GATWICK AIRPORT BOSSES have said they want to engage with the corporate travel community and become the airport of choice for the business traveller. Gatwick aims to build on recent success in attracting new carriers, including Air Asia X, Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines’ all-business service, and Air China’s four-times weekly service to Beijing that is due to start in May. At a conference in London attended by a number of senior figures from the business travel industry, the airport’s CEO Stewart Wingate said Gatwick was now “free to compete”, having been cut loose from the “monopoly” that was BAA. To attract more corporate business, the airport has undertaken a number of upgrades, including the installation of fast-track security channels for premium travellers and the opening of two new executive lounges by No.1 Traveller. Wingate said Gatwick, unlike Heathrow,
has capacity to fill, citing a figure of 30 per cent growth capability. Senior travel management figures welcomed the plans. HRG director Tony Berry said Gatwick’s £1 billion investment programme was “absolutely necessary”. “What they’ve done is looked at the issues – they’ve started to address them and delivered some improvements,” he said. CWT’s Nigel Turner said carriers who operate
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out of both airports tended to leave upgrading their Gatwick aircraft till last. He said the recent changes have meant Gatwick is beginning to “step up to the mark” in terms of business travel facilities, but the airport will need to work on changing people’s perceptions. Gatwick’s plans to concentrate on the Far
East are “undoubtedly going to be successful”, said HRG’s Berry. “China is an emerging market... I think it shows a lot of foresight.” FCM regional general manager Brian Donnelly said Gatwick’s strength would lie in its routes with Easyjet, which is also going after the business traveller.
MARRIOTT LAUNCHED ITS NEW three- brand complex in Doha with a spectacular opening night gala. Emirati singing star Hamdan Al Abri entertained international media, Marriott executives and Qatar business partners at a grand party held in the complex’s 7th-floor open-air pool garden. The 48-storey twin-towered complex houses
Marriott’s Renaissance and Courtyard hotel brands, as well as 123 Executive Apartments. It includes nine restaurants and bars, 1,200sq m of meetings space, health club, Saray Spa and a helipad with private check-in lounge. The one- to 3-bedroom executive apartments feature fully-equipped kitchens and their own lap-pool on the 44th floor. The complex totals 584 rooms, suites and
apartments and adjoins the City Centre Mall. Mark Satterfield, Marriott’s EMEA chief operating officer, said the opening meant the company now had six properties in Qatar, reflecting long-term confidence in the country. “Qatar is being seen more and more as the financial and business hub for the Middle East,” he said. “There’s the strength of the energy sector here, with all the jobs and demand that comes with that, and the government has a lot of major infrastructure projects, which drive business and bring more travellers to the region. Developers have taken a long-term view of demand in Qatar and we feel confident in where the country is going.”
HRG BOSS RECEIVES HONORARY
AGENCIES FAILING TO
EXPLOIT SOCIAL MEDIA THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL media sites on travellers’ decisions is increasing, but agencies are failing to take advantage of the trend, new research reveals. Amadeus surveyed its UK clients – a mix of travel providers, agencies and buyers – about the impact social media has had on the travel sector. While the results were not broken down into separate
business and leisure travel figures, they showed a substantial number of agencies need to look at adapting to customer expectations around social media. Some 52 per cent of agencies said they had dealt with
customers who had obtained travel advice through social media before contacting them. However, 40 per cent of the agencies surveyed said they have yet to integrate social media into their working practices. Rob Golledge, Amadeus UK’s head of marketing and
communications, said one of the principal barriers is the sheer amount of data available online: “Travel agents have a key role to play here in accessing this information and using it to provide specialist knowledge and insight.”
DEGREE HRG CHIEF EXECUTIVE David Radcliffe was awarded an honorary degree at the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, as recognition of his services to the corporate travel industry.
Glion CEO Philippe Attia said: “David's passion, commitment and vision as chief executive of HRG are exemplary.” Glion classes itself as “among the top three hospitality management schools in the world”. Radcliffe said: “I am immensely proud and humbled by this recognition. Our business is a dynamic and exciting one. I feel as passionate about it today as I did on my first day.