Business travel

With the gradual reopening of France's borders and the lifting of certain travel restrictions, Air France's summer programme is being expanded ahead of the summer holiday rush. 

Belgrade, Oslo, Rostock, Warsaw and Zurich are on the agenda for Luxembourg airport this summer. Dubai is scheduled for the autumn by the national airline Luxair. 

With openings in Lille, Nice and soon La Défense, a focus on bars and restaurants, and the state of business demand, Solenne Devys, Deputy Managing Director of Okko Hotels, presents her group's latest developments.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding to free up airspace between the two countries. It should be officially ratified at the end of the year. 

Was Concorde just a 20-year supersonic interlude in the history of air transport? Perhaps not, with United Airlines aiming to be the new pioneer of the supersonic era by 2030.

Obscure fares, high prices for a service of mediocre quality: the railways have a bad reputation in Great Britain. Especially since they were privatised almost 30 years ago. The Johnson government is going to put an end to this chaos...

The United States has lowered - slightly - the warning issued to American travellers wishing to visit France. Is this the first step towards reopening US borders?

Morocco is preparing to reauthorise international flights from its main airports. The same will apply to sea links. The date is set for 15 June, and Moroccan nationals and foreigners with a negative PCR test or who have been vaccinated will be able to fly.

At the beginning of July, Emirates will resume services to Nice and Lyon airports, marking another step in the gradual return to normal for business travellers.

While the Tapestry collection of independent hotels begins its European expansion in Madrid, Hilton is also rolling out its DoubleTree brand in Germany, in Frankfurt.

Packages for businesses, new hotels offering coworking spaces: Best Western is continuing to develop its myWO offering, dedicated to mobile working.

NH+ Business programme offering discounts and advantages to companies, hybrid meetings and mobile working, professional events, new establishments: the NH Hotels group is part of the upturn in business travel.

Adagio, NH Hotels, Marriott with Aloft and Element: the Dubai hotel industry has been enriched by new establishments with a predominantly residential and lifestyle focus. And, naturally, upmarket.

The possibility for vaccinated American tourists to travel to France again without quarantine from 9 June will mean the reopening of three routes from the United States. These include the symbolic New York-Nice route. 

While Hilton recently announced the extension of its carbon-neutral meetings programme, Melia is offering its loyal customers the chance to offset the footprint of their travel.

On 1 June, London Heathrow International Airport finally introduced a terminal for passengers from high-risk countries. However, this measure is unlikely to help reduce the long queues that passengers have to endure. 

The downgrading to category 2 of Mexico's air infrastructure by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, is freezing air capacity between Mexico and the United States. This is bad news at a time when air traffic between the two countries was beginning to pick up strongly.

June sees the normalisation of air services to and from French Polynesia. Four airlines once again serve Tahiti's Papeete-Faaa airport, the territory's only international hub.

Trainline, the booking platform dedicated to the rail industry, is launching Trainline Partner Solutions, an API-based service giving business travel agencies access to the offerings of 270 carriers worldwide.