News IN BRIEF
■ Travelport has signed a long term GDS agreement with online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide. The deal is an update on the original agreement signed in 2007. Travelport said the agreement will enable Orbitz to access a wider range of travel content, including improved information on airline
ancillaries and a broader range of hotel content.
■ Workspace provider Regus has announced plans to open the first independent business centre at Heathrow Terminal 5 this summer.
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■ Lufthansa and iPass have signed an onboard wifi deal. iPass Open Mobile subscribers are now able to access in-flight wifi services on Lufthansa flights. The agreement, enabled through iPass’ relationship with Deutsche Telekom, will see hotspots onboard more than 100 Lufthansa aircraft.
AIRLINES
NORWEGIAN GRANTED IRISH OPERATING LICENCE
IRISH AUTHORITIES HAVE GRANTED Norwegian Air International (NAI) an air operator’s certificate and operating licence enabling it to fly from its Dublin base. NAI, which is a subsidiary
of Norwegian, will now have its aircraft operation governed by Ireland. With this permit, the administration of Norwegian’s long-haul operation will be relocated to NAI. Huge pressure has been put on US and EU authorities, as well as those in Norway, to prevent NAI from gaining a licence. NAI’s controversial decision to move its operations to Dublin has been criticised by some parts of the industry, which claim the main reason for the move is to bypass Norway’s strict labour laws, which would prevent it from hiring cheap workers. NAI denies this claim and said the move is to gain access to future traffic rights to and from the EU. It also said it chose Ireland over other EU countries because the country has fully adopted the Cape Town Convention, which provides NAI with better financing conditions. In a statement, NAI said it “wants to stress the decision was not chosen because Ireland has specific rules and regulations that allow the use of American and Asian crew, like some politicians and unions have claimed”. NAI added: “The fact is that
Norwegian could have based its long-haul company in any other European country and still used American and Asian crew, the way several other European airlines have been operating for years. “The only exception is Norway and, partly, Denmark, who so far have opted to keep outdated special rules within this area.” NAI confirmed it has more than 260 aircraft on order and plans to expand its route network.
SERVICED APARTMENTS
SACO MD RENEWS CALL FOR STANDARDS
SACO APARTMENTS MANAGING DIRECTOR Stephen Hanton has renewed calls for the introduction of a set of standards in the serviced apartment industry. Speaking to BBT, Hanton said the continued lack of standardisation raises the threat of decreasing investment into the sector. He said, despite positive
economic growth predicted for 2014 and strong buyer demand for serviced apartments, the “threat of a lack of investment remains”. A report last year from The Apartment Service stated that standardisation of service levels and industry practice is “essential” to address corporate and agencies’ concerns. Hanton said there had been
discussions recently with key figures but said for the standards to work it requires buy-in from the
TMCs CWT: ASIA LEADING WAY
CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL (CWT) has recorded strong annual growth in the Asia Pacific (Apac) region for 2013, the company’s end of year financial results revealed. The figures showed transactions increased by 4.5 per cent in Apac, enhanced by operations in China and Japan. There was also strong growth in Hong Kong, with a 23 per cent increase in 2013 compared to the previous year. The TMC’s results showed transactions in Latin America decreased by 2.2 per cent and there was also a drop of 0.8 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which CWT said reflects the “delicate” economic climate throughout the region.
BOOKING TECHNOLOGY
Expedia CEO: business and leisure becoming ‘blurred’
THE LINES BETWEEN business and leisure travel are becoming “increasingly blurred”, according to Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. He said corporate travellers are “demanding” the same experience they would get as a consumer. This includes more flexibility in “every aspect of the booking process”, and the use of technology the traveller or buyer would be used to at home. Khosrowshahi was making a keynote address at the Business Travel Show in London (see p92 for show report). He was speaking as head of Egencia – the TMC division of Expedia group and show sponsor. He said despite “healthy” signs of an economic recovery, there are still plenty of “mixed signals” as to the direction of the travel industry. ■ See Interview, p38
Stephen Hanton
whole industry. “The sector needs to attract investors, and that’s why we’re trying to work towards standardising data. There should be standards for anything, from occupancy rates to knowing what a £200-per-night apartment will get you.” ■ For BBT’s special report on serviced apartments, see p100
MARCH/APRIL 2014
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