapore from
Sydney and stay 7 nights at Raffles Singapore
in a Stateroom Suite
Earn 26,418 ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward
points, and Earn 55,834 Qantas Points
Fly Economy return with Qantas to Fiji
and stay 5 nights at Sofitel Fiji in a Luxury Room
with beach club access
Earn 8,468 ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward
points, and Earn 17,575 Qantas Points

With Classic Flight Reward seats starting from 6,400 points on Jetstar and 8,000 points on Qantas (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges) and lead-in hotel rates across Accor Economy brands available from 3,900 Reward points, members will quickly be able to bolster their points balances to use towards their next getaway.

Qantas Frequent Flyers can already convert their ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward points to Qantas Points at the rate of one ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward point per one Qantas Point (in increments of 2000).

Additional benefits for members:

  • Qantas Frequent Flyer members that hold Gold status or above and those that are Points Club or Points Club Plus members can fast track their ALL membership from ALL Classic to ALL Silver when linking their accounts and completing required eligible hotel stays.
  • Accor Plus members that hold ALL Gold status and above can enjoy complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership which includes free delivery on all orders within Australia and the ability to earn 3 Qantas Points per dollar spent.
  • Members can see the benefits they will receive from both loyalty programs on qantas.com/accor or all.com

Betty Buzz launched in BA’s US lounges

Betty Buzz, a range of non-alcoholic sparkling mixers is set to be rolled out across British Airways’ US lounges, starting with JFK and San Francisco airports.

Betty Buzz is a range of non-alcoholic sparkling mixers launched in September this year by Blake Lively. Made with clean ingredients like real juice and with no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners, they are ideal for serving with spirits or tasty enough to be enjoyed on their own.

Blake Lively, Betty Buzz Founder said:

Team Betty Buzz and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Sean Doyle and the entire British Airways crew to bring Betty Buzz to all British Airways lounges in the US. 

British Airways is a brand who’s earned great respect for their standards of quality and experience. Betty Buzz shares the same values, while also bringing a bit of new life and energy.

I appreciate Sean and the British Airways team for championing a female-founded business in such a meaningful way. Can’t wait to fly with you all!

On Monday 8 November, British Airways marked the reopening of borders between the US and UK, with a one-off return of its prestigious BA001 flight number which was previously used for Concorde.  And, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and blue to honour this historic day.

Read about BA001 – the first British Airways transatlantic flight since the US travel ban was lifted

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO said:

As the US lifts its travel restrictions after 19 months of separation, we are already seeing the benefits of doing face-to-face business.  Following the successful introduction of Betty Buzz at the Aviation Gin bar in our JFK lounge, we will be rolling it out across all our US lounges.

As more of our lounges re-open, we continue to excite our returning customers with exclusive partnerships like Betty Buzz.