BCD Travel and FCm Travel Solutions added partners to their respective global travel management networks. BCD Travel acquired travel management company Travelflow of Sweden, effectively doubling its presence in the market, and struck a deal with Israel's Business Travel Center Ltd. FCm partnered with Argentina's Action Travel and Koch Overseas de Mexico, which between them claim clients including ABN Amro, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Daimler Chrysler, General Electric, Intel, Monsanto, Nestle, Nissan, Philips and Volkswagen.

Annual travel and entertainment spending on corporate cards in 2006 increased 20 percent globally, according to an Aberdeen Group survey of 263 enterprises, underwritten by Visa and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. Regional T&E spending increases included 44 percent in Asia-Pacific, 24 percent in Europe, 22 percent in North America and 17.5 percent in Latin America. Two-thirds of all respondents cited usage mandates as the top growth driver for corporate card programs.

Officials from the United States and China signed a new civil aviation agreement that calls for an additional 13 daily flights operated by U.S. carriers between the two countries by 2012. The deal also allows the United States to designate an additional airline to serve China in 2007, and two more in 2009.

Virgin Group is planning an all-business class service, according to published reports. A Virgin spokesperson told Reuters that the first flights would start "in the next 12 to 18 months" while chairman Richard Branson told ABTN that the operation initially could include services from London to Frankfurt, Milan, New York, Paris and Zurich. British Airways also is reportedly considering business class-only flights across the Atlantic.

Hilton Hotels Corp. announced plans for three "major development alliances" that over the next five years would result in at least 55 new properties in the Caribbean, Central America, Ireland, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Global distribution system operator Amadeus reached a deal with British Airways "for the distribution of the airlines' fares and inventory to Amadeus travel agencies and corporations."