Business travel

With the Football World Cup on the horizon at the end of 2022, Qatar is preparing to welcome many new top-of-the-range hotels. These include Fairmont, ME, Pullman, Raffles, Rosewood and St. Regis.

It comes as no surprise that ACI Europe (Airport Council International) has noted the negative effects of the Omicron variant on air traffic at airports across Europe.

EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic have just signed an agreement enabling passengers to purchase connecting flights between Europe and the North Atlantic via the "Worldwide by easyJet" online platform.

Volotea has just announced the launch of a new Nantes-Rome flight from next April.

The 25hours Hotel chain has chosen Dubai to take its first steps outside the European market. A destination also selected by Marriott for an Aloft-Element duo, as well as by the prestigious Dorchester Collection with The Lana.

Aer Lingus Regional, the new subsidiary of Ireland's Aer Lingus, will be inaugurating 11 new routes to the UK on 17 March, repositioning Dublin as a hub to its British neighbour.

Waldorf Astoria in Kuwait, Conrad in Shanghai and Rabat, projects in the Middle East for the LXR collection: the Hilton Group will be expanding its range of luxury brands in 2022.

The Hyatt group will be adding more than twenty hotels to its luxury and lifestyle portfolio by 2023, including a Thompson hotel in Madrid and an Andaz in Doha.

The Air France-KLM duo has just confirmed an order for 100 Airbus A320neo or A321neo aircraft. The aircraft will be used to replace KLM's fleets and, above all, those of Transavia's French and Dutch subsidiaries.

Greet, Accor's new brand with an economic and sustainable positioning, is adding four establishments in France, making its debut in the Paris region, near the Gare du Nord and in Boulogne-Bilancourt.

In both Copenhagen and Venice, the NH Collection brand is transforming historic buildings into chic, design-led hotels that are also suitable for meetings and events. At the same time, the NH group has launched the NH Pro technology platform, dedicated to organisers.

Rome has been selected by Qantas to become its new route in Europe. The service is due to start operating next June.

2022 is set to be a year of major expansion for British Airways. The airline will launch its London Gatwick subsidiary and resume its American expansion with its Atlantic Joint Business partners. However, parent company IAG has decided not to take over Air Europa.

According to the consultant OAG, which analyses the air transport industry's capabilities on a weekly basis, the Omicron variant does not appear to have had a significant impact on airline activity for the time being. But the question could arise in the medium term.

Considered - along with Air France - as the European airline specialising in Africa, Brussels Airlines will be expanding its network to the continent in the summer of 2022. Notably with the return of an additional Airbus A330 to its fleet.

German carrier Lufthansa has just revealed its flight and destination schedule for 2022. Europe will remain at the heart of its strategy, with 160 destinations, including Billund in Denmark, Liverpool in the UK and Rennes in France.

Specialising in long stays, the Ascott group is launching a new brand with a coliving spirit on the European market with the lyf Paris Gambetta residence, due to open in 2024.

Defying the SNCF on Paris-Lyon, its most lucrative route, the Italian railway company will start its two daily services on 18 December in Frecciarossa, its high-speed trains with three classes, Standard, Business and Executive.

After Paris-Lourdes and Paris-Briançon yesterday and before Paris-Vienna tomorrow, the government is confirming its intention to reopen a dozen night train services in France by 2030 and to rapidly reopen services between Paris and several European capitals.

Proust, Rimbaud, Vialatte, Flaubert, Marcel Aymé, Jules Verne: the Société des Hôtels Littéraires celebrates the great authors while offering travellers cultured establishments that are always well placed.