Focus Travel Partnership’s new collaboration with International Rail enhances Global Travel Management’s corporate rail travel offerings by providing seamless global rail bookings.
Focus has entered a strategic partnership with International Rail – a leading distributor of worldwide rail tickets and passes – making International Rail the preferred global rail technology provider for Focus Travel Partnership’s TMC Partners. This collaboration will grant Focus TMC Partners seamless access to comprehensive global rail bookings through International Rail’s 1track platform.
Focus Travel Partnership, an alliance of fifty-three independent travel management companies, is renowned for its innovative technology platforms, extensive service offerings and vast network of global travel suppliers. The partnership’s ability to offer cutting-edge travel solutions and substantial buying power makes the collaboration with International Rail an invaluable addition to its impressive technology ecosystem available to Global Travel Management.
International Rail provides tickets for over 66,000 point-to-point routes in Europe, alongside extensive rail coverage in North America, Japan, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and domestic UK travel. The company’s technology concentrates on speed and simplicity, to benefit rail operators, travel management companies and, crucially, Global Travel Management’s customers alike.
Paul Baker, Global Travel Management Sales Director said,
Global Travel Management customers demand and deserve the best possible service and the widest available range of travel options. And many are increasing their requirements for rail travel, both at home and overseas.
The agreement between Focus and International Rail offers means we can offer more services and more options to an already huge range of train services.
So now, when a customer wants to include rail within a business trip, we’re in the best possible space to make that trip happen, smoothly, simply and at the best price
Rail agreement: Paul Baker (left) of Global Travel Management and Tony Edge of Focus
Tony Edge, Focus Travel Partnership’s award-winning Business Solutions Manager, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership,
We are delighted to bring this new solution to our TMC Partners. Through International Rail, [Focus] TMCs will now have access to seamlessly arranging rail travel across all key global areas. Through International Rail, all Focus TMC Partners can now offer a cost-effective, low time-consuming solution to their clients. Through the extensive content available, our Partners can now grow their rail offering overseas as well as being able to offer a more sustainable alternative to domestic flights internationally. After impressing both the Rail Steering Group and Focus Innovation Group, we felt International Rail was the right fit for our Partnership in line with our overall strategy.”
Caitlin Cornish, Commercial Director of International Rail, shared her excitement about the collaboration:
Joining the collaborative voice of the Focus Travel Partnership will be invaluable in making sure we shape the future of global business travel together. Smart innovation, responsive digital technology that is coupled with simplicity are at the forefront of our business and are the future of rail travel. Sharing insights, ideas, and feedback will provide the best possible experience for TMCs, tour operators, travel agents and their travellers, and the industry as a whole. Next year we celebrate three decades in the industry. We want to share the expertise we’ve developed over this time with our fellow Focus Travel partners while learning from their valuable experience too.
International Rail will explore how technology can facilitate the simplest, most efficient, and most cost-effective ways of managing rail travel requirements.
For further information on rail travel at home or overseas, please contact your Global Travel Management Account Manager.
https://gtm.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/international-rail.png312820Davehttps://gtm.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Smarter-Better-Fairer-GTM-logo_02.pngDave2024-07-17 16:15:332024-07-18 16:16:49New partnership offers GTM customers greater flexibility and efficiency in rail travel
It may be difficult to find, but, if you look hard enough, there are still some items of good news in the business travel industry. So, every week, we curate some of the better “good news” stories. We can’t promise green shoots of economic recovery, but we can promise to highlight some of the better, encouraging and happier pieces of news in business travel. After all, we’re all looking forward to travelling again.
And, if you want to share the good news, please feel free to use the share links at the bottom of the page.
Monday, 14 December
Last week ended with the announcement of the twenty individuals, groups and companies that comprised the ‘Twenty Heroes.
It’s good news if you’re on the list. And it’s good news if you’re a client of Global Travel Management, because each of these contributors will have helped to make 2020 better than it would otherwise have been, and have paved the way for a better, more positive year ahead.
Last week, the news was dominated by Thursday’s announcement from the Secretary of State for Transport that “high value business travel” would be provided with an exemption from the requirement to quarantine on return to England from countries outside the safe travel corridor.
