Kelly

Can I be sure my business trip will take place?

/in /by

At GTM, we know how critical clients’ meetings are. But carefully planned business trips can be at risk if suppliers fail to meet their obligations.

As well as the terrible job losses, the news of Thomas Cook’s demise in September 2019 and that of Monarch Airlines in October 2017 caused huge problems for holiday makers and unprecedented peace-time repatriation efforts.

Disruption to holiday plans is upsetting and unsettling. But if business travel plans are compromised, even more could be at stake.

So, at GTM, we make sure we offer our clients the greatest levels of protection and confidence possible. To back up the professional service all clients receive from our experienced business travel consultants, we benefit from membership and accreditation from a number of professional travel organisations.

GTM is accredited by IATA The International Air Trade Association comprises 290 airlines, representing 117 countries. IATA accreditation is the industry’s “seal of approval” and is recognised worldwide. You can find out more about IATA here https://www.iata.org

GTM is a member of ABTA ABTA, The Travel Association (formerly, the Association of British Travel Agents) maintains a Code of Conduct for its members, so that our clients benefit from accurate information; advice on passport, visa and health requirements; an offer of alternative accommodation in the case of building works. You can find out more about ABTA here https://www.abta.com/

GTM holds an ATOL licence The Air Travel Operators’ Licence is the independent specialist aviation regulatory arm of the Civil Aviation Authority. The ATOL scheme ensures its members are financially sound and that clients are protected in case of company failure. You can find out more about ATOL here https://www.caa.co.uk/Our-work/About-us/Our-role/

GTM is part of the Advantage Travel Partnership The Advantage Travel Partnership is the United Kingdom’s largest independent travel agency partnership, solely owned by its members. You can find out more about the Advantage Travel Partnershp here https://www.advantagemembers.com/

GTM is a member of the WIN Global Travel Network The WIN Global Travel Network is a connected group of travel management companies employing more than 30,000 people in 75 countries, providing round-the-clock support and ensuring service excellence. You can find out more about the WIN Global Travel Network here https://wintravel.org/

The diligent professionalism with which our staff carry out travel management for our clients is enhanced and backed-up by our long association with these travel organisations. So, if any business trip is let down by a supplier being unable to carry out its commitments, GTM is perfectly placed to ensure that others can step in and save the day.

Kelly

Lufthansa’s “help alliance” celebrates its twentieth anniversary

/in /by

The help alliance celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. The globally active aid organisation was founded in September 1999 as an association of employees from various areas of the Lufthansa Group.

It now forms the central pillar of the Group’s activities in the area of social responsibility and stands for professional, sustainable help for disadvantaged people – especially young people – worldwide. To date, the help alliance has collected €17 million in donations, which have been used for 50 projects in Africa, 55 in Asia, around 25 in South America and 20 in Europe.

Projects are proposed for support by Lufthansa Group employees and are also supervised by them on an honorary basis. Since 1999, 80 Lufthansa Group employees have volunteered as project managers. They regularly check on site to make sure that 100% of the donations go to the projects. This is in line with the guiding principle of the help alliance, which focuses on employee commitment.

Vivian Spohr, patroness of the help alliance said

The help alliance is a success story. Originating among of the workforce, it has been helping for 20 years where help is most urgently needed. Through the personal and voluntary commitment of Lufthansa Group employees and our other supporters, we have been able to offer children and young people a perspective. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks

All initiatives focus on education, work and income and thus contribute to the United Nations’ global sustainability goals of “Quality Education” and “Decent Work and Economic growth”. In the future, the Lufthansa Group would also like to offer its employees corporate volunteering in help alliance projects. Here, employees use their individual skills to work for the benefit of the project.

The construction of the iThemba primary school in the Capricorn township near Cape Town in South Africa is the largest help alliance project to date with an investment volume of more than one million euros. Since its opening in January 2018, 105 children are able to be taught in three classes. As soon as the construction is been completed, 700 disadvantaged girls and boys will receive high-quality education and offered a better future.

In 2019, the help alliance also significantly expanded its social commitment in Germany with new project co-operations. In Frankfurt, for example, help alliance is supporting a job buddy programme designed to help refugees to enter the German job market.

The help alliance, together with the employees of the Lufthansa Group, will continue to work for disadvantaged people around the globe.

Kelly

Qantas to operate “Project Sunrise” research: Direct flights from London and New York to Sydney

/in /by

Qantas has announced three ultra long-haul research flights to gather new data about inflight passenger and crew health and wellbeing.

The flights form part of planning for Project Sunrise – Qantas’ goal to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from the east coast of Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) to London and New York.

The three flights over three months will use new Boeing 787-9s and re-route their planned delivery flights. Instead of flying empty from Seattle to Australia, the aircraft will simulate two Project Sunrise routes – London and New York to Sydney.

