Starfish Travel Corporation Team

In order to provide its clients with better connectivity while they are traveling throughout Europe, Vistara has increased its codeshare agreement with Lufthansa. Amsterdam (AMS), Stockholm (ARN), Berlin (BER), Budapest (BUD), Copenhagen (CPH), Rome (FCO), Hamburg (HAM), Helsinki (HEL), Lisbon (LIS), Munich (MUC), Oslo (OSL), and Prague (PRG) are the 12 important cities that will now be part of Vistara’s network. Customers will have easier travel options thanks to the bilateral codeshare agreement between Vistara and Lufthansa, which allows both airlines to market and sell flights on each other’s networks. In 2019, Vistara and Lufthansa unilaterally agreed to a codeshare arrangement that allowed Lufthansa to add its designator code (LH) to Vistara flights to 18 Indian destinations. ‘We are happy to further deepen our partnership with Lufthansa, one of the world’s premier airlines,’ said Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer of Vistara. This is evidence of our ongoing dedication to providing our clients with improved connectivity, first-rate service, and a variety of options. This makes it possible for our customers to easily plan their trips and travel around Europe on the joint Vistara and Lufthansa network. “We take pride in our relationships and in India, our partnership with Vistara embodies our strong commitment to the country,” stated Jeffrey James, Head of Communications APAC & Chief Spokesperson, Lufthansa Group. India, the third-largest aviation market in the world, continues to be a top priority for our Group, and we are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Vistara and provide Indian travelers with additional options, options, and connections between Europe and the subcontinent. Source- travel biz

According to a recently published report by the GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel – Global Industry Barometer 2023,” the time has come for the global travel industry to make significant changes for the climate. The results show that “business travel is at a critical juncture” as the sector continues to adapt to new realities and looks ahead to a more resilient future for international travel. The research was presented today at the second GBTA Sustainability Summit in Washington, DC, where Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the GBTA, stressed the value of cooperation in fostering a more environmentally friendly future for business travel. The industry’s readiness to take on the challenge is one of the survey’s significant findings; 92% of respondents believe sustainability is a priority for their organisation, up from 89% in a 2022 GBTA report. According to survey responses, Europe (98%) is in the lead for stating it’s a priority, followed by Asia Pacific (100%) and Latin America (both 100%), with North America (86%) somewhat following the other regions. The Managing Director of the GBTA Foundation, Delphine Millot, stated that the first step in making any type of significant influence is realising that change is required. In order to empower business travellers to choose more environmentally friendly solutions, it will be crucial to engage them and activate the point of sale. Corporate travel managers will play a key role in bringing about this necessary shift. However, in order to get there, she noted, “as an industry we must converge on standards and make the financial commitments required to decarbonize business travel.” According to a worldwide survey of travel customers and suppliers, the following are some of the report’s significant findings: Businesses are putting money into sustainability teams: An increase over the previous year (66%), 71% of travel buyers and suppliers claim to have a sustainability team. However, this number reduces to 59% for the hospitality industry, 58% for travel management companies (TMCs), 55% for ground transportation, and 50% for online booking technology when compared to the 90% of airlines who have such devoted sustainability resources. It all comes down to impact and reputation: The strongest motivators for businesses to adopt sustainability are reputation management (84%) and a sincere desire to have a good impact on the environment (82%). For their programmes, travel managers are responsible for cutting emissions: The majority of respondents (54%) claim that their organisation has established internal or external targets to lower Scope 3 emissions, which includes emissions from business travel. Another 23% intend to establish similar reduction goals. Combining journeys is thought to be a strategy for increasing the return on emissions from travel: 74% of travel managers encourage their staff to combine numerous work trips into one trip (55%) or require it (19%). Travel managers don’t always adhere to their own rules’ stated objectives: According to 38% of those surveyed, justification for same-day business visits is currently requested based on ROI and viable alternatives. Source- Travel daily

Stay, Earn, and Pay with Best Western Reward Points is a brand-new initiative that Best Western Hotels & Resorts has launched for its devoted patrons. When customers don’t have enough points to earn a full free night, this creative programme gives them the option to use their points for partial payments. Members can combine their reward points and cash with Pay with Points to get extra perks and reduce the cost of their hotel stays. Greater freedom when redeeming rewards Members of Best Western Rewards can take advantage of the benefits of their loyalty programme even if they don’t have enough points to get a whole free night by using the Pay with Points function. A minimum of 5,000 reward points can be used to book reservations by using this option. Members who choose this option can pay for their hotel stays with a combination of points and cash, guaranteeing that they get a deal. All Best Western Hotels & Resorts throughout the world now offer Pay with Points, giving tourists a simple and practical redemption alternative. The cash part will also allow them to accrue points, and it qualifies for ongoing Best Western Rewards programmes. Additionally, Best Western Rewards recently increased the availability of its Pay with Points function in Asia. With this launch, the program’s worldwide reach has been further expanded, allowing participants to benefit from their loyalty points at a wide variety of hotels around Asia. If you stay, we’ll pay up to $100. Best Western Hotels & Resorts has unveiled a thrilling new campaign as a way to thank its loyal customers. Guests who stay for a minimum of two nights at participating hotels in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam between May 22 and September 4, 2023, will receive a USD 50 Best Western Gift Card as part of the “Stay and We Will Pay Up to $100” campaign. Any of the Best Western hotels worldwide accept the Best Western Gift Card as payment for stays. Members who register through www.bestwesternasia.com before their stay can take advantage of this promotion. The best part of this promotion is that it allows customers to accrue up to two Best Western Gift Cards, which means they may save even more money on subsequent stays. Source- travel daily