The Safe Travel Corridors list is published by the UK Government and is updated weekly.
New Business Traveller exemption: From 4am on Sat 5th Dec high-value business travellers?will no longer need to self-isolate when returning to ENGLAND from a country NOT in a travel corridor, allowing more travel to support the economy and jobs. Conditions apply.
United Airlines have kicked off a mass shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Eva Air are investing in biometric boarding in San Francisco. While Manchester Airports Group has rolled out Covid testing at Stansted, East Midlands and Manchester airports.
And for the AVGeeks amongst us, there was news that two more BA 747s have been saved from the scrapheap.
And finally we have experimented with sharing hotel news via Twitter Moments. You can see how this is coming on here.
We didn’t have to wait long before posting our first piece of good news on Twitter this week. It was on Monday morning that we shared the great news that we are working with, not one, but two suppliers of Covid-19 testing, for passengers travelling to destinations that require a negative Covid test certificate.
Last week the news was dominated by the announcement that the Pfizer/BioNTech phase 3 testing of a Covid-19 vaccine has delivered better than expected results. Stocks rose worldwide – although there were some exceptions, as Scott Pawley noted here on LinkedIn.
What was the first travel-related item we tweeted this week? Was it about flights? Airports? Trains? Car hire? Drones, teleportation or virtual meetings? No. It was bicycles.
We kicked off British Travel Month with a clip of Paul Baker explaining how travellers can support British jobs in the travel industry, even while the country enters the second lockdown.
Accor has worked with a London-based company Bizzon to launch a digital service to make it easier, quicker, safer and more reliable to order food and beverage.
In the middle of a busy week, we were able to announce that a new president has been appointed: Marriott International had a big announcement.
For anyone still unaware, there was confirmation that business travel is starting its long recovery.
British Airways released a video explaining the meticulous and painstaking measures the airline is taking in order to ensure the safety of passengers in the airport and on-board flights.
The main item of good news in the last week involves our own Scott Pawley and the trip he made to Heathrow on Tuesday.
Scott was among a number of invitees to view the work being undertaken by Delta Air Lines and by Marriott Hotels to keep passengers and guests safe and secure against Covid infection.
To see how Scott got on, check out this thread, on GTM’s Twitter account…
This week, the good news we shared was about a product we launched. PinPoint is the Duty Of Care, Traveller-Tracking and Covid resource tool. You can read about it here.
And you can see what BTN Europe – the leading source of information, news, features, data and research for corporate travel managers and travel management professionals – has to say about PinPoint, here.
And you can see how PinPoint works, on this short video clip
This week, we’re only highlighting one piece of news in the business travel industry. Our Managing Director, Scott Pawley put together a message for anyone looking to restart or continue business travel in the coming weeks.
His message included three key pieces of advice:
Update your travel policy
Make sure your travellers’ details and passports are up to date
Take the opportunity to ensure you have a carbon offset programme in place
You can see Scott’s message, here https://twitter.com/GlobalTravelMgt/status/1308392370417938433?s=20
There was good news from one UK airport last week, which claimed to have seen the “strongest recovery of any major airport in the UK”. Which one? You can see, here.
Covid-19 testing facilities are up and running at Heathrow. Dubai Airport announced pioneering steps in the detection of Covid-19 – by use of man’s best friends. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Sharjah Airport has become the first carbon-neutral airport in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
And, finally, passengers from Portugal will no longer have to agree to self-isolate for fourteen days, thanks to changes announced by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Monday, 17 August
Last week, there was good news on airlines adding services as well as more good news on how airlines are ensuring trips are safer and more secure.
Schiphol Airport plans to open Covid-19 testing at Arrival Hall 3, while British Airways are considering offering pre-flight testing. Delta Air Lines is testing more of its workforce.
And in other news, American Airlines is bringing back hot food to its lounges.
Monday, 10 August
We will be honest. Last week, the focus of our attention, at least in the middle of the week, was on the events happening here.
But we also produced this article looking at what aircraft manufacturers are doing to keep planes safe from Covid-19.
