The Top 5 Travel Trends for 2012: what the experts are thinking

Here are the Top 5 travel trends to affect the APAC region

1.       The world is increasingly social and mobile - think smart-phones, tablets, e-readers - and is inhabited by rising numbers of tech-savvy consumers. Social and mobile are not going away so now more than ever travel companies must keep pace

2.       Understanding, influencing, differentiating and delighting a customer during all stages of the travel experience will be the key to survival

3.       Travel search is becoming more complex and must increasingly focus on personalization and socialization

4.       Domestic and international travel will continue to grow rapidly in APAC so understanding the consumer in these markets and innovating for a growing middle class will yield benefits 

5.       All businesses aim to thrive so revenue generation across all platforms will be an ongoing theme. And of course the inevitable return on investment question from social media and mobile efforts is not going away either

Source: Eye for Travel        

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Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Australia launch Virgin Skies campaign

Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America and Virgin Australia have teamed for the first time to launch a joint marketing campaign which features a digital and offline advertising blitz in the Los Angeles market, the launch of a new website, Virgin Skies, and an upcoming short film produced onboard the three carriers — all to tout the supposedly common Virgin flying experience.

In addition to highlighting this shared DNA and the three airlines’ footprints in the Los Angeles market, the joint advertising campaign is geared to publicize the three airlines’ global frequent flyer partnership. All of this marketing and frequent flyer coziness makes sense for the Virgin brand, but could raise eyebrows among some critics because, as the announcement points out, “Virgin America is a US-controlled and operated airline and an entirely separate company from Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is a minority shareholder in Virgin America.”

US laws bars majority foreign ownership of US airlines and the Virgin Group’s stake in Virgin America was a sticking point among some in the run-up to regulatory approval. Critics had unsuccessfully argued that the Virgin Group would actually control Virgin America.

  Source: tNooz  

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eTicketing now available to Amtrak Heartland flyer train passengers

Amtrak has begun eTicketing on the Heartland Flyer, which operates daily in Oklahoma and Texas. Passengers can now make reservations and print their electronic tickets from home or the office.

The eTicketing program provides passengers increased flexibility when making or changing reservations and eliminates the need to obtain traditional paper tickets. Passengers will now have the ability to print their eTickets themselves. A receipt will be e-mailed to the passenger with the eTicket attached as a printable document. Those passengers using their smartphones can also present their eTicket to the conductor by simply opening the eTicket document from their e-mail to display the barcode for scanning.

For this initial version of eTicketing, eTickets will be issued to passengers who have one way or round-trip reservations on the Heartland Flyer. Passengers with more complicated bookings will continue to receive traditional paper value tickets, including when they:

• Are traveling beyond the Heartland Flyer route

• Have purchased a Multi-Ride Ticket; (e.g., monthly or ten-trip ticket)

• Have a group ticket

• Are paying travel on the train

• Have purchased travel at a travel agency or corporate travel office

Source: Breaking Travel News           

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Thomas Cook has secured its future with a new loan agreement

Lenders have agreed to extend the maturity of the loans until May 2015, which Thomas Cook said placed the group on a much firmer footing.

The deal, pulled off by Group interim chief executive Sam Weihagen, also allows Thomas Cook to keep net proceeds from certain disposals to provide additional liquidity.

"The announcement highlights the confidence our lenders have in Thomas Cook and we are delighted that they have demonstrated their on-going support," he said.  However, the new deal will cost Thomas Cook a 1% amendment fee and the banks will be granted warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares, representing 5% of the issued share capital of the Group, at an exercise price of €0.10 per share.

The Thomas Cook Board has completed its strategic review, announced last year, which includes reducing its debt by shedding its assets, including the sale and leaseback of 17 to 19 aircraft, negotiations for which were at an advanced stage, said Weihagen. So far, the company has reduced its debt by £1.35m, including most recently the disposal of the Explorers Hotel in France. The Board will seek shareholder approval for the disposal of HCV hotels later this month..

Source: Travel Daily News           

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Indian Carriers Default On Airport Charges

All but two major airlines in India have defaulted on paying airport charges, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday.

Indigo, the only profitable airline in the country, and privately-held Go Air have not defaulted on airport payments, Singh told lawmakers in a written reply.

The government has initiated legal action against Kingfisher Airlines "towards dishonour of the cheques submitted" by the carrier, while Jet Airways and SpiceJet have been served notices on overdues, Singh said.

Source: Airwise