Booking BNSA gives a lot of hotels the chance to differentiate themselves from rival properties on Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline’s destination hotel listings. Hotels can participate in the programme and submit bids utilising a Cost Per Click strategy to increase their visibility in traveller searches. DerbySoft offers automated bidding and intelligence. If a hotel were to run such a programme manually, it would be extremely difficult to keep up with the regular updating of bids necessary to outperform the competition. In order to avoid hotels constantly changing their bids in an effort to improve their ranking and maximise their return on investment, DerbySoft has added clever self-machine learning automation. The hassle of this regularly labor-intensive management duty, which is generally handled by a revenue manager, is also eliminated by automation. Benefits of Sponsored Ads on BookingNetwork Utilise Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline to reach 90.6 million monthly visitors. Increase your presence on Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline Get in touch with travellers on a specific website where your hotel is listed. The first page of the results has a number of premium spots set aside for Booking Network Sponsored Ads.  Depending on the brand, this placement may be at position 1 on Priceline and Agoda or spot 2 on Booking.com. Current offers begin at $0.50, and they compete with other reasonable offers to win the auction. Through intelligent bidding, DerbySoft will make sure hotels receive the most exposure and return on their advertising investment. Source- Travel daily

According to a recent research from Accor, the top hotel company in the world, highly personalised service is increasingly serving as travel consultants’ primary point of differentiation. The paper, titled “Tailor-Made Touch or Digital Efficiency?,” examines the approaches, innovations, and developments affecting leisure travel advisors now and in the future. Developing the services and forging the relationships that can help them delight and connect with their customers on a level that is beyond what alternative intermediary models can achieve is said to be even more crucial than continuously digitally transforming their operations. The report, which is specifically targeted at the European market, describes how the pandemic accelerated the transformation of the leisure travel intermediary market, leading to the widespread adoption of digital technology and the model changes of many key players in an effort to become platform businesses or b2b technology providers. It supports the idea that, when used properly, technology—from messaging platforms to payment systems to artificial intelligence—can be the best friend of travel advisors, enabling them to maximise their capacity with a wide range of inventory, gain access to potent digital distribution channels, gain a deeper understanding of their clients, market themselves more effectively, and offer more sophisticated and effective services. However, it contends that even more crucial to travel planners’ success as they develop is their capacity to connect with their clients and deliver the high-touch, individualised service that tourists now want. “Consumers increasingly value the ability of travel advisors to remove the stress from their trip, tailor it to their preferences, plan every last detail in a flexible way, and be the reassuring presence that takes care of problems when they arise,” said Saskia Gentil, SVP Sales, Europe & North Africa at Accor. Source- travel daily

The world’s largest organization for air passenger rights, AirHelp, today announced the introduction of a new AirHelp Plus service called AirPayout Insurance. For delays of more than three hours, cancellations made fewer than seven days before departure, and flight diversions, members of this new programme are eligible to receive a guaranteed sum of €100 (about £86), payable within a few days of any flight interruption. In order to be covered for any delays, passengers must log their scheduled flights using the AirHelp dashboard prior to departure. After that, qualified air travelers will continue to be able to request full reimbursement from the airline and receive the full sum for approved claims through AirHelp. Flight assistance when required Members of AirHelp Plus have access to the company’s air passenger rights (APR) expertise around-the-clock, including live support for flight-related questions when faced with delays, interruptions, and cancellations. The two membership levels offered by AirHelp Plus are Essential and Complete. When a claim is lodged through AirHelp, the Essential package (€24.99, or roughly £21) waives all fees, saving customers money on service fees while still enabling them to obtain the full compensation sum, up to £520 for flights that qualify under the UK’s air passenger rights rules. Members also receive assistance with delayed, broken, or misplaced luggage. Passengers who purchase the Complete package (€64.99, around £56) are entitled to further perks like access to more than 1,100 high-end airport lounges in the event that a flight is canceled. AirPayout Insurance, backed by battleface travel insurance, is now included with both memberships. The Essential package covers the customer’s first three journeys, while the Complete package covers all trips. understanding your rights With information on the quantity of flights, passengers, interruptions, delays, and cancellations from airports and airlines throughout the world, AirHelp has one of the most precise flight data collections in the world. Of the 103 million passengers flying in the UK in 2022, 37 million experienced delays and interruptions, and over 2.5 million of those passengers were eligible for compensation. Only in cases where the airline is at fault are customers eligible to compensation under UK261, the UK statute for APR, of up to £520 per person for delays longer than three hours, cancellations made fewer than 14 days before departure, and boarding denied due to overbooking. Source- Travel daily

