Business travel

Franck Poncey, General Manager of the Sofitel Paris Baltimore Tour Eiffel, is delighted with a record level of MICE activity for the five-star Paris hotel.

While Marriott has made its debut in Kinshasa, with two establishments, the Kempinski group has opened the first luxury hotel in Brazzaville.

Franck Benoit, Head of Market Sales France/Europe at Air Caraïbes, reviews the latest news from the airline and its little sister French Bee.

The RATP subsidiary has been awarded a 10-year contract to operate rail services around Caen and the Pays d'Auge from 2027, as part of the move to open up the market to competition.

The Accor group is strengthening its presence in its domestic market with new greet addresses, ibis Styles and Handwritten Collection, notably in Paris, Lyon and Lille for the latter.

An agreement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar paves the way for the development of a high-speed rail link between the two countries that would connect the two capitals, Riyadh and Doha, in just 2 hours.

IATA has revealed its "predictions" for 2026. They are rather good, with the association estimating that a new record overall profit will crown the coming year for the airline industry. Europe in particular is expected to perform extremely well.

SNCF is announcing that the first 4 trainsets of this new-generation TGV, which was due to be launched for the Paris 2024 Olympics, will enter service on 1 July.

In its 2027-2034 plan, the ADP Group is focusing first and foremost on the densification of existing infrastructures to improve passenger flow at Paris CDG and Orly.

Next spring, Air France will be inaugurating a new lounge at London Heathrow to welcome business travellers.

Air Antilles has had to suspend its flights because of an injunction from the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority), which finds that the company has shortcomings in the verification of documents and organisation. However, this did not jeopardise flight safety.

Restart of the Paris-Milan route, launch of the Paris-Marseille service, increased frequencies between Paris and Lyon: after all these developments in 2025, Trenitalia intends to consolidate this growth, particularly with business customers.

Deutsche Bahn's 2026 timetable comes into force on 14 December, offering more high-speed ICE trains, new trains and changes to the stations served on the Paris-Berlin route.

The ADP Group is preparing to rename the Paris-CDG hub's terminals and boarding lounges. The aim is to help simplify the passenger experience.

In Versailles, the Hotel Les Lumières has become a firm favourite with travellers and business groups alike. This luxury boutique hotel completes the 2L Collection group's offering dedicated to business events.

Nicolas Petrovic, a former Eurostar boss, is behind the project for a new rail company called Claret.

Eurostar and DB have signed an agreement to open services to Cologne and Frankfurt from 2030.

From summer 2026, TAP Air Portugal will be introducing a brand new Economy Premium cabin on board its aircraft on long-haul routes.

From next spring, Air France will be introducing its luxurious La Première class to four new destinations. And to return to London Gatwick after an absence of several decades.

Barrière Hotels are now known as Barrière Collection, with a new segmentation ranging from ultra-luxury Fouquet's to top-of-the-range business resorts.