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The Daily Travel Agent Bite: Wed 25 May

Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news to help you be your best today and tomorrow.

Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news to help you be your best today and tomorrow.

1. Book WestJet, earn Qantas Points & vice versa

WestJet

Qantas and WestJet have announced an extension to their code-share agreement that will get their loyalty members closer to free flights.

Effective today, travellers can choose to earn Qantas Points or WestJet dollars when they book WestJet flights and vice versa.

Loyalty members can then use their Qantas Points to redeem code-share flights operated by WestJet. The Flying Kangaroo is hoping to extend this beyond code-share services, however, this fully reciprocal offering won’t be available until 2017.

Read on

 

2. TTC to unveil final $1,000,000 incentive winners

TTC

Is that the Mad Hatter? A magician? Or maybe it’s TTC’s CEO preparing to reveal the final winners of The Great $1,000,000 cash Giveaway.

John Veitch (we imagine with assistance from several little helpers) has stuffed nearly 500 golden envelopes, which are being posted out to consultants as we speak.

The envelopes reveal the last winners of ‘The Great’ incentive, which is now in its final days.

Read on

 

3. American Express GBT acquires a Finnish corporate agency

American Express

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has signed an agreement to acquire SMT, a travel management company (TMC) based in Finland and a subsidiary of Finnair.

Expected to be fully owned by the company by the third quarter of this year, the acquisition will see the SMT and its staff migrate to the GBT family.

GBT Chief Strategy Officer, Steven Curts, said purchasing SMT is an important step in the evolution of the business to improve customer experience, offerings and footprint.

 

4. Los Angeles does have public transport & it is reliable

Travel Agent Los Angeles

“You need to hire a car if you want to get around Los Angeles. Their public transportation system isn’t that great.”

Mythbuster! Los Angeles does have public transport, it’s actually pretty reliable AND it just got a whole lot better.

Last week, the City of Angels launched Phase 2 of its Metro Expo Line Extension, which connects travellers (and locals of course) from Culver City to Santa Monica.

Read on

 

5. Cathay Pacific previews its new lounge in Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific

Passengers were able to preview Cathay Pacific’s new Business Class Lounge located at The Pier at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

The space recently underwent a comprehensive refurbishment to become the largest among all Cathay Pacific lounges, with seating for 550 people.

Designed to offer a relaxing and refreshing environment, the Lounge features various dining options including The Food Hall, a fun and vibrant space with self-service kiosks as well as The Noodle Bar – an iconic feature of Cathay Pacific’s lounges. Other highlights are the big glass windows and glazed timber screens.

 

6. Rail Plus celebrates one-in-a-million booking

Travel Agent Rail Plus italktravel

italktravel Horsham wrote itself into the travel industry record books this month when it visited the Rail Plus website and unknowingly made the company’s one millionth booking.

Anne Taylor, Managing Director of italktravel Horsham in Victoria, made the historic transaction, using the Rail Plus website to secure an ATOC ticket between London and Glasgow.

To celebrate the milestone Rail Plus Sales Executive James Hooper visited the italktravel Horsham last week to deliver some flowers and treats.

 

7. Venture Holidays adds Tigerair to Calypsonet

Travel Agent 2016 Bali cover

Travel Agents can book their clients on budget flights to Bali through Venture Holidays as the wholesaler adds Tigerair flights to its airline repertoire.

Bookings can be made online via Calypsonet or directly with Venture Holidays’ reservations team. Regular airfares are commissionable and can be booked and held for five days, however, airfare must be sold in conjunction with Venture Holidays’ land product.

Venture Holidays’ Managing Director, Robert Mackay, said being able to offer low cost fares via Calypsonet is a “great introduction to complement our Bali product”.

 

8. G Adventures adds new expedition options in Norway

Travel Agent G Adventures

G Adventures is giving travellers more choice in Norway, with three new itineraries on board its expedition ship, G Expedition.

Coming in May 2017, is the ‘Cruise the Norwegian Fjords – Tromsø to Bergen’ itinerary travelling along the Norwegian Sea for eight days to cover Norway’s ancient history, UNESCO-protected historic sites, and nature.

There’s also the ‘Scottish Highlands and Norwegian Fjords’ trip travelling from Edinburgh to Tromsø, which also ticks off UNESCO-protected as well as the Shetland Islands, and the stunning forests and waterfalls that line the fjords.

Finally, there’s the ‘Norwegian Fjords and Polar Bears of Spitsbergen’ trip, which sets sail from Bergen to Longyearbyen. Highlights of the 15-day trip include a walk across the glaciers that carved the stunning landscapes and an exploration of subarctic islands by Zodiac in search of polar bears.

 

9. A truly royal event at Koningsdam’s christening

Travel Agent Queen christens HAL's ship

It was truly a royal event in Rotterdam last week when the Netherland’s Majesty Queen Máxima blessed and named Holland America Line’s new ship, Koningsdam (which was named in honour of the first King of the Netherlands).

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands officially blessed the bell and named Koningsdam on board the ship in front of invited dignitaries, cruise guests, travel partners and media.

Holland America’s President, Orlando Ashford, said it was an honour to have the Queen step into the role of godmother and deliver the ceremonial traditions.

Click here for more images.

 

10. Latin America Travel Expo arrives in Melbourne

Travel Agent Latin America

First they conquered Sydney and now Melbourne. Representatives from Central and South America took their first ever Latin America Travel Expo to Victoria’s capital last week.

The expos were fronted by more than 50 exhibitors representing airlines, hotels, cruise lines, tour and travel operators and tourism bodies from 20 countries in South and Central America.

The aim of the event was to educate consultants about the popular travel region and address any misconceptions about various destinations.

Click here for more images.

What are your thoughts on today’s travel news?