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TRAVELPORT ACQUIRES TRAVEL TECH PLATFORM DEEM Travel technology company Travelport has acquired Deem, provider of the Etta online booking tool, from Enterprise Holdings for an undisclosed sum. The company said it would implement a “swift technical integration” to enable Deem’s access to NDC offers and products. “The game- changing acquisition... will fulfil a growing, post-pandemic need for a tight, fully- integrated corporate tool that will provide access to all multi-source content,” said Greg Webb, CEO of Travelport. The acquisition adds an important component to Travelport’s offering, with competitors Amadeus and Sabre having long provided their own online booking tools.
MORE WOMEN THAN MEN FEEL UNSAFE ON BUSINESS TRIPS
negative incident when travelling – ranging from minor theft to assault – and almost one in five (19 per cent) feel their organisation should “act with women’s safety in mind”, such as avoiding flights that arrive late at night, for example. Interestingly, both men and women reported taking extra steps to protect their security during a hotel stay, like placing a chair or obstacle against the hotel door to deter a potential intruder (16 per cent of both men and women), and using room service so they don’t have to eat in a restaurant on their own (17 per cent of both men and women). One in five female business travellers (21 per cent) said they prefer to stay in hotels that make provision for solo women travellers and a similar proportion (19 per cent) wear a wedding ring (real or fake) to avoid unwanted attention.
Travelling for work as a woman is less safe than doing so as a man, according to 71 per cent of female respondents in a recent global survey of business travellers. The survey, commissioned by World Travel Protection ahead of International Women’s Day in March, included 2,000 business travellers in the UK, US, Australia and Canada, and found that women are more likely to take measures to protect their safety during a business trip than men. Close to one in three (31 per cent) said they do not travel or go out on their own at night, compared to 18 per cent of men, and almost half (46 per cent) stay in close touch with family and friends so their whereabouts are known, compared to 36 per cent of men. More than one in ten female business travellers (12 per cent) said they have experienced a
VIRGIN ATLANTIC LAUNCHES NEW PLATFORM FOR CORPORATES UK-based carrier Virgin
Atlantic has announced plans to launch a dedicated corporate travel portal that can be used by travellers, travel managers and travel management companies. Known as Virgin Atlantic for Business, an “intuitive” self-service portal for will be made available this autumn, giving users increased self-serve capabilities including beyond contract value reporting, sustainability reporting and the management of waivers and favours. The launch coincided with the airline’s official joining of the SkyTeam alliance.
HEATHROW PLANS TO TRIPLE SAF USE DURING 2023 London Heathrow airport wants to triple the percentage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) used at the UK hub airport this year. The airport introduced a SAF incentive programme last year which is designed to cover up to 50 per cent of the extra cost of the fuel for airlines. Participants in the scheme include British Airways’ owner IAG, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Air France, KLM and JetBlue. Heathrow said the initiative was over- subscribed in 2022 and now wants to triple the amount of SAF supplied this year to around
1.5 per cent of the total fuel used at the airport. This would be an important next step in moving towards its target of using 11 per cent
sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. The airport has also urged the UK government to “inject pace into the
expansion of SAF with supportive policy making”. Currently wider use of the fuel is being held back by high costs and low production volumes. It is calling for a “price support mechanism” to be introduced to help reduce the difference in cost between SAF and traditional jet fuel, as well as for the UK government to implement a mandate requiring airlines to use at least 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
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SPRING 2023 | businesstravelnewseurope.com
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