Business travel

The images appear daily in the media: queues of travellers trying to board a plane at a European airport. British airports - especially London and Manchester - are particularly hard hit, as is Amsterdam. For the time being, France seems to have the situation under control, despite congestion at Roissy.

Strike action has forced Brussels airport management to cancel all operations scheduled for 20 June. Further strike action is expected in the coming days, notably at Brussels Airlines and Ryanair.

Lively lobbies dotted with workspaces and rooms with a contemporary design: Sheraton, one of the leading brands in business travel, is continuing its metamorphosis, particularly within its two conference centre hotels connected to Frankfurt and Amsterdam airports.

The Hilton group will pass the 100-hotel mark in Turkey with the arrival of the Canopy brand in Istanbul in 2023, as part of a vast urban renewal project. Another announced opening is that of the future largest Hampton by Hilton in Europe, expected in Vienna in 2024.

At the beginning of June, Iberia inaugurated or relaunched services from Madrid to three US cities. The Spanish carrier flies for the first time to Dallas and Washington and has resumed services to San Francisco.

Next year, the Accor group's Mercure brand will be the first international chain to set up near Tokyo Haneda airport, with a hotel also close to the Haneda Innovation City business and leisure complex.

The Intercity Hotel brand, part of the Deutsche Hospitality group, is continuing its expansion near European airports at Amsterdam Schiphol, with a 280-room hotel with six meeting rooms.

A number of countries, towns and regions in Europe are planning to make public transport totally or partially free. These initiatives would reduce both the oil bill and that of individual travellers. And help reduce the carbon footprint.

After being absent from the market in Guinea and Burkina Faso for two years due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Brussels Airlines is back in Conakry and Ouagadougou.

Turkish Airlines is continuing its expansion with the launch of a new route to Bukhara, one of the historic cities of the Silk Roads. During the summer, the carrier is also offering flights to Tivat in Montenegro and has launched a service to Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

After the Danieli, which will become a Four Seasons in 2025, it is now the turn of the Hôtel Bauer to announce that it will become a Rosewood hotel after a renovation phase lasting more than two years.

The long-haul subsidiary of low-cost carrier AirAsia, AirAsia X, has just announced its return to Europe and the launch of flights to Istanbul and London from Kuala Lumpur. It is also resuming some of its routes to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.

Fouquet's Barrière, Aman, Ritz-Carlton and more: New York will see the arrival of several luxury hotels this summer, all accompanied by new upmarket lifestyle establishments.

After a successful trial phase of its baggage collection service at Geneva airport, Swiss is extending its partnership with AirPortr to Zurich airport. The airline is now offering baggage collection services throughout Switzerland, for both departures and arrivals.

The Radisson Group has entrusted franchisor Choice Hotels with the destiny of its brands on the American continent. Choice Hotels will take over the operations and franchising activities of more than 600 hotels across the Atlantic.

The budget chain easyHotel, which shares the same functional credo with the airline easyJet, has set up near Paris CDG airport. The opening is part of an ambitious development plan. And low-carbon!

The airline Lufthansa is in turn going to reduce its offer in the face of staff shortages both on board and on the ground. A total of 900 flights are affected, two-thirds of them in Frankfurt.

The reopening of London Heathrow's Terminal 4 on 14 June will breathe some life into the other terminals, particularly in view of the expected summer influx. Even if the hub anticipates periods of congestion...

IHG reaches the 6,000 hotel milestone and, to celebrate, launches the 6000 Club, a collection of some of the latest properties to open where travellers can earn 6,000 points with their stay.

Due to strike action on 9 June, the DGAC has asked airlines to reduce their flight schedules at Paris CDG by 25%. Cancellations and schedule changes are to be expected at Air France for short and medium-haul flights.