CORPORATE TRAVEL
BOA R DING PA S S
All the latest news for the busy EA organising corporate travel
BRIEFS
Emirates has announced
plans for a new non-stop
route between Dubai and
New York’s Newark airport,
getting the boss to the USA
faster. The new service
launches in June and will
complement the airline’s
existing one-stop flight to
Newark via Athens.
w Eurostar’s London to
Amsterdam route (launch
date uncomfirmed) is
already eliciting much
interest from the corporate
world. The proposed twice
daily, three-and-a-half-
hour train route between
the two cities is said to
make Eurostar even more
competitive with airlines.
w Singapore Airlines
recently announced a few
changes to its operations
starting from May and
offering travellers to
Australian destinations
(Sydney, Melbourne and
Canberra) increased travel
options. The Wellington,
New Zealand, stop will be
removed from the Sydney/
Canberra to Singapore
route, creating a more
direct service. And the
daily service will now fly
Singapore to Sydney to
Canberra to Singapore.
w Lost luggage could be
a thing of the past with
Delta Airlines expanding its
baggage tracking service to
flights departing Heathrow.
The service, launched in
the USA in 2016, uses Radio
Frequency Identification or
tags to track the luggage so
your executive will know
its location with 99.9 per
cent accuracy from check in
to the arrivals carousel, all
using the Fly Delta app.
w
Google predicts delays
Cancelled or delayed flights can
put a serious spanner in the works
when the boss has places to be and a
schedule to keep. But a clever new tool
claims to warn you when your flight
will be running late – perhaps even
before the airline knows. This update
to the popular Google Flights app uses
historic data and flight trends to predict
flight delays with impressive accuracy.
It looks at the flight route, the weather
and the aircraft, then searches using
a high-tech algorithm to find trends
that typically lead to delays – and
if the clever algorithm is at least 80
per cent sure there’ll be a delay, the
user is notified. Whilst EAs probably
already use this app for definite delay
notifications, travel planners will now
also be able to predict future ones. S
Safety first when travelling for business
With safety becoming an ever-
increasing concern, especially with
regular corporate jet-setters, travel
insurance specialist Safe Journey has
released some top tips for remaining
secure overseas. EAs should always
check the government foreign travel
advice websites for updates on safety
alerts where the boss is going, and be
sure the company’s insurance policy is
up-to-date. It’s also beneficial to have a
solid knowledge of what the insurance
includes as many policies don’t cover
Acts of Terrorism or Acts of God (such
as natural disasters) – both common
reasons for airports shutting down and
troublesome travel plans. PAs should
also look into WiFi availability and data
roaming charges, plus keep copies of
important travel documents back at the
office or on the cloud so they can be
accessed anytime. S
Travelling ‘lite?’ There’s a fare for that
Hand Baggage Only or HBO ‘lite’
fares are becoming increasingly popular
with transatlantic airlines such as
Alitalia, Air France, KLM and Delta,
who have all announced they’ll be
offering them this year. They’re less
expensive and ideal for shorter business
42 Chief of Staff | April/May 2018
trips. Meanwhile, HBO fares are already
offered by Aer Lingus, Air Portugal,
Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa,
whilst low-cost carriers like Norwegian
and Iceland’s Wow Air already have
HBO offers and rumour has it that Asian
airlines are looking to follow suit. S