Elsewhere, there was more good news items in the world of business travel:
British Airways is among a number of carriers to announce the return of more flights. We summarised the newly-added flight schedules and capacity from a number of carriers, here.
Heathrow Airport announced its detailed roadmap to meet its target of net zero by 2050. And Melbourne Airport is to open a solar farm in January.
There was good news last week for one UK-based company. Delta Air Lines has selected Lysol, the disinfectant brand from Slough-based multi-national Reckit Benkiser to enhance its cleaning regime and protocols. You can read about this new partnership, here.
But, probably the best piece of business travel-related news came from the Focus Travel Partnership. CEO Abby Penston reported the findings of the latest Covid-19 Recovery Survey and the results are clear: booking numbers are up, thanks, in part, to the introduction of air bridges. This means more businesses are getting back to business travel to restart and fire up the economy.
Monday, 27 July
Last week saw airport re-openings, countries being dropped from the mandatory quarantine list, more flights being resumed and a guide to getting back to business travel being published.
Passenger numbers at Manchester Airport have continued to increase, leading to the re-opening of Terminal 2. This came in the same week that the UK Government dropped its requirements for passengers returning from five countries to self-quarantine on arrival for fourteen days.
Among airlines resuming services in response to passenger demand are Finnair and Etihad Airways (to Shanghai), and Qatar Airways (to Guangzhou) while British Airways announced new flights from Gatwick to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Finally, in response to the gradually-increasing demand for business travel, particularly from the UK, we have produced a comprehensive document giving details of what companies should to when they start to plan their return to business travel. You can read about this – and downloand a free copy – here.
Monday, 20 July
After last week’s several “good news” items, we thought we would concentrate on just one this week. The great news for one of the biggest airlines in transatlantic travel, Virgin Atlantic. The airline’s future has been protected thanks to a solvent recapitalisation. This is great news for the airline’s staff, for the sector as a whole and, of course, to any businesses looking to ensure they have enough choice of airlines to two, key business markets: the United States and South Africa.
Monday, 13 July
Last week, there were several, new items of good news.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has revised its global advisory against all but essential travel, opening the way for more business trips to be possible. Delta Air Lines has re-opened lounges in Chicago, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix and San Francisco.
London City Airport has re-opened. Automatic quarantine requirements have lifted for travellers coming into the UK, from some destinations.
And last, but not least, one particularly important #businesstravel journey reached a critical point, when Test cricket finally returned…
Monday, 6 July
This week, the good news came in threes.
First, the government confirmed that there would be a list of countries that will be exempt from last month’s quarantine requirements, starting this week, on 10 July. Read the story here.
Second, the government produced its list of 59 countries – and it contained some surprises. See the full list here.
Third, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office released updated its global advisory against ‘all but essential’ travel, exempting destinations that no longer pose an unacceptably high risk for British travellers. This came into effect at the weekend. You can read about this, here.
Monday, 29 June
This week, there is really only one, big piece of business travel industry news. The government’s lifting of quarantine restrictions for passengers arriving (or returning) from some countries. Click the link below to find out about the government’s intentions, Foreign Office advice changes and the latest information about air bridges. The story is moving forward very quickly, so keep checking back to see regular and ad hoc updates.
There was more good news in the last week from the business travel sector, yet again. As the industry prepares for more companies to return to travelling on business, we were able to bring a range of good news items to our Twitter followers.
Turkish Airlines launched a discount scheme for health care workers
Iberostar plans to re-open several hotels, while OYO and Premier Inns build new ones
Japan Airlines and Air Transat re-start international services; Virgin Australia re-starts domestically
Austrian Airlines have secured rescue funding, while agreeing environmental commitments
You don’t have to wear gloves at Manchester Airport any more…
…and you don’t have to keep your distance on Air New Zealand flights
And, if you’re worried about losing your tier status on British Airways Executive Club, there’s good news for you, too
— Global Travel Management (@GlobalTravelMgt) June 9, 2020
Japan Airlines (JAL) is planning to fly more international flights in July than it flew in June “to help support customers planning to return to Japan and for those planning to travel for business and personal reasons”.https://t.co/uVvu875e6v via @BTUK#BusinessTravelpic.twitter.com/OMtt1WfiXP
— Global Travel Management (@GlobalTravelMgt) June 10, 2020
Virgin Atlantic has announced a plan to restart flights, with services from Heathrow to Orlando, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York JFK and Los Angeles to resume next month…
…and Turkish Airlinesresumed domestic services last week, with international services to start on 18 June.
