Business travel

Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox on one side, Baidu and WeRide on the other: robotaxis are gaining ground in the United States and China. However, business travellers visiting London, Dubai, or Tokyo might soon experience these driverless autonomous taxis.

Moroccan airports (ONDA) are deploying Pax Check, a fully digital boarding pass system, accessible from the traveller's smartphone.

Leonardo Hotels is taking over the operation of the Hilton in Evian. A new stage in the expansion of this dynamic group, which boasts nearly 330 establishments and will soon be discovering Lisbon or New York.

Air Congo will launch a Kinshasa-Paris flight. The airline has not provided any details about this route, its second to Europe.

Barcelona El Prat Airport will be affected by a strike starting on August 4th. And no one knows when the action initiated by Groundforce Barcelona will end.

Borders, links, fees: the economic regulation contract for ADP, on which the state and the group have just agreed the broad outlines, will redefine the passenger experience at Paris CDG and Orly by 2034.

Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have each submitted their offers to acquire a stake in TAP Air Portugal. The Portuguese government's response is expected within the next 30 days.

The main players in French business travel have all reported positive results in the first half of the year, despite climatic or geopolitical uncertainties.

Emirates' Skywards loyalty programme now allows for rewards on 40 train operators in Europe.

Virgin Atlantic will be the commercial partner for the Californian company Joby's future air taxis, for flights from London Heathrow and Manchester.

Following the launch of an application in ChatGPT, IHG is rolling out natural language search across its IHG.com website and the IHG One Rewards app, currently in beta.

Ajit Menon, CEO of Meininger Hotels, explains to *Voyages d’Affaires* the hybrid group’s strategy in France and across Europe, which attracts 20% of business guests.

JetBlue is reviewing its fares and introducing a new FirstBlue first class on its domestic routes.

Radisson Hotel Group is partnering with Accenture to launch an AI application on ChatGPT, enabling travellers to search, compare, and book a hotel.

Alcohol-related violence in German train stations is leading Deutsche Bahn to introduce an outright ban on consumption from 15 October.

After several years of work, the legendary Hotel Danieli in Venice, now part of the Four Seasons group, is reopening its doors. Further renovations in Italy include those of two luxury hotels from the Rocco Forte group.

Bolt becomes the first ride-hailing platform accessible via ChatGPT in Europe, allowing users to estimate a journey and prepare a booking without leaving their conversation with OpenAI's assistant.

Vinco Airports handled 159.25 million passengers in the first half of 2026, a figure that remained stable year-on-year, with variations ranging from +23 % in Guanacaste (Costa Rica) to -20 % in the United States.

Is Lufthansa Group affected by the low-cost syndrome? It certainly seems to be, with the removal of free seat selection on long-haul flights during online check-in...

Despite the fires in Gironde, traffic at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport remained normal. However, rail traffic, which was disrupted for a time, will gradually return to normal between Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August.