Week In Review

Looking to catch up on the latest in business travel news? Find it here each week, in the Week in Review post.

The Ebola outbreak continues to dominate the news cycle. The New York Times and Buying Business Travel reported on announcements that enhanced screening of passengers will begin as select U.S. and UK airports. NBC News shared survey results showing a majority of Americans want flights banned from Ebola countries. USA Today talked about what you can expect when it comes to Ebola and air travel. You can find a more comprehensive list of articles and resources on Ebola and business travel right here on the GBTA blog.

Despite very serious issues like this, business travel keeps on ticking. On Tuesday, GBTA released its quarterly U.S. business travel forecast predicting a nearly 7 percent increase in business travel spending in 2014 to $292.3 billion. Charisse Jones of USA Today wrote that U.S. businesses are spending more on work-related travel, as employees pack more time and tasks into their corporate treks. Amy Langfield of CNBC said that business travelers are traveling less, but spending more.

Skift reported on technology’s role in disrupting and changing the meetings industry.

The New York Times’ Matt Krupnick talked about business travel and Airbnb. He interviewed GBTA’s Mike McCormick about how creative and innovative options drive innovation across the marketplace.

When it comes to air travel, if you feel like your seats are shrinking, USA Today says it’s not your imagination. They ask whether it’s time for minimum airline seat standards. They also reported on the world’s largest passenger airplane getting more routes in the United States. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) became the latest U.S. airport to land service on the Airbus A380 last week, joining seven other U.S. airports that already have regular flights on the double-decked airliner. Chicago is where things are at though as Business Traveler reported that O’Hare International Airport has regained its status as the world’s busiest airport for flight operations.

On Wednesday, GBTA announced it is adding capacity for its upcoming conference in Berlin this November as a record number of attendees are expected. Concur Co-Founder and COO Rajeev Singh will take the stage for a keynote at the conference to share insights on how the business travel industry can meet the changing needs of customers as they seek greater visibility and insights into their corporate spend while delivering a better travel experience for the business traveler.

Find yourself spending more time at the airport lately? Well, Mashable reports that U.S. airline delays and cancellations are up slightly from last year’s peak travel season.