AFRICA AIRLINES
PAN-AFRICAN PASSPORT TO BOOST AIR SPEND BY 24%
AFRICAN AIR TRAVEL SPEND IS EXPECTED TO RISE 24 per cent with the introduction of the pan-African passport in 2018, according to a study from travel technology provider Sabre.
The new passport will enable African travellers to visit other countries on the continent without a visa. The study, which surveyed travellers from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt, found they would spend up to US$1,500 more with the introduction of the passport. However, it showed despite a willingness among travellers to spend more on flights, travel in Africa still remains inaccessible to the majority, with only 23 per cent of those surveyed having travelled abroad at all in the last two years. When asked what prevented them from travelling more, the top reasons were: • 32 per cent said travel is too expensive • 31 per cent said it is difficult obtaining visas • 30 per cent said it is too difficult to book travel • 28 per cent said there are no flights to their chosen destination Travellers also expressed a number of gripes about their
current experiences when travelling: • 27 per cent said the check-in process takes too long • 22 per cent said the check-in procedure is confusing • 20 per cent don’t like the food on aircrafts • 19 per cent think there is not enough to do at the airport
TRAVELLER SAFETY
Rise in security concerns sees safety spend soar
BUSINESSES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONCERNED over security risks to their travellers and are set to boost spend on safety over the next year. An Ipsos MORI survey of more than
one thousand travellers, commissioned by travel security specialist International SOS, found that 72 per cent believed travelling has become more dangerous and more than half (57 per cent) said it will become “even more perilous over the next 12 months”. The study found that hundreds of companies had changed their employees’ travel itineraries over the last year due to new safety threats in countries, with Europe the region most associated with an
20 BBT January/February 2017
increased risk for travel – even more so than the Middle East.
Almost half of respondents (48 per cent) said their organisations’ investment in travel risk mitigation had increased over the past year, and 47 per cent believed this would increase further in the coming
year.The top risk mitigation activities were: • Reinforced travel security measures (50 per cent)
• Updated travel risk policy (45 per cent)
• Introduced pre-trip advisory emails (39 per cent)
Dominating concerns on a global level are potential terror attacks (51 per cent), followed by civil unrest (36 per cent), with inadequate healthcare and road accidents at 13 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM United debuts new
‘Polaris’ business class US CARRIER UNITED HAS INTRODUCED the first phase of its new business class product, Polaris. It includes a revamped in-flight food and beverage offering, new custom-made bedding, and the opening of the first of nine United Polaris lounges, at Chicago O’Hare airport. The new Saks Fifth Avenue bedding features “plush duvets, lightweight day- blankets and a large and small
pillow for each passenger”, as well as mattress cushions and gel-cooled pillows on request. Polaris passengers will
also be offered slippers on all flights, and customised pyjamas on flights over 12 hours. There are also new amenity kits by Soho House and Co’s Cowshed Spa. United says that
“thousands” of its old pillows and blankets will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144