POLITICS
Digital editor Tom Newcombe compiles the latest news from
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Travel industry ‘concern’ over snap general election
AIR
Emirates cuts US flights as Trump policies bite
EMIRATES IS CUTTING FLIGHTS TO THE US in response to weakening demand on the routes from Dubai over the past three months.
The airline confirmed it will reduce flights to five of the 12 cities it serves. Fort Lauderdale and Orlando will move from daily to five a week from May. Seattle and Boston services will move from twice-daily to daily from June, and from July, flights to Los Angeles will also be cut from twice-daily to daily. Emirates said recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US. “Until the start of 2017, Emirates’ operations in the US
have seen healthy growth and performance, driven by customer demand for our high quality product and our international flight connections,” the airline said in a statement. “However, over the past three months, we have seen a
significant deterioration in the booking profiles on all our US routes, across all travel segments. Emirates has therefore responded as any profit-oriented enterprise would, and we will redeploy capacity to serve demand on other routes on our global network.” It added that it will monitor the situation and reinstate services if demand picks up.
8 BBT May/June 2017
THE GTMC HAS EXPRESSED CONCERN that the snap general election in June could damage the fragile post-Brexit UK economy. Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a fresh mandate that would give her the “strongest hand” in talks and make it hard for people to “frustrate” the EU exit. The GTMC’s chief executive Paul Wait has called for all major parties to ensure there is a strategy for British businesses to continue to grow domestically and abroad, but warned political instability would be a problem for the economy.
AIRLINE INVESTMENTS
British Airways unveils investment plans
BRITISH AIRWAYS HAS ANNOUNCED investment plans that include onboard wifi, Club Europe on domestic flights and revamped lounges in the UK and US. The airline’s chairman and CEO, Alex Cruz, unveiled the
plans on a charter flight from Gatwick to Heathrow. There will be £400 million invested in BA’s long-haul business class Club World, which includes new catering options, breakfast extended in the lounge until 11am and a “revamped service approach”. These changes will launch on the Heathrow-New York service before being rolled out across the rest of the long-haul network during 2018.
“The election gives us a great opportunity to kill this expensive project”
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen is among a number of MPs who want Theresa May to halt construction of the controversial HS2
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
“The timing of this general election does cause concern,” said Wait. “Political uncertainty and the circus fall-out from Brexit prevailed in 2016, and another rollercoaster year is not going to be good for the world’s confidence in UK Plc. “A priority for Britain is to demonstrate that we are a leading economy in which to invest in, and buy from. Businesses around the world need to see that our leaders looking outwards to a stable future, and not repeating any internal squabbles on a public stage.”
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