We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.
1. Move over Qantas, Emirates is coming through
The Flying Kangaroo will officially lose its bragging rights to having the world’s longest non-stop service when Emirates launches flights to Panama City in February next year.
Qantas has flown the ‘world’s longest route’ since it kicked off direct A380 flights between Sydney and Dallas in 2011.
After a good five year run, the 16 hour non-stop trans-Pacific flight is about to be usurped by Emirates’ 17 hours and 35 minutes service from Dubai to Panama City.
2. Booking rail is as easy as booking air
Remember the days when your clients would have to wait a minimum of five days after booking a rail trip before receiving their confirmation ticket?
We imagine the memory is still quite vivid – it was only a little more than a year ago that the rail booking system was so dated it was almost too time consuming for agents to sell.
However, in the last 12 months or so the rail industry has received a big push into the 21st century, and according to Rail Plus CEO James Dunne, is now as easy to sell and book as air.
3. MH370 theory: Plane may have sunk in one piece
Malaysia’s government-run newsagency has published a new theory that suggests Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370 may have been in one piece when it sunk into the Indian Ocean.
The report in Bernama quotes Malaysia satellite expert, Zaaim Redha Abdul Rahman, who said he believes the plane may have glided onto the water ‘floated for a while’ before sinking.
It raises the possibility that one or more of the 239 passengers on the plane may have still been alive and inside the Boeing 777 for hours before it went under, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
4. Virgin & Delta alliance will benefit travellers: ACCC
Australia’s watchdog has reauthorised Virgin and Delta’s alliance for another five years, saying it is likely to be ‘valued by travellers’.
Reauthorisation was handed down this morning and allows the two airlines to continue partnering and codesharing on flights between Sydney and Los Angeles as well as Brisbane and Los Angeles.
With approval, the two airlines would work together for a total of 11 years, with first approval received in December 2009.
5. Qantas invests millions into Brisbane
Qantas says it will invest millions in upgrading aircraft and the airport experience for travellers flying out of Brisbane.
The Flying Kangaroo revealed a multimillion dollar refurbishment plan that will see the airline’s First and Business Class Lounges in the International Terminal designed to create a single lounge experience.
The new lounge will increase the amount of space for customers to dine, work and relax.
6. helloworld’s world first social media initiative
helloworld agents are set to reap the rewards of a new brand awareness campaign, which will see the company launch a world-first, global social media initiative.
Titled ‘#helloworldRELAY’, the campaign is designed to boost brand awareness, customer engagement and firmly entrench helloworld as “Experts in Everywhere”.
On September 27, Instagrammers around the world will post until the sun sets in their location.
7. Faster commission payments
AccorHotels says it giving agents faster commission settlements than ever before after utilising the group’s automatic commission payment service, FASTcom.
According to the group, commission volume for the first half of 2015 increased 10 percent, while commission payment times have continued to reduce.
In the five years since FASTcom has been operating in Australia, average commission payment times have been reduced by more than 60 percent – from 53 days to 23 days.
The company’s Vice President Sales, Distribution & Revenue Management – Australia, Henrik Berglind, said the system has been well received by agents and hotels.
“The days of agents having to chase individual hotels is a thing of the past with AccorHotels.”
Henrik Berglind
8. Peppers Manor House gets a $3.7 million upgrade
At 137 year young, the Peppers Manor House is undergoing a $3.5 million upgrade to freshen the rooms and create a ‘place for all seasons’.
Property General Manager, Jesse Kornoff, said the heritage building and rooms will retain a 1920’s feel, while receiving 21st century comforts.
In addition to the refurbishment of all 43 guest rooms, the upgrades will include the building of a brand new indoor/outdoor conference, wedding and event space to seat up to 200 guests.
The outdoor space will be weatherproof, heated and open out to the gardens and on completion it will be the newest five star boutique venue in NSW and will add a truly unique event space to the State.
The event space is scheduled for completion in November while the remaining upgrades to all guest facilities including a new casual dining venue, reception area, lounge areas, pool and tennis courts, roads and car parks will completed by March 2016.
9. APT rolls out new Wine Ambassador Program
Travel agents can now book their clients on one of nine new wine river cruises through APT.
The new itineraries are part of a ‘Wine Ambassadors’ program, which sees guests enjoy tastings of wines along the Danube, Douro, Mosel, Rhine, Rhône and Seine Rivers. There’s also special dinners complemented with locally paired wines, lead excursions to wineries to meet local vintners and demonstrations of traditional wine-making techniques.
Available in 2016, the wine program also features ambassadors such as Bruce Tyrrell (Tyrrell’s Wines), Thomas Keith Hardy (Thomas Hardy Wines), Cherry Stowman (Taylors Wines), Darren Davis and Amy White (Seppeltsfield, Aramis and Soul Growers), Nathan Waks (Kilikanoon Wines), Sarah and Sparky Marquis (Mollydooker Wines), John Tomich (Tomich Wines), Nick Haselgrove (Adelaide Winemakers) and Rob Moody (Somerled Wines).
Each ambassador will bring with them a combination of their own wines to showcase to guests alongside local wineries located along the cruise itinerary.
10. Air NZ’s ‘Men in Black’ safety video received how many views?
You saw it on KarryOn, The Daily Mail, Facebook, Twitter and your friend probably Whatsapp’d it to you – Air New Zealand’s new safety video was EVERYWHERE yesterday.
The five-minute clip featuring elements from the hit 90s sci-fi film ‘Men in Black’, almost gave Kim Kardashian a run for her money in ‘breaking the internet’.
The clip received close to four million views worldwide in 24 hours, making it the biggest launch day of an Air New Zealand safety video ever.
