Insider news & notes from your business travel authority
JANUARY 2017
UPINTHEAIR
Interchangeable aircraft cabins on the horizon?
Airbus' Silicon Valley-based innovation subsidiary plans to have a passenger aircraft with interchangeable modular interiors ready for demonstration within "a few years."
BA will renovate U.S. airport facilities
British Airways will invest $110 million to improve its U.S. airport facilities over the next five years. The bulk of that, $65 million, will improve check-in, security checkpoints, gates and lounges at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 7. British Airways also will improve lounges in Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Houston, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle.
New DOT rule would require informing fliers about in-flight phone use
Travel Weekly--The DOT on Thursday proposed a rule requiring airlines and ticket to inform passengers at the start of the sales process if an airline allows in-flight phone calls. The move is necessary, the department said, because existing Federal Communications Commission rules, while banning phone calls on certain frequencies, don't cover WiFi and some other frequencies on which calls can now be made.
HOTELNEWS
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TRAVELTECH
LoungeBuddy mobile app
You've had a grueling flight and just landed for a long layover. LoungeBuddy hosts reviews, entry requirements and amenities for lounges at more than 800 airports worldwide. The app will keep track of your eligibility for entry (including information from airline miles, memberships and credit cards) and your lounge must-haves, and filter the best options for you. Free for iOS and Android. Requires Wi-Fi.
Download LoungeBuddy.
Short-haul wi-fi connectivity update
International Airlines Group will outfit as many as 341 short-haul aircraft with high-speed, inflight Wi-Fi through an agreement with Inmarsat's European Aviation Network. The 4G broadband service will appear on a British Airways A321 aircraft in summer 2017 and expand to Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling aircraft later in the year and giving 90 percent of its airlines' combined fleet high-speed connectivity by 2019.
ROADLIFE
2017 Business Trends Survey
Travel Leaders Group forecasts steady growth for corporate travel. Survey reveals business travelers most concerned with flight delays and airplane seating.
Corporate travel policy: reality vs what travelers think
Business Travel News--What a company's travel policy is and what travelers think the policy is are disconnected.
THEGREATESCAPE
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