Business travel

Churches, banks, prisons, hospitals: today's hotels recycle old buildings to turn them into design icons. Each hotel tells its own story in a highly contemporary way, offering unique experiences for business travellers.

The new version of the Thalys application now includes a purchase function, enabling business travellers to book their tickets in the four countries covered by the rail network: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

The Fairmont Nanjing hotel becomes the group's fourth Chinese address in the east of the country.

The SNCF strike on Thursday 12 December is having a particularly heavy impact on the two Paris airports, with an average of one in four RER B trains running. On the other hand, international traffic is normal - with the exception of the Lyria network - with an average of 6 TGVs out of ten running.

The great supersonic thrill or the praise of slowness: the future balances between an airship taking the time to travel the world and a rocket plane crossing it in less than two hours.

Finnair, EasyJet and Gulf Air took the top three places in FlightStats' November rankings for the punctuality of the main airlines. Overall, the punctuality of international carriers has risen slightly compared with October.

The launch of the Paris-Beijing flight next June will mark a real turning point for Aigle Azur, which will be wearing the long-haul identity for the first time. A few months ahead of this major turning point, the airline's Managing Director Cédric Pastour looks back at the importance of this new route, and reviews relations with the Chinese investors of the HNA group and Aigle Azur's roadmap for the coming months.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will enter the French market in 2015, when it takes over management of the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. The American group will then be able to operate an emblematic building of the French hotel industry, and one that has been completely renovated.

Air Canada is unveiling the future equipment designed to accommodate business travellers in the 37 B787 aircraft - Boeing's famous 'Dreamliner' - ordered by the airline.

Air France is sending a strong signal to the business travel market. The airline is preparing to halve the price of the France-Europe-North Africa Discount Pass. Pierre Descazeaux, General Manager of the France market at Air France, made the news official on Monday at the Pavillon Cambon, on the occasion of the AFTM evening, specifying that the new fare would be valid from 1 January 2014.

On 30 March 2014 EasyJet will be inaugurating a new attractive route for business customers: the Nice-Hamburg route will be served four times a week.

Airline alliances account for almost 90 % of traffic to the world's top 100 business cities. Are they essential? Increasingly so, judging by the number of new airlines joining them. Yet alternatives are emerging outside this global movement...

The Cité Concorde Lyon hotel will soon be under the Crowne Plaza banner and will become the Crowne Plaza Lyon - Cité Internationale in the first quarter of 2014. This change will be accompanied by an extensive renovation programme.

The Kerzner International group has announced the opening of a new Atlantis resort in southern China: Atlantis Sanya Hainan is due to open in 2016.

A new agreement between Louvre Hotels and Arcus of Germany will result in the creation of 26 hotels in the German, Swiss and Austrian markets.

Between myths that are constantly being reinvented and legends in the making, the Swiss hotel industry, with its inimitable style, tells a very contemporary story, one of elegance and refinement.

The luxury hotel group is offering broadband Internet access to guests who have booked their room on the brand's website.

Created in 2003, the Villégiature Awards are presented each year to "the best hotels in Europe, Asia and Africa" by a panel of 25 journalists and press correspondents, including Voyages d'Affaires.