Each flight will have a maximum of 40 people, including crew, in order to minimise weight and give the necessary fuel range. Carbon emissions from the flights will be fully offset.

People in the cabin – mostly Qantas employees – will be fitted with wearable technology devices and take part in specific experiences at varying stages of the approximately 19 hour flights. Scientists and medical experts from the Charles Perkins Centre will monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, lighting, physical movement and inflight entertainment to assess impact on health, wellbeing and body clock.

Monash University researchers will work with pilots  to record crew melatonin levels before, during and after the flights.  Pilots will wear an EEG (electroencephalogram) device that tracks brain wave patterns and monitors alertness.  The aim is to establish data to assist in building the optimum work and rest pattern for pilots operating long haul services.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the flights will give medical experts the chance to do real-time research that will translate into health and wellbeing benefits.

Ultra-long haul flying presents a lot of common sense questions about the comfort and wellbeing of passengers and crew. These flights are going to provide invaluable data to help answer them.
Flying non-stop from the East Coast of Australia to London and New York is truly the final frontier in aviation, so we’re determined to do all the groundwork to get this right.

No airline has done this kind of dedicated research before and we’ll be using the results to help shape the cabin design, inflight service and crew roster patterns for Project Sunrise. We’ll also be looking at how we can use it to improve our existing long-haul flights.

Qantas has already conducted data on passenger sleep strategies on its direct Perth–London service, and some of these initial findings will be assessed further as part of these dedicated research flights. Customer feedback on food choices, separate stretching and wellbeing zones and entertainment options will also be tested.

Airbus and Boeing have both pitched aircraft (A350 and 777X) to Qantas that are capable of operating Project Sunrise flights with a viable commercial payload. A final decision on Project Sunrise – which depends on aircraft economics, regulatory approvals and industrial agreements – is expected by the end of December 2019.

Global Travel Management Sales Director Paul Baker commented:

This is an exciting innovation from Qantas, an airline we have been working with for many years.  We wish them all the best and look forward to being able to offer London-Sydney non-stop flights to GTM customers from the end of 2019.

Paul

British Airways New A350-1000 Now Flying to Madrid!

/in /by

British Airways has now taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 which is currently operating on the London Heathrow – Madrid route to familiarise crews with the aircraft.

Should you wish to be one of the first passengers to fly on this plane before it begins operating long-haul routes (Dubai & Toronto, followed by Tel Aviv and Bangalore) this autumn, you can do so on either of the following flights: BA464 and BA465 during August.

This new aircraft is the first to feature BA’s brand new Club Suites, which marks a significant improvement on the current Club World product.

There will be no First cabin, however, the Club Suites will feature in a 1-2-1 layout, along with 56 WTP seats and 219 in WT.

The A350-1000  is the quietest of any twin-aisle plane and provides airlines with a 25% reduction in fuel burn.

Paul

GTM Two-for-One on British Airways premium cabins

/in /by

British Airways has launched a sale offering a pair of Club World (business class) seats from just £2019 return.

There are a range of destinations available for £2019 return for two, including top US destinations such as New York, Miami, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas. Further afield the £2019 fare for two will take travellers to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Other destinations are available for marginally more including Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok for £2998, Mumbai, Chennai, Lagos and Abuja for £2999, Antigua for £2305, Barbados for £2332 return and Toronto for £2399.

And there are deals to be had in other cabins too with two First class seats to New York and Miami respectively available from £3019.

Travel is for selected dates between 13 August and 30 September 2019 and customers need to book by 19 August.

Please contact your GTM Travel Consultant to take advantage of this fantastic short term offer.

Mark W

MAKE YOUR DAY – by flying from Bristol Airport!

/in /by

Bristol Airport – one of the oldest civil airports in the country – is going from strength to strength, with several new routes being announced this Summer by a number of airlines. But what does the airport have in common with Dirty Harry actor and former Mayor of Carmel, Clint Eastwood?

Approximately 8.7 million passengers use the North Somerset airport annually and this is expected to grow to 10 million by 2021 and 12 million within a further five years.

This growth is expected to be driven by the increasing number of destinations served by Bristol Airport. The increase in passenger numbers will mean a corresponding rise in the number of aircraft movements to 97,393 per annum, an increase of just over 23,800 on the 2017 numbers.

As well as connecting businesses to new markets, Bristol Airport is also a major local employer. Just under 4,000 people currently work on the airport site. This is expected to rise by more than 1,000 by the time the airport is handling 12 million passengers a year.

Development is forecast to generate additional benefits of £1.4 billion to the regional economy over the next decade. Connectivity provided by flights to and from Bristol also helps friends and families stay in touch and enables local people to enjoy different cultures, climates and experiences. 

