We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for our top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.
1. Air NZ competes with Qantas to Texas
Qantas will have new competition on flights the southern parts of the USA, as Air New Zealand announces new direct services to Houston.
The Flying Kangaroo has been the only airline to serve Texas from our region since 2011 when it launched direct flights from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Travellers seeking flights the southern areas would either choose Qantas’ direct flights or fly with another airline via Los Angeles or Hawaii.
2. Hello JFK! Big plans for new Sydney airport
Image: EnolaBrain81/Shutterstock
With a second airport capable of handling 80 million passengers a year, Sydney will have no problem accommodating an influx of new travellers.
Details of the new site to be located at Badgerys Creek in Western Sydney have been leaked and show that when completed in 2025, the gateway will rival the capacity and size of JFK airport in New York.
Documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph say the project, which commences construction next year, will be the nation’s largest earthmoving and excavation job since the Snowy Mountains.
3. DriveAway Holidays pulls up with new website
Car hire company, DriveAway Holidays has changed its online space with a complete makeover of its website.
www.driveaway.com.au is now up and ready for agents to start exploring.
According to the company, the website has been redesigned to be more user-friendly through enhanced navigation and functionality that allow customers and agents to access detailed product information.
4. helloworld agents hooked-up with Travelport
helloworld has appointed Travelport to be its premium preferred GDS service partner for its retail networks.
The agreement will apply to helloworld Branded, Associate and Affiliate agents in Australia and New Zealand as well as for the Concorde Agency Network and helloworld.com.au.
The agency group will continue to have commercial arrangements with other GDS providers for other channels of the business.
5. COMPETITION: #GetCreative & WIN
We all (well most of us) love to take a selfie and we all love something free.
Combine those two passions and go in the running to WIN one of three $100 gift-cards from Creative Holidays.
Creative Holidays is all about travel. About dreaming. About the best local tips. About creating memories. And for over 30 years, they’ve been sending travellers across the globe.
Their network of travel agency partners and team of destination specialists have the knowledge and expertise to create your perfect holiday.
They are a proud member of The Travel Corporation, a fourth generation family owned business and whatever style of holiday you are looking for, wherever you want to go, they have your whole trip covered.
To enter the competition, simply take a ‘selfie’ with your favourite Creative Holidays 2015/2016 brochure.
Choosing which brochure will be the hardest, because there are so many incredible and CREATIVE options.
Among them are Bali, China/Hong Kong, Disney parks & Resorts, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman & Qatar, Fiji & South Pacific, Hawaii, Singapore & Malaysia, Thailand, Uk & Europe, USA and Vietnam & Cambodia.
Once the photo is snapped, send it to us via Twitter or Instagram by using the hashtag #GetCreative2015 to go into the draw for 3 x $100 Myer/Coles gift-cards.
6. Corporate sales spike for Travel Counsellors
The launch of Travel Counsellors’ new corporate sub-brand earlier this year is already paying off, as the company records a 36 percent growth in MICE bookings for the first quarter of 2015.
According to the company, the new division now accounts for half of the growth of the Travel Counsellors’ business over the past four years.
Australia General Manager Tracy Parkinson said companies are seeing value in booking corporate travel through experts rather than online.
” These impressive first quarter sales figures are a good reflection of the interest that Travel Counsellors is currently receiving from the Corporate Travel sector – a trend we expect to continue throughout the year and well into the future.”
Tracy Parkinson, Travel Counsellors Australia General Manager
While impressed with growth, she said it still has potential to build further.
7. Rail Plus speeds up bookings
Booking rail gets easier by the day, as Rail Plus introduces a new automation enabling E-ticket system that sends most rail tickets within an hour of booking.
Rail Plus has championed Print Your Ticket (PYT) technology, which has in the past enabled E-ticketing for a limited range of European rail fares booked through its website (www.railplus.com.au).
Now the company is further expanding the availability of E-tickets by introducing ‘Pay Now’ or ‘Book Now and Pay Later’ options on the website.
A travel agent choosing ‘Pay Now’ will no longer need to wait for an invoice.
Instead, the nett amount due is displayed at the time of booking and payment can be made straight away through the agent’s preferred system. If a product is available as an E-ticket, in most cases the agent will receive documents within the hour.
If an agent’s customer requires additional time to review a quotation and itinerary prior to making payment, they can choose the “Book Now and Pay Later’ option.
An invoice is then issued within one business day for confirmed bookings or two business days for pending bookings, with the payment due date depending on the product.
According to Rail Plus Chief Executive James Dunne, in the past agents have been required to wait several days for receipt of the best value point-to-point fares as they were issued as paper tickets.
“But with the Pay Now option we can very quickly return those documents to an agent as an E-ticket, providing their customers with greater security and convenience because e-tickets can be reprinted when necessary.”
James Dunne, Rail Plus Chief Executive
8. You’re Invited! Sabre Tech Summits
Find out how travel technology solutions will be changed and define travel destinations in the coming years as Sabre Pacific’s series of Tech Summits.
The company will hold five events in Australia and New Zealand throughout May and June to address the changing nature of consumer and corporate travel, and the tools available to address these industry challenges.
Among the discussions points include extending the power of the GDS with the latest range of Red Apps; scaling business onto the small screen; reducing costs with touchless transactions; using data to break new ground; and using technology in your business.
The series begins in Auckland, New Zealand on 28 May from 3.00-6.00pm at the Langham.
It will then travel to Sydney – 4 June; Melbourne – 11 June; Perth – 18 June; and Brisbane – 25 June.
Registrations are open now.
9. Cruiseco charters Ovation’s first Aus sailing
Quantum’s sister ship, Ovation of the Seas will sail Down Under in 2016.
Cruiseco has exclusively chartered out the world’s third smart-ship, Ovation of the Seas, for her first sailing to Australia.
Yesterday, Royal Caribbean revealed the 5,000-passenger ship will be the largest to be homeported in Australia when she sails here for the 2016/17 season.
She will be the fifth Royal Caribbean ship to sail around Aus during the season, joining Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Legend of the Seas.
Details of her itineraries are yet-to-be-revealed, however, Cruiseco says bookings for her cruise from Singapore to Sydney will be booked solely through its network of agents.
“Guests who wish to experience the first sailing, will have the opportunity to book their cruise from Singapore to Sydney via our 300 agents worldwide. We are delighted to offer this exclusive charter to our agents and their customers.”
Steve Lloyd, Cruiseco CEO
Bookings for Ovation of the Seas’ inaugural sailing will open in May 2015 and the sailing is scheduled for late 2016.
10. Economy flying gets tighter with new ‘cramped’ class
If you like a little bit of personal space between you and the passenger next to you then you might want to avoid flying cattle class on future new build A380s.
Airbus has revealed plans to add an extra seat to each row on the jumbojet model, squeezing even more passengers on the aircraft.
According to the Daily Mail, from 2017 there will be 11 seats incorporated into the same space that currently fits 10.