Emirates said that beginning on October 29, passengers flying to and from Mumbai and Bengaluru will have access to its coveted Premium Economy service. These two well-known Indian destinations will be served by Emirates’ newly refurbished flagship A380 aircraft, which includes the new Premium Economy seats as well as updated interiors that raise the travel experience in all other cabin classes. Customers flying the Dubai-Mumbai route can reserve seats in Emirates’ Premium Economy on EK500/501, while those flying the Dubai-Bengaluru route can reserve seats in the airline’s most recent premium economy product, featuring plush seats, more legroom, and an elevated dining experience. For travel beginning on October 29, seats can be reserved right away through Emirates.com, Emirates sales offices, and travel agencies. As the rollout of the upgraded and refitted Emirates A380s with a four-class layout accelerates, Premium Economy will be introduced on flights to additional international locations. On flights to nine international locations, including New York JFK, San Francisco, and Houston in the US, along with London Heathrow, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, and Singapore, Premium Economy is already an option. By the end of 2023, 12 routes will be offering the unique service, with Premium Economy cabins also making their debut in July to Los Angeles. Along with the inclusion of Premium Economy on the modified aircraft, passengers in all cabins may take advantage of the updated interiors that feature Emirates’ distinctive  tree design. The A380 aircraft has undergone extensive renovations and aesthetic improvements that passengers can appreciate while traveling on board. These improvements can be seen throughout the aircraft in the carpeting, wall panels, and wood finishings. Source- travel biz

According to a DGCA official, IndiGo has been given approval to operate its flight services to Nairobi in Kenya. This would be the airline’s first trip to the huge continent of Africa. As part of its foreign development plans and in response to increased competition brought on by a revitalized Air India under the Tata Group, IndiGo had announced in February of this year its intentions to begin air service to Nairobi, Jakarta, and some Central Asian nations. “IndiGo operations to Nairobi with effect from July 24 has been approved,” the official declared. The airline said early this month that it will offer direct flights from Mumbai to Nairobi, Kenya, and Jakarta, Indonesia, in late July or early august. It stated that Delhi would be connected to Baku, Azerbaijan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in August as well as Almaty, Kazakhstan, in September. Additionally, the airline has stated that once these flights are operational, it will be connecting 32 overseas locations as opposed to just 26 at the moment. Source- travel biz

Amadeus has purchased a small stake in CAPHENIA, a company that will create synthesis gas, the raw material for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The German-based company has created a novel method for producing SAF in a more cost-effective and scalable manner. The choice is a part of Amadeus’s larger commitment to assisting the travel sector in its transition to sustainable travel. The investment will give Amadeus better insight into the difficulties facing the SAF sector, enabling it to further consider what part it can play in this crucial step of the industry’s journey towards net zero by 2050. CAPHENIA has developed a novel method to create synthesis gas from a mixture of biogas, CO2, water, and energy. CAPHENIA is now in an advanced stage of development. This can be used to create a range of renewable fuels, with CO2 emissions reduced by up to 92% when compared to the value from fossil fuels. With 203 awarded patents, the company has successfully protected its Power-and-Biogas-to-Liquid (PBtL) technology in all pertinent main markets globally. “Our process is affordable – using one sixth of the electricity needed for alternative SAF production methods – and scalable,” said Dr. Mark Misselhorn, Chief Executive of CAPHENIA. By 2028, we hope to offer large-scale production, bridging the gap between the existing supply and expected demand for SAF. “For airlines, sustainable aviation fuel is the realistic long-term substitute for conventional aviation fuel,” Misselhorn concluded. A significant component that, when combined with other factors, may aid in achieving net zero targets is the technology of cost-effective, producible SAF. The IATA Net Zero Emission project estimates that SAF has the potential to contribute 65% of the decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessary for the aviation industry to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Along with carbon offset and capture (19%), operational efficiencies (3%), electric and hydrogen powered aircraft (13%), and operational efficiencies (3%), new technology is an important part of the future trip. It is predicted that a global production capacity of 449 billion litres per year is required to achieve the 65 percent reduction in GHG emissions. SAF output in 2021 was only 125 million litres, or less than 0.1% of the required anticipated production capacity, to put things in perspective. Beginning production in 2019, CAPHENIA anticipates producing 10 million litres of SAF by 2027, increasing that amount to over 100 million litres by 2030, and more than one billion litres by 2035. “At Amadeus, we are committed to supporting the shift to sustainable travel,” stated Suzanna Chiu, Head of Ventures. We keep an eye on market trends and advancements to assess the best means by which we can realise this goal, and we are excited to take action right now by investing in a cutting-edge SAF firm. The deal advances our sustainability approach by allowing us to view the industry from a different point along the value chain. We are taking proactive measures to hasten the process as the industry works towards its 2050 target of reaching net zero. Source- Travel biz