Business travel

With hotels opening at a steady pace and projects galore, Africa has become the continent of opportunity for hotel groups. For business travellers, this means urban resorts steeped in local culture.

Security is becoming an increasingly important issue for businesses, and African hotels are stepping up their security measures.

Olivier Jacquin, CEO of the Magalis Hotels chain, describes the development of its offer in Africa and presents his group's major projects.

Bought by IHG, the luxury brand Regent Hotels is expecting a new hotel in Kuala Lumpur. At the same time, the British group is continuing to develop its new Avid and Voco brands.

At Air France KLM, the new IATA winter timetable, in force from 28 October to 30 March, is leading to an increase in the number of intercontinental routes.

The SNCF wants to become a key player in mobility in Europe by transforming its application into a multimodal travel tool by spring 2019. To achieve this, it has created e-voyageurs SNCF, which brings together the skills of the SNCF, its OUI.sncf website and its VSCT digital laboratory.

What better city than Paris to launch a brand called Mode? So it was logical that Bridgestreet chose the French capital to unveil its long-stay Mode Aparthotel brand.

Uber is launching new safety features for business travellers, including improved access to emergency calls and the ability to share a ride with friends and family.

Until 25 October, the city of Bordeaux is holding a public consultation on how to improve services to Mérignac airport. On the agenda: extension of tramway line A and creation of a high performance bus service (BNSP).

The sharp reduction in routes to Australia offered by Thai Airways International is likely to affect Bangkok's attractiveness as a transfer hub between the island-continent and Europe, particularly in high-contribution markets.

Singapore Airlines has just launched the world's longest commercial flight to New York from Changi airport, with a journey time of almost 18 hours between the two business destinations.

Istanbul's new airport, due to open on 29 October, will be a new European giant. Its capacity should reach 90 million passengers. The new hub will become the central hub for Turkish Airlines. As for the current Istanbul Atatürk airport, it could finally close towards the end of December, due to the gigantic scale of the move.

Business aviation company VistaJet is benefiting from the popularity of private jet hire, with strong growth in business in Europe and France in the first half of 2018.

The key to hub status is the ability to organise connections efficiently. Alongside the giants such as Paris CDG, London Heathrow and Frankfurt, some airports are taking advantage of their compact size to offer ultra-fast transfer times in Vienna or optimised connections to the United States in Dublin.

Next April, the airline will receive the first of its two A321neo aircraft. Jean-Charles Périno, Sales & Marketing Director of the 100% business class carrier, gives us an update on this new product and, more generally, on the airline's strategy.

Airlines' quest for maximum profitability is not without consequences for passengers. Cabin density is the order of the day, particularly in economy class. Paradoxically, while the interior design of aircraft theoretically makes them more comfortable, their layout often holds many surprises in store.

Sunset or boreal atmosphere, restaurant atmosphere at mealtimes: both Lufthansa and Finnair use light therapy to create soothing or energising atmospheres.

Will we ever travel standing up in an aeroplane? That's the challenge facing Italian seat manufacturer Aviointeriors with its SkyRider 2.0 'vertical' seat.

Recently in Paris to re-launch its image, Iberia is aiming to attract business travellers by reaffirming the excellence of its services and its role as the air bridge between Europe and Latin America. Marco Sansavini, CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) of the Spanish airline, explains.

Kimpton Hotels, the lifestyle counterpart to the luxury InterContinental, is starting to weave its international web.