A number of airlines have announced new services to and from Bristol Airport. These include:

  • Ryanair – the Irish ow-cost carrier has announced a new, weekly route between Bristol and Grenoble, commencing January 2020
  • easyJet – the low-cost carrier headquartered at Luton will launch a new route from Bristol to Hurghada from 30 October 2019
  • easyJet has launched routes from Bristol to Milan, Biarritz, Brindisi, Montpellier and Rhodes this Summer
  • easyJet has also increased its services from Bristol to Lyon, to run all-year round, from this Summer
  • KLM – the Dutch airline has added 10,000 seats per year between Bristol and Amsterdam, commencing last month, offering connections to 162 cities across the world
  • Brussels Airlines – the Belgian airline will connect Bristol with Brussels twelve times a week, from 1 September 2019

As well as increasing passenger numbers and routes, Bristol Airport has worked with North Somerset Council to ensure access to the airport is improved. The council has worked to surface-dress a six-kilometre stretch of the busy A38, between the South Bristol Link Road and the junction with Downside Road.

Bristol Airport is fast becoming an airport of choice for businesses in the South West of England. With its connections improving and choice of routes increasing, it is easy to see why passenger numbers are increasing from the airport.

But Bristol Airport isn’t just relying on improving its impact on the economy of the South West of England. It’s also ensuring its environmental impact is managed and improved too. The airport has published a carbon roadmap setting out how it will achieve its ambition to be a net zero airport and accelerating efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.

Included in its targets are:

  • Carbon neutral target fast-tracked to 2025
  • Carbon levy to offset all road journeys
  • Flights to fall under international agreement to keep emissions at 2020 levels

Paul Baker, Sales Director of Global Travel Management said,

Bristol Airport is a success story for businesses in the South West of England. That’s why airlines like KLM, Brussels Airlines, easyJet and Ryanair are increasing their routes and capacity from Bristol. The airport was awarded “Highly Commended” in the ACI Europe Best Awards scheme this month. This is a confirmation of the work Bristol Airport is undertaking to serve the businesses and passengers of the region.

Every scheduled airline flying to and from Bristol Airport is available to book within Global Travel Management’s system. So we are very pleased to be able to offer flight, accommodation and other travel services for all businesses needing to make use of Bristol Airport. We congratulate them and are happy to help play our part in the airport’s future success.

So, what has Bristol Airport got to do with Clint Eastwood? They are exactly the same age – Bristol Airport was officially opened by HRH Prince George on 31 May 1930, the day Clint Eastwood was born.

Contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to fly to or from Bristol Airport.

Mark W

GTM deploys new, cloud-based telephony system

/in /by

Global Travel Management has invested in a new, cutting-edge telephone system to enable industry-leading levels of customer service to be delivered from any location.

As part of Global Travel Management’s on-going investment in customer service, we have commissioned and installed a cloud-based telephony system, ensuring that our customers can reach any of our travel consultants, account managers and other staff, easily and quickly. 

The system, produced by British company Daisy, links our Woking headquarters office, our Watford office and remote locations.  This means that we are able to route and connect calls to the right contact, quickly and easily.  And it means that whenever customers call us, we can offer the highest levels of customer service, immediately, on-demand.

So, if you are calling to make changes to an itinerary, update information about your traveller profile or need immediate assistance due to changes in travel plans en route, we can make sure you speak to the right person to help you out, straight away.

Scott Pawley, our managing director said:

We aim to ensure we continue to provide our customers with the best-possible service.  By investing in an industry-leading telephone service, we can ensure that we are able to assist customers with every aspect of their business travel, in the shortest-possible time.

We will continue to make customer-focused investments so that we are able to live up to – and exceed – our reputation for unequalled customer service.

The new telephone system forms part of the 24 x 7 customer service Global Travel Management provides.  If you need information about any travel booked with Global Travel Management, or need to change, cancel, amend or postpone travel arrangements, you can contact us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Paul

British Airways Moves to Beijing Daxing.

/in /by

British Airways has announced that its direct flights between London Heathrow and Beijing will move to the new state-of-the-art Daxing Airport from 27 October 2019.

With a massive 52,000m2 available for retail, food and beverage and service, facilities at Beijing Daxing will include over 300 shops and restaurants and for those eligible passengers access to a brand-new partner lounge.

The new airport is approximately 50km from both Beijing city centre and the Xiong’an New Area and only 80km from Tianjin. Transport connections to and from Beijing Daxing include four new highways, two new subway lines and a high-speed railway, which will carry customers to Beijing West Station in under 20 minutes. A new terminal station is set to open in the Lize Business District in the next few years.  Customers transferring to other flights will also benefit from its status as the only through check-in airport for foreign airlines in China.

