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9 March 2010 Marriott International by 2015 plans to open 30 new properties in Europe, doubling to 80,000 its room count in the region. The company announced it would add hotels in such cities as Ankara, Budapest, and Moscow. 2 March 2010 NBTA Europe scheduled its European conference for 6 September to 8 September in Lisbon, looking to attract travel managers with "pan-European responsibility." 23 February 2010 India's Kingfisher Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding to join the oneworld alliance, subject to Indian regulatory approval. "The process to bring any airline on board normally takes around 18 months to complete, so Kingfisher Airlines could be expected to start flying as part of oneworld during 2011," according to the alliance's press statement. 23 February 2010 Lufthansa pilots agreed to suspend strike activity through 8 March, and the airline said a normal intercontinental flight schedule would resume on 26 February. 22 February 2010 A four-day walkout by Lufthansa pilots is expected to cost the airline thousands of flights, mainly domestic, as the carrier maintains international service on routes where it has no alliance partner and otherwise seeks to accommodate passengers on partner airlines, The New York Times reported. Lufthansa is rebooking domestic passengers on trains where possible, and has estimated that the action would cost it €25 million (US$34 million) per day. The union is seeking to block Lufthansa from moving jobs to the lower pay scales of foreign subsidiaries; the airline has offered to guarantee this until 2012. 15 February 2010 FCm named Rob Dell to the new post of global sales leader, to place "greater emphasis on the coordination of its global sales network." Dell had been serving as FCm Travel Solutions' senior director in the Asia-Pacific region. His responsibilities include "developing a national and regional sales strategy for the large client market." 15 February 2010 An antitrust immunity request by American Airlines and Japan Airlines includes plans for joint corporate and travel agency deals. The carriers submitted their application to the U.S. Department of Transportation after JAL decided to remain with AA in the oneworld alliance. "It is anticipated that the joint business agreement will be expanded to other oneworld members and other geographic regions as the alliance's integration deepens and matures," according to the request. 15 February 2010 DOT tentatively and conditionally approved antitrust immunity for American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian. The five-way immunity request would enable joint corporate contracting and other coordinated activities. AA, BA and Iberia also intend to establish a three-way joint venture. Among DOT's conditions are the divestiture of four pairs of slots at London Heathrow by the oneworld partners to unaffiliated airlines. Interested parties have until 30 March to file comments. 12 February 2010 ACTE named Ikea global travel purchaser Yves Galimidi as regional chair in Europe. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives also appointed for second terms as regional chairs Microsoft Asia travel manager Georgie Farmer in Asia-Pacific and Jumeirah Group corporate sales director Imran Changezi in Middle East/Africa. 11 February 2010 Marriott International's "group room nights on the books" are down about 2 percent year over year, according to COO Arne Sorenson. "Still, with pent-up demand and easy comparables, we expect our in-the-year-for-the-year group business to improve from these levels." CFO Carl Berquist also highlighted "improving transient and group demand" in Europe and the United Kingdom, "better-than-expected corporate demand" in China and stronger "last-minute corporate demand" in Australia and Korea. Overall, Marriott is tracking occupancy growth across all segments, particularly the hardest-hit luxury segment.
11 February 2010 Egencia for the December quarter reported a 24 percent year-over-year jump in gross bookings to $389 million, the highest quarterly total since mid-2008. For full-year 2009, gross bookings slid 9 percent to $1.4 billion. "Egencia meaningfully outpaced competitor growth in Q4 while adding nine additional countries through localized partnerships," said Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO of Egencia parent Expedia Inc. "The fundamentals are getting a bit better, especially on the business travel side. Egencia really is showing nice strength. It is a combination of same-store sales getting better, businesses starting to travel again and also very strong sales on the new account front."
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