Rewards take a hit. Quicktext and Velma speak your language. Cirium’s trendy data. More.
Reward points losing their power
If you think your airline reward points are losing their value, you would be right. The latest IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey looked at the cost of points redemption across six US airlines - Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Unit [...]
Good news for roos Down Under. Singapore’s Internet speed sets the pace. Amadeus support programme. More.
VW’s life-saving RooBadge
In good news for those taking road trips around Australia, Volkswagen has developed a device that could protect kangaroos and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in vehicle damage.
Developed over three years by Volkswagen Australia and the DDB Group in consultation [...]
Surveying the surveys. Trip.com gets mobile with Amadeus. NusaTrip enters digitalised market. More.
From astro-pads to Spanish accents, there’s a survey for you
Artificial intelligence has spurned the age of the travel survey. Just this week, I’ve been informed about the most difficult accents for Aussies to understand (Spanish), the world’s best cities for singles (Tokyo, followed by Doha) [...]
Booking bullet trains. Azgo cashback. Velma assists Warwick Hotels. More.
Booking the bullet now easier
Tokyo-listed Inbound Platform Corp has launched its Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket service, which includes basic fares, express tickets and ticket issuance via QR codes, for international travellers and foreign residents in Japan.
Through the ‘Japan Bullet Train [...]
TravelAI rescues Casai. Women in the workforce. Jeeves the Snackbot. Hotelbeds of the Caribbean.
Women in the workforce: The Economist crunches the numbers
To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, The Economist has released its annual glass-ceiling index, its measure of the role and influence of women in the workforce.
The publisher looked at 10 indicators—from labour-force partici [...]
Amadeus joins LGBTQ+ Travel Association. Truth about hotels. Trickiest countries for expats. More
Amadeus has pride in its LGBTQ+ stance
Amadeus has joined the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) to help provide more information and resources for LGBTQ+ travellers.
IGLTA, which champions the social and economic impact of LGBTQ+ tourism, said the commitment by Amadeus to inclusiv [...]
Taylor’s terabyte tsunami. AI sidekicks. AA offloads advisors. Yugo flies with Eve.
Taylor Swift’s terabyte tsunami
It wasn’t only the airlines and hotels which had a ball when Taylor Swift performed sell-out shows in Melbourne this week.
Figures released by telco Telstra revealed that during the three nights of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts almost 300,000 people packed insi [...]
Swifties spike Airbnb prices. STB re-engages Traveloka. Penny for her thoughts. More.
Airbnb hosts pull a Swiftie
Pop icon Taylor Swift’s appearances in Melbourne and Sydney in coming days have seen hotels in the two cities booked out – even with room rates going through the roof – while some Airbnb customers feel they been left in the lurch by landlords.
Swifties travellin [...]
China’s outbound spurs partnership. Simplifying Thailand’s long-stayers. Airline IT insights. More.
PKFARE and Umetrip step out together
As China bounces back from the pandemic, the challenge for companies is to seize emerging opportunities in the accelerating outbound travel market – and find the right partners to achieve lasting results.
Cue, PKFARE which has inked a strategic partnership [...]
Schiphol app curbs flight stress. Hilton ready to chat. Visa waiver ignites travel surge. More.
Your watch is your flight buddy
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has created an app for Apple Watch that uses AI and motion sensors to give travellers up-to-date information about their flights. The app tells users when their flight is leaving or arriving, which gate to go to, and provides status updates [...]
