HKIA gets smarter. Drone drama at Marina Bay. Sun and Moon rise with TA Network. More.
Smart travel, from home to gate at HKIA
The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has officially launched the world’s first Smartphone Express Bag Drop Service as part of its Flight Token smart technology.
The new service enables passengers to complete online check-in and scan their travel docume [...]
Swiipr vs Crowdstrike. Kanagawa calling digital nomads. Travel agents to the rescue. More.
Travel agents to the rescue
Searching and booking travel directly from travel providers has become more time-consuming and complicated than ever, according to Travelport’s 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report.
The report combines international independent research, cross-industry comparisons [...]
Solo female travellers. Hotel Switch launches. Thailand’s long stayers. Qatar’s inflight connectivity. More.
Hotel Switch a breeze for agents
Trip Affiliates Network has taken the wraps off Hotel Switch, a connectivity tool to provide access to a broad network of hotel affiliates.
TA Network says Hotel Switch enhances travel agents’ ability “to offer a wide range of accommodation, manage booking [...]
Travelex boosts your spending power. Travelport’s content search. Byway gets €5.9 million. More.
Travelex adds bahts and krones to its card
Good news for those travelling to popular destinations in Europe and Asia. Foreign exchange brand Travelex has added seven currencies to its pre-paid currency card, the Travelex Money Card (TMC).
Customers can now upload and spend Norwegian krone, Danis [...]
Perfect match for HBX and PerfectStay. Smailing and TA Network team-up. Union Pay’s summer deals. More.
HBX, Perfect Stay get personal
HBX Group is accelerating the global rollout of HBX Group and PerfectStay curated travel experiences to a wider selection of clients, enabling them to offer monetisable travel experiences directly to their customers.
Since 2023, HBX Group has been collaborating w [...]
Hassle-free airport security. Japan’s easy restaurant booking. Counting flamingos in Botswana. More.
Airport security without the hassle
The Airport Authority Hong Kong is introducing a smart security screening system at Hong Kong International Airport.
The new system will be put into service across all terminals in phases from July.
Passengers using the new smart security screening channels [...]
Good news from SITA. Learn languages with Memrise. RateHawk swoops on Asia. More.
RateHawk builds its nest in Singapore
RateHawk, a B2B online system for booking hotels, air tickets, and transfers for travel professionals, is launching operations in the Asian region, from its Asian headquarters in Singapore.
Dubai-based RateHawk is entering the region with a platform locali [...]
McKinsey’s ‘golden age’ tech. Costco and Mystifly simplify. Spotnana flies with Kyte. Tech czars want EPL.
McKinsey’s tech for a ‘golden age’ of travel
More people are traveling to less visited destinations, luxury-hospitality is growing faster than any other industry segment, and younger generations show significant, growing interest in travel, according to a new McKinsey report.
In addition [...]
Meta flies with Lufthansa. PKFARE’s branded fares. Tipping treat for guides. More.
Meta flies with Lufthansa
Lufthansa is partnering with Meta, Facebook's parent company, to enhance the inflight experience in its newly launched Allegris Business Class.
The initiative marks the first time an airline will offer Meta’s Quest 3 headsets in a commercial inflight setting.
As pa [...]
Emirates flies with Spotnana. Expedia powers Cathay. Swiipr eases disruption. SITA goes swimming. More.
Heading out to the best real-life experiences
Headout has acquired the team behind start-up Dabble to help build a generation of AI-powered travel experiences for Headout users.
Dabble, founded by Neil Mathew, Prasenjit Mukherjee and Yan Ma, “sits at the intersection of AI, computer vision and [...]
