The Millennium Foundation today officially launched the Massivegood program for corporate travel channels. Designed to collect "micro-contributions" from travelers when they book airline flights, hotel stays or car rentals as part of the effort to fight HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis, Massivegood has secured commitments to facilitate corporate travel donations from travel management companies American Express Business Travel, BCD Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and online booking tool providers Amadeus (e-Travel), iFAO (Cytric) and Sabre (GetThere). "Companies now have an easy way to demonstrate commitment to global health with the launch of Massivegood's corporate program, which lets them integrate a simple donation solution into their corporate travel systems," according to a Millennium Foundation statement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced "a national ecological air traffic charge on all passengers" departing German airports, expected to generate €1 billion annually. According to Reuters the tax would amount to €8 to €16 per ticket. The International Air Transport Association opposed the tax, calling it "a cash-grab by a cash-strapped government" that provides "no environmental benefit."

The oneworld alliance formally invited India's Kingfisher Airlines to join. Oneworld members expect Kingfisher to begin full participation within 18 to 24 months. Oneworld founder British Airways reached a bilateral codeshare deal with Kingfisher, with implementation planned for later this month.

Travelport and Lan signed a "global full-content agreement" providing Travelport-connected agencies and corporations access to all of the carrier's fares and inventory.

IATA reversed its 2010 air industry forecast to a $2.5 billion global profit from the $2.8 billion loss it had projected in March. The International Air Transport Association cited a recovering global economy that has generated a "strong" rebound in overall traffic to "pre-recession levels" and a "sharp" increase in business travel. "Despite earlier fears that the financial crisis would result in a structural change to the premium market, it now appears to be recovering cyclically in many regions--alongside improvements in global trade," according to IATA. "World trade is still rising sharply and surveys show business confidence, outside Europe, has regained pre-recession levels." The group expects the airline sector in all regions to post overall net profits, except Europe, where it predicted a $2.8 billion loss.

Wyndham Hotel Group agreed to acquire the Tryp hotel brand from Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts for approximately $43 million. There are 91 Tryp-branded hotels throughout Europe and South America, which still would be owned, operated and managed by Sol Melia, but Wyndham would rename them, "develop [the brand] globally and market the hotels cooperatively through central reservations systems and loyalty programs," according to Wyndham.

HRG Germany partnered with local business travel booking and agent technology provider onseto for an "integrative online booking infrastructure [that] connects companies with their travel agencies" and suppliers. "Offering a data and transaction administration, onesto is an online solution for realizing a standardized online booking infrastructure," according to onesto's site. HRG separately owns a corporate self-booking solution and other technology, which it recently decided to market to other distribution providers.

Emirates Airline ordered from Airbus 32 additional A380 super-jumbo aircraft and now has 90 total firm orders. Valued at US$11.5 billion (AED 42.2 million), the new order would help Emirates "become a world leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel," according to the company.