Business travel

Air Canada has just announced the introduction of two weekly flights between Montreal and Fort-de-France in Martinique. The airline has also just been awarded Skytrax trophies in the United States.

Air China has just introduced the Fast Track service in Italy, at Rome and Milan airports, to facilitate business travellers' professional journeys.

The Skytrax trophies awarded in mid-July once again rewarded Qatar Airways, voted best airline in the world for the second year running.

Singapore's Changi airport is preparing to celebrate the completion of a vast renovation and development plan for its historic Terminal 1.

On 12 July, Eurostar announced its results for the second quarter of 2012, marked once again by a decline in business customers, which limited the growth in traffic (+2%) and sales volume (+1%).

Translink NI railways, which operates in Northern Ireland, has decided to launch free Wi-Fi access on board its trains to attract mobile professionals.

Jumeirah recently inaugurated the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Dubai, the luxury group's ninth establishment in its domestic market.

Business travellers on business trips to Miami can now take advantage of a personalised check-in service: a VIP check-in initiative called "Flagship Check-In", already operational in Los Angeles, but reserved for passengers with higher contributions.

Following on from the restaurant and bar in 2010 and 2011, the Hilton Paris La Défense has continued its annual wave of works with a choice project: the renovation of its bedrooms.

Qatar Holdings' hotel project with Harrods should eventually lead to the opening of a luxury hotel in Paris. In any case, the French capital is one of the stated objectives of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which will first focus on other business destinations.

Cebu Pacific has also announced plans for an in-flight Wi-Fi connection, to be offered to the airline's business travellers from next year.

Etihad Airways is launching a new range of online services to make it easier for travellers to manage their journeys via the airline's website.

Deloitte-In Extenso has published a report on hotel performance in France for the month of May 2012, a month in which most business travellers stayed away from French establishments: the calendar, favourable to bank holidays, seems to have massively limited business travel.

Toulouse airport is making WiFi access free and unlimited from 2 July: good news for local business travellers, or those on business trips to the pink city.

Las Vegas airport has just opened its new Terminal 3, the first platform of its kind to be inaugurated since 2001 and the events of '11/09'. In addition to its symbolic dimension, McCarran airport's new showcase brings a number of practical benefits to business travellers.

The Pullman Paris Montparnasse hotel has completed its transformation after several months of work, which has given it a new look and a modernised welcome for business travellers. The other four Pullman hotels in Paris are preparing to follow suit over the coming months. 

Spanish hotelier RIU is setting its sights on the Big Apple, opening its first hotel in New York in mid-2015.

This week, the Jury Palace honoured three new establishments, all located in the PACA region, bringing to twelve the number of "flagships of the French hotel industry".