Research and white papers

Low-cost air travel in Germany is costing passengers more because of the rise of airlines offering a more upmarket service.

Meetings booking site book2Meet has published a white paper entitled "2015 Buying Meetings As Easy As Buying Travel? The paper, written by Sam Versele, provides an interesting analysis of the situation and attempts to identify the keys to achieving this "new frontier" in travel management.

The 24th edition of the EVP barometer, unveiled on Thursday at the Palais Brongniart in Paris, confirmed the slight upturn in the European business travel economy. On average, business travel expenditure rose by 0.9% in 2014 across the 10 European countries surveyed. This slight upward trend is expected to continue this year (+0.7%).

Munich Airport recorded the best punctuality rate for 2014, according to the "OAG Punctuality League 2014" ranking published by the aviation statistics specialist. Air Baltic came out on top in the large airline category. 

Multimodal travel platform GoEuro has published an Accommodation Price Index, comparing prices in the world's main business and leisure destinations, including Airbnb. 

This week, accounting departments are facing the busiest period of the year in terms of expense reports. That, at least, is the analysis published on Tuesday by Concur, based on an analysis of Travel & Expense data from 2013. Friday 19 December is expected to see a doubling of the average daily number of claims in France and other key business travel markets. 

An infographic published by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) draws on the day-to-day experience of its travel advisors to shed light on the habits, preferences and even quirks of US business travellers.

A majority of business travellers (62%) can now - or will be able to in the near future - book their business trips independently, according to a survey of 179 travel buyers carried out last October by the Business Travel Show. This figure represents a significant increase on the previous survey carried out by the London-based show, which will be held on 25 and 26 February.

2015 will not be a good year for French MICE professionals. That's the view of American Express Meetings & Events, which forecasts a decline in the market in its "Global Meetings Forecast 2015" study published on 18 November.

Kayak.fr tried its hand at a tedious but extremely useful exercise for these business traveller-sprinters, whose busy schedules limit the margin for error at the airport to the bare minimum. The travel comparison website has published a table comparing the average walking time between security checkpoints and boarding gates at several major European airports. 

Capitaine Train has published an infographic listing the reasons why French travellers take the TGV. The document, based on the "National Transport and Travel Survey", estimates that 36.2% of business customers use the high-speed network.

Often referred to as the A new trend in the world of business travel, is bleisure - a neologism combining business and leisure - really practised by travelling professionals? Have companies taken steps to regulate this grey area through a dedicated policy? The latest Bleisure Report 2014 published by Bridgstreet provides relevant new data on the subject.    

At Univ'AriPlus 2014 on Thursday, the AFTM presented its sixth white paper, on the theme of "Structuring Travel Management within SMEs and SMIs". This is a crucial issue for the French business travel market, and is tackled through three fundamental objectives: promoting travel efficiency, controlling expenditure and professionalising internal players.

What really happens at the other end of the line during a conference call? Intercall, the provider of conferencing and communications solutions for the enterprise, has attempted to draw up an overview of practices. The next time you have a remote meeting, you won't be listening to the other person in the same way...

Diversity of profiles, relations with business travellers, career development, integration of new technologies and Travel Management 3.0: 3Mundi is devoting a White Paper to the profession of Travel Manager to provide a clearer picture of changes in the profession, its expectations and short-term opportunities.

According to FlightStats, Iberia topped the list of the world's most punctual airlines in June.

On 13 May, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau published its 9^th The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau published a report on convention activity in Paris and the surrounding region, highlighting a record 1,055 conventions and 752,300 participants.

Kayak has published an international study on the connectivity offered in hotels, noting that 90% of establishments worldwide now offer WiFi access. However, the booking site points out that this does not necessarily mean that a connection is offered in the room: free access in the lobby is enough to be included in this "free Wi-Fi" category.

At Wednesday's Market Place, Egencia unveiled the results of its internal study "The Impact of Corporate Organisation on Travel Purchasing Behaviour": a global assessment of business travel management that differs greatly on both sides of the Atlantic.

Almost a third of French business travellers (28%) miss home, according to a new global study published by Regus.