NEWS ROUND-UP IN THE PICTURE: Wedding bells
Thomas Cook’s Natasha Russell and her partner Bradley Ashford have won a £25,000 wedding courtesy of Royal Caribbean. They will get married on Oasis of the Seas next summer
in the Caribbean with an all-expenses paid wedding plus accommodation for six guests. The couple from Barry, Wales, first dated when Natasha
was 16 and Bradley was 24 but broke it off due to their age difference. They met again 25 years later after both having families of their own and have now been together four years. Natasha said: “I am completely overwhelmed. I have always
known Bradley was my destiny. I can’t wait to be Mrs Ashford.” Stacey Collis from Hays Travel in County Durham and
Joanne Graham from Travel Counsellors in Accrington were the runners up and won a three-night cruise on Independence of the Seas in October next year.
NEWS IN BRIEF
EasyJet boss McCall quits to join ITV as chief executive
EasyJet’s chief executive Carolyn McCall is to leave the budget airline after seven years to become the boss of ITV. She is expected to step down towards the end of the year.
Super Break introduces charter flights to Iceland
Super Break will launch its first charter flying programme to Iceland in January and February next year. The operator will fly to Akureyri from eight airports including Bournemouth, Exeter and Humberside.
Industry veteran Steve Allen joins dnata Travel
Steve Allen has been appointed as dnata’s corporate travel senior vice-president for the Middle East and India. Allen, a former Portman Travel chief executive, was a board director of Radius Travel, the GTMC and Abta.
Nominations open for AWTE annual Chair’s Awards
The Association of Women Travel Executives has opened nominations for its annual Chair’s Awards. The awards are the AWTE Honorary Award, Business Impact Award and Company Award.
Royal launches all-in-one booking system AirWaves
Natasha Salmon
natasha.salmon@
travelweekly.co.uk
Royal Caribbean Cruises has unveiled its own all-in-one trade booking platform encompassing flights, transfers and hotel stays.
AirWaves will be available for
Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, with all bookings Atol protected. The platform displays different
airlines and flight time options, as well as 2,500 hotels for pre and post-cruise stays. Agents can search for a fly-
cruise by cruise line, destination or region and search for holidays with disabled access on flights, transfers and hotels. An overall price and deposit
are visible throughout, alongside a live break down of the agent’s commission. All hotels are between four and
five-star and can be viewed on Google Maps within the platform. AirWaves will begin a trial
8
travelweekly.co.uk 20 July 2017
period with 350 agents from August 1 and will then be available to all agents from November. Royal Caribbean International sales director Amanda Darrington said the platform could be used as a customer-facing sales tool because of its simple and easy layout. A support hub is also available for agents. This includes virtual
AIRWAVES: Amanda Darrington (left) said the new system has a ‘simple and easy layout’
classrooms, training videos, live chat and a dedicated email inbox, plus sales team support. Tui cruise specialist Donna
Rosegreen said the platform’s simplicity could increase the number of agents booking cruise. “Many agents shy away from booking cruise, but this platform will change all that as it is all in one place and it gives prompts and explanations along the way.” Royal Caribbean brands can still be booked through other booking
platforms including Traveltek. › Club Royal, page 34
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
