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. Virgin & Delta get another five years
The Australian watchdog has granted an extension to Virgin Aus and Delta Air Lines‘ partnership despite noting a potential risk to competition.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is proposing to grant authorisation for a five-year extension – half of the requested 10-year reauthorisation period.
With approval, the two airlines would work together for a total of 11 years, with first approval received in December 2009.
2. Star Alliance brings automatic RTW bookings to Sabre
Star Alliance is making travel agents’ work lives a whole lot easier, with the introduction of automatic calculating on Round the World (RTW) and Circle Fares through Sabre.
Unveiled today, this means consultants will no longer have to manually calculate pricing.
How much time did Star Alliance just save you?
3. Malaysia is still an Aussie favourite
Troubles with the country’s flag carrier and floods in early January haven’t deterred Australians from travelling to Malaysia, according to latest figures.
Statistics released by the Malaysia’s Immigration Department show that Australians continue to be amongst the country’s top 10 tourist-generating markets for the first three months of the year.
Tourism Malaysia’s Sydney Director, Roslan Abdullah said the result was ‘unsurprising’ because Malaysia is an ideal destination for Australians, offering safety, political stability and value-for-money.
4. Sabre arrives in Sydney for Tech Summit
Sabre is in Sydney this week for the second in a series of Techs Summits.
Starting in Auckland last week, the event will be held at the Swissotel in Sydney today before moving on to Melbourne on 11 June; Perth 18 June; and Brisbane on 25 June.
The event will address the changing nature of consumer and corporate travel, and the tools available to address these industry challenges.
Following a discussion of the key trends defining the industry, an exhibition of the latest innovations will provide attendees with the opportunity to explore and experience many of the new solutions for themselves.
Click back onto KarryOn later today for more information.
5. In memoriam: Dietrich Neuhold, 87
River cruising pioneer, Dietrich Neuhold passed away on 12 May at age 87 at his home in New York.
Neuhold’s career in travel began after World War II with Cunard Line in Vienna and Montreal, where he relocated his family.
After leaving Cunard, he worked at Italian Lines, and then at the Marsh Shipping Company, where he was involved in a variety of international shipping activities, including the opening of the first Atlantic shipping route between the then USSR and Canada.
In 1965, Neuhold opened the Rhine Cruise Agency in New York City as the exclusive representative of KD German Rhine Line; thus, becoming the first USA GSA for a European river cruise company.
In the ensuing years, he traveled extensively to emerging destinations, and was very active in ASTA.
Neuhold retired in 1989, but remained involved with the Rhine Cruise Agency as a consultant.
He is survived by his wife Erna, daughter Beatrice Neuhold-Orth, son-in-law John Orth and grandson Ian Orth.
6. Christchurch to take centre stage at MEETINGS
Christchurch will take centre stage next week when hundreds of industry professionals meet in Auckland for MEETINGS 2015.
The country’s largest annual showcase, running from 9 to 11 June, will see hundreds of influential business event professionals meet with 190 exhibitors to discuss incentives, venues and team building activities.
While exhibitors will come from all around New Zealand, Christchurch will take focus, as tourism leaders showcase its recovery following the major 2011 quake.
7. Harry puts a spell on Hollywood
Fans of the spellbinding movie franchise will have not one, but two ‘wizarding worlds’ to visit during their next holiday in the USA.
Universal Studios Hollywood has finally revealed that ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter‘ will arrive in the West Coast next year.
Five years in the making, the entertainment experience is inspired by the spellbinding movie franchise.
8. Get ready for the Queenstown Winter Festival
While Sydney celebrates the winter season with lights, music and ideas, Queenstown is opening the season with the annual American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.
Running for ten days from 19 June, it celebrates the entertainment and adventure that sweeps over the mountains on the doorstep of Coronet Peak.
On 20 June, the mountain will host the Mountain Bikes on Snow competition that sees men, women and juniors racing their way down an adrenaline-charged course with may thrills and spills along the way.
On Sunday 21 June early birds can join a ‘skin’ from the Base Building to the top of Coronet Peak with prizes granted for the first to summit.
Coronet Peak will also host the DB Export Dog Derby on Thursday June 25.
Friday, June 26 is when the night activities on the mountain kick in to action with an airbag, DJ and a bar open until 9pm, not to mention the flood lit runs at Coronet Peak for Night Skiing with Ultimate Ears, the first of the night skiing sessions for the remainder of the season.
9. Travelport supports travel start-ups
Travelport is developing a seed stage investment and mentorship program to accelerate the growth of innovative startup companies focused on travel commerce.
The program, which will be run in four month cycles and will accept up to four startups per cycle, will be handled completely in-house by dedicated Travelport experts, most of whom already have startup experience and were chosen for their mentorship background.
At the end of each program, each team then has the opportunity to participate in a demo day to pitch their travel commerce innovations to senior Travelport executives, investors and other potential business development partners from across the travel industry.
Startups accepted to the Incubation program will also have access to Travelport’s team of experienced product managers, designers, developers and coaches as well as a wide range of other experts from across the company’s 3,400 employees globally.
Additionally, participants will have access to Travelport’s APIs, software development kits (SDKs) and data feeds, as well as invaluable feedback from Travelport’s customers including travel agencies and travel content providers such as airlines, hotels and car hire companies.
As part of its hosting program, Travelport will also provide practical support such as office space and other support services.
The first Incubator session is planned to begin this year and follows a similar incubation program that has been running internally for Travelport employees.
10. Etihad touches down in Brisbane
A senior delegation touched down in Brisbane this week to commemorate Etihad’s inaugural nonstop Brisbane to Abu Dhabi flight.
The new route commenced on Tuesday and replaces the one-stop service, which the airline previously operated via Singapore.
The first flight touched down at 5.50pm where it was met by a traditional water cannon salute.
Senior executives from Tourism and Events Queensland, Brisbane Airport Corporation and Etihad Airways gathered at Brisbane Airport to celebrate the brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner services, which will offer First Class on the route for the first time ever.
Pictured [L-R]: Leanne Coddington – CEO of Tourism and Events Queensland, Charles Morley – Manager Queensland and New Zealand for Etihad Airways, Julieanne Alroe – CEO and Managing Director of Brisbane Airport Corporation, Andrew Brodie – General Manager Airline and Retail Management at Brisbane Airport Corporation and Sarah Built – General Manager Australia and New Zealand for Etihad Airways.
Etihad Airways’ cabin crews members Denya Glover (left) and Gemma Hughes (right) are also pictured.
NTK Extra: 15 most visited cities around the world
Old favourites continue to reign while new destinations surprise us in the latest list of 15 most visited cities around the world.
MasterCard has released the annual Global Destinations Cities Index ranking the top 132 most frequented cities in 2015.
The list is driven by insights into travel patterns and according to MasterCard research will see nearly 383 million overnight trips made by international visitors between the country’s listed in 2015.