But most people’s attention was rightly focused on the 50 Leading TMCs list being revealed by industry publication BTM Europe…
— Global Travel Management (@GlobalTravelMgt) May 27, 2020
Monday, 18 May
Lufthansa Group is amongst a raft of airlines announcing schedule increases having publicised 1,800 additional roundtrips per week to its schedules from next month…
Details of the new Lufthansa Group schedules for June have been announced.
— Global Travel Management (@GlobalTravelMgt) May 12, 2020
Monday, 11 May
In a week where the news mainly concerned messages from Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minster as well as celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in Europe, we also found some good news in the business travel sector.
American Airlines will resume some European and South American flights from 4 June.
British Airways will return to Beijing Daxing out of Heathrow from 14 June and several other routes during the same month.
Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon will increase their capacity from 21 June.
KLM continues to have longhaul flights to Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Mexico City, Toronto, Curacao, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo Narita, Osaka Kansai, Seoul and Hong Kong; as well as daily flights to Barcelona, Budapest, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Rome and Warsaw.
Korean Air intends to resume flights to cities including Washington, D.C., Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Frankfurt, Singapore, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
Qatar Airways says it will increase flights to 80 cities by the end of June.
Forbes has reported that United Airlines plans to “pencil in” four flights to Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai from June.
Capturing the mood of a nation that is looking forward to the end of “lockdown”, the Daily Mail reported that one-third of Britons will be travelling more than ever, once the restrictions end.
And while the airlines’ planning continued to gather pace, we at Global Travel Management took some time to commemorate VE Day…
— Global Travel Management (@GlobalTravelMgt) May 8, 2020
Monday, 4 May
In the last week, Virgin Atlantic have shared some of the great stories of how their staff are helping to repatriate British people from abroad, helping to deliver food, helping staff in NHS hospitals, helping to handle NHS 111 calls and lots more. But they’re not just helping, they’re taking time to say thank you – a big, red thank you – to other people and organisations and the work they are doing.
Scott Pawley has posted about the airline industry reaching the bottom of the curve
And these pieces of good news from Asia may reflect some positive changes in airline capacity around the world. Our Managing Director Scott Pawleyposted on LinkedIn about a report suggesting the airline world may have reached the bottom of the curve. In short, there has been an increase in flight seat capacity.
It is not only business travel that has seen good news in the last week, because Dubai aims to reopen its tourism by July, according to the Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
Wizz Air have recommenced flights from London Luton Airport to airports in Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.
And finally, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has released the results of a poll of more than 5,000 of its members which shows signs of optimism and recovery on the horizon. The study found that most companies are planning a recovery for 2020, with one in three planning for a recovery within the next three months.
Monday, 27 April
A British Airways flight from China, loaded with PPE and other essential kit for the NHS.
Last week, British Airways announced an increase in flights to China to London from 13 a week to 21. The flights will be able to carry up to 77 tonnes of cargo for the NHS, including PPE (personal protective equipment) which is of vital importance to health and social care workers.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “We are in a unique position to help in the global response to Covid-19, whether it is through carrying UK residents back home, transporting vital cargo back to the NHS, or through our colleagues who are offering their skills to volunteer. We’re proud to be playing our part, and I’m grateful to everyone who is working to make these flights happen in these difficult times.”
The news of BA’s increased China-London flights came the same week that the airline shared details of repatriation flights from India. As our news story shows, the airline has been helping to fly thousands of British citizens home from India. And our tweet, below, shows how welcome the repatriation flights were for the passengers – and how hard the crews are working to make this happen.
British Airways is helping thousands of British travellers return home from India. Here are some great shots of hard-working @British_Airways staff – some on a 23-hour shift – and some very, very happy passengers.
