CORPORATE TRAVEL
BOARDING PASS
All the latest news for the busy EA organising corporate travel
Next stop : India and Korea !
From later this year , corporate travellers from Sydney will benefit from Qantas and Jetstar growing their international network with new direct routes to India and Korea .
Qantas will operate four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru ( a growing tech and financial services hub , formerly known as Bangalore ) from September using its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft . These will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time between these locations .
Meanwhile , Qantas will continue to operate up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi , making it the only airline offering direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India . And the company intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo , India ’ s largest domestic carrier , which will give customers improved one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities .
Globe-trotting execs can also enjoy business , premium leisure and lowcost travel options between Australia and Korea later this year when Qantas and Jetstar launch direct flights to
Seoul ’ s Incheon International Airport .
Jetstar will become the only low-cost carrier to fly direct to South Korea from Sydney , with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flights operating three times per week from November . Qantas will begin direct flights between Sydney and Seoul from December with its A330 aircraft , marking the first Qantas scheduled service to Seoul since January 2008 .
Qantas has now added six new overseas routes in the past six months , including Perth-Rome and Melbourne- Delhi , Melbourne-Dallas Fort-Worth and Darwin-Dili , as it taps into new markets . S
New Uber PIN and pickup in Melbourne
Do you or your exec travel to Melbourne ? If so , take note of the new pick-up location and PIN technology Uber has introduced at the airport .
In an Australian first , the new Uber PIN technology allows travelers to exit the airport and hop directly into an Uber outside Terminal 2 – no need to request a ride then spend time locating the right driver-partner once they arrive . Riders simply request a ride in the Uber app , and then give their driver-partner a PIN before hopping in .
The PIN technology has been launched at 10 major airports globally , including New York-LaGuardia , Portland , Chicago , San Diego , and New Delhi , and has reportedly delivered a 40-50 % reduction in traveler wait time . Feedback suggests the overwhelming majority of riders and driver-partners prefer the PIN tech experience . S
48 Executive PA | Winter Issue 2022