Week in Review

It was a busy week for business travel news! On Monday, U.S. News & World Report wrote the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger as the new leader for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) by a vote of 81-1. GBTA urged the new TSA administrator to conduct a top-to-bottom independent review of the organization.

Carry-on bags stayed in the news this week after GBTA and others last week called for IATA to permanently scrap their proposal to decrease carry-on baggage size by 20 percent. Travel Daily News reported on a GBTA poll showing travel managers overwhelmingly opposed IATA’s guidelines. Scott McCartney, Middle Seat blogger for The Wall Street Journal wrote about the carry-on bag dilemma saying airlines are promising something they can’t deliver. He interviewed GBTA’s Mike McCormick for the article who called it death by a thousand fees saying it’s not just the issue of carry-on bags itself, but the underlying issues of airlines continually raising prices and adding more fees to the pile.

The Guardian reported that over the weekend around 1,400 passengers of the Polish airline LOT were grounded after hackers attacked the airline ground computer systems used to issue flight plans. A USA Today article warns that this can happen to anyone.

On The Hill’s Congress Blog, GBTA’s Mike McCormick writes about why GBTA opposes a PFC increase.

In hotel news, Travel Daily News reported on a recent survey showing travelers prefer to stay in eco-friendly establishments. They also ran a story on a recent YouGov survey showing a staggering nine in ten (89%) hotel guests across North America said they now want stay-enhancing tech; and it looks like beating queues and quicker service are the driving forces behind it. When it comes to technology in the skies, Skift reports that United wants to improve its connection to passengers by turning to technology.

How quickly do things change in a global economy? The GBTA Foundation for the second time revised its forecast for business travel spend in Brazil down as the country looks to face a tough 2015 before rebounding next year.

IATA confirmed Ryanair is the world’s favorite airline as they carried more international customers than any other airline. USA Today told us what airports you can expect the longest walks from gate-to-gate in.

Travel Daily News reported on a CWT survey showing five key trends transforming business travel. Hotel Marketing looked at how the travel sector can more effectively target online travelers. And, Successful Meetings covered a new whitepaper from GBTA and CIC providing best practices to increase efficiencies for eRFPs.

Finally, I leave you with two lists this week. First, from USA Today – 8 energy hacks to help you survive those 5 am wake up calls for early flights along with Hotel Marketing’s top five trends in mobile travel booking.