Beijing Daxing, which is due to open in September 2019, will initially house four runways and one terminal building. In the future, it is set to include an additional three runways and a second terminal building, serving 100million customers each year. The move will also help British Airways to strengthen and develop its network through its codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines, which will also be based at the new airport.

The London to Beijing route will continue as a daily service, operated by a Boeing 787-9 in the winter and a Boeing 777-300 in the summer, with four cabins: First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.

Kelly

Hotel group uses artificial intelligence to reduce food waste

/in /by

InterContinental Hotels Group has announced a partnership with technology company Winnow to help its hotels automatically track, measure and reduce food waste.

IHG is the first global hotel company to use the award-winning Winnow Vision AI-enabled technology, which will help its hotels achieve a 30% reduction in food waste.

Through the use of an intelligent camera, “smart scales” and AI-based smart meter technology, Winnow Vision analyses ingredients during food preparation, as well as plates returned to the kitchen, to assess which food items are most wasted and in what quantities. This builds up a bank of data which in turn informs buying decisions, shapes menus and hones food preparation techniques.

Winnow’s technology has been successfully installed in seven IHG hotels in its Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) region, with installation due in a further 30 properties in the coming months. One hotel already benefitting from this approach is InterContinental Fujairah Resort, UAE. In six months, the resort has been able to reduce food waste by more than 50%. 60 more hotels in the EMEAA region have expressed their interest in signing up to the technology and IHG is currently exploring roll-out to its other two regions – the Americas and Greater China.

The announcement was made on World Sustainable Gastronomy Day, which raises awareness on the role gastronomy can play in contributing to sustainable development, in support of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Kenneth Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer, EMEAA, IHG, said,

With more than 5,600 hotels right across the world, a commitment to operating responsibly is at the heart of all we do. We know there’s always more that can be done to make a greater difference – whether that’s minimising waste through the removal of plastic straws or introducing innovative technology to reduce our environmental impact. Our partnership with Winnow will help our hotels be smarter and savvier in their approach to creating compelling menus that result in less waste whether it’s a grab-and-go breakfast, a family restaurant or a Michelin dining experience. I’m delighted that this is being led by some of our hotels in the Middle East, who are already seeing significant food waste reductions, and I’m looking forward to seeing this technology take off in more and more of our hotels around the world.

Marc Zornes, Founder and CEO, Winnow, said,

Food waste is a global issue, and one that kitchens around the world are struggling with. Without visibility into what is being wasted, kitchens are wasting far more food than they think.  It is a privilege to work with such a forward-thinking hospitality chain as IHG and help them become the first global hotel brand to significantly reduce food waste globally by using Artificial Intelligence while improving their responsible processes in their food and beverages offer.

This partnership builds on IHG’s long-term commitment to minimise waste across all of its hotel estate and operations.

Kelly

American Airlines offers more access to high-speed Wi-Fi and live TV

/in /by

American Airlines now offers customers access to high-speed satellite Wi-Fi and live TV on more aircraft than any other airline.

The company recently completed installation of the “fast, consistent and industry-leading connectivity” on its entire long-term mainline narrow-body fleet of more than 700 aircraft. Satellite-based Wi-Fi allows customers to stream video without buffering or interruptions; upload and download files with ease; and stay connected from gate to gate.

Upgraded bandwidth capacity ensures customers won’t compromise on connection quality or speed, even if every customer chooses to access in-flight internet at the same time. Additionally, every satellite-equipped aircraft can now stream live TV, giving more customers access to 12 channels on their personal devices free of charge.

American is already the only U.S. airline to offer live TV on international flights.

Kurt Stache, Senior Vice President for Marketing, Loyalty and Sales for American said,

Elevating the travel experience is one of our top goals at American and we’ve been working hard to provide our customers with the same level of entertainment and connectivity options they enjoy in their own living rooms.

In less than two years, we completed broadband internet installation on our entire mainline fleet and we will continue setting new standards in the industry to show our customers we value the time they spend with us.

The high-speed Wi-Fi and live TV expansion are American’s latest investments in the on-board customer experience, complementing the in-flight entertainment and connectivity already available on its wide-body aircraft. Earlier this year, American launched a partnership with Apple Music to give customers access to more than 50 million songs, playlists and music videos through complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi.

The airline already provides complimentary wireless entertainment throughout its fleet, offering great movies and on-demand televisions shows for customers to enjoy on their own devices.

American is installing power at every seat across its mainline fleet, allowing customers to charge their devices in-flight and deplane at full battery. The airline has been installing power at every seat across its two-class regional fleet as well.

Tablet holders: The majority of American’s narrow-body aircraft will be retrofitted with a tablet holder for hands-free entertainment on board. USB power will be positioned next to the tablet holder for easy charging.