Business travel

Rest assured: international aviation safety levels are at record levels. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced a marked improvement in results for 2011.

Deloitte has published its review of November in the French hotel industry, which performed well overall, thanks in particular to the organisation of major events.

Delta Air Lines intends to make 2012 a springboard to new goals, with a much-increased flight schedule and, above all, major investments to develop the infrastructure at LaGuardia airport in New York.

The arrival of Deutsche Bahn trains in the Channel Tunnel, initially scheduled for the London Olympics this summer, has been postponed once again: Eurostar is not expected to face competition until 2015.

Air China is extending its services from Paris with the launch of a new direct flight to Shanghai on 10 March 2012 and enhanced comfort on the Paris-Beijing route thanks to the delivery of a new Boeing.

This week, the Tune Hotels group opened its second establishment in London.

Iberia will start 2012 with a new strike: the Spanish airline's pilots will disrupt flights on 9 and 11 January.

The Hilton Group has embarked on a major refurbishment project at its Hilton Concord to make the establishment more sustainable.

Sofitel has just inaugurated its first establishment in India with the opening of the Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Two other hotels are planned for 2014.

2012 will see Hilton return to Albany: the hotel group is preparing to take over the Crowne Plaza City Center, which will become the Hilton Albany.

Business travellers will soon see their taxi fares swell, but they will be able to pay more simply thanks to the new parking meters due to be introduced in 2012. This is the result of a decree published in the Journal Officiel over the festive period.

A new strike - the second in less than a month - forced Iberia to cancel 36% of its flights this Thursday.

Brussels Airlines will soon be abandoning several European destinations in favour of a new target for business travellers: New York's JFK airport.

Air services between Luxembourg and Geneva are set to expand further in 2012: Luxair has just announced new frequencies between the two airports, as has Darwin Airline a few days earlier.

November was a positive month overall for the European hotel industry, with an increase in demand logically followed by an increase in rates. This is what emerges from the report recently published by STR Global, which highlights in particular the good performance of Parisian establishments.

Shangri-La is planning to build a new Traders Hotel in Hong Kong - the hotel group's fourth hotel on its home turf - after winning the contract to acquire land from the government. The project is expected to be completed within three years.

China has just inaugurated the high-speed rail link between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line.

Sydney Airport has taken the plunge into new technologies with the launch of an iPhone application designed to make travelling easier for passengers. The airport is also taking the opportunity to launch its own Facebook page.