BTN Expert Q&A

Air Canada's sales team has gotten a new leader in recent weeks, as John MacLeod takes over as VP global sales and alliances. His predecessor, Duncan Bureau, is now president of Air Canada low-cost carrier Rouge. MacLeod joined Air Canada about 18 months ago as VP of commercial strategy, moving from a sales role at Virgin... Keep Reading

XL Airways CEO Laurent Magnin sees the heated competition among low-cost carriers on transatlantic routes as validation. "Everyone told me 10 years ago that long haul, low cost is impossible," he said. "Ten years after, low cost is continuing to grow." Over that decade, XL also has explored the other side of the... Keep Reading

Carlson Wagonlit Travel president and CEO Kurt Ekert talked with BTN contributing editor Amon Cohen about the competitive landscape and the digital innovations his mega travel management company is working on for customers.... Keep Reading

On Oct. 29, Turkey plans to open Istanbul New Airport, also known as Istanbul Grand Airport, unlocking the potential for significant capacity growth to and through the Turkish metropolis. Istanbul's current main airport, Ataturk, is limited to 70 million passengers each year. The new airport's five runways will be able to... Keep Reading

International SOS co-founder, chairman and CEO Arnaud Vaissie sat down with BTN editor-in-chief Elizabeth West at ISOS’s third annual Duty of Care Summit & Awards to discuss the company’s strategy in a market that has gained a high profile among corporates in the past five years.... Keep Reading

Responding to increased competition from low-cost carriers, Virgin Atlantic in March reconfigured its economy class cabinwith three options: delight, classic and light. Chief commercial officer Shai Weiss spoke with BTN associate editor JoAnn DeLuna about that and how the carrier is adjusting to other changes, including... Keep Reading

Though a longtime powerhouse in the European car rental industry, German car rental company Sixt established its U.S. presence less than a decade ago. This year, Sixt continues its expansion into new U.S. markets, and it expects the U.S. eventually will be its biggest market, according to Stuart Donnelly, senior director of... Keep Reading

WTMC CEO Sarosh Waghmar is breaking away from entrenched corporate travel industry paradigms by building proprietary technology and pursuing a New Distribution Capability strategy that he says will disintermediate traditional distribution pathways and make established global distribution systems just another shelf from which... Keep Reading

This summer will mark two years since AccorHotels acquired the FRHI brand. The deal immediately gave Accor presence in North America, which had been a relative white space in Accor's portfolio. But, as with many M&A transactions, early days have been filled with lessons and surprises, and where the companies expected to find... Keep Reading

After years of explanation and debate as a part of the education blitz to build acceptance of its New Distribution Capability standards, the International Air Transport Association views 2018 as the year when it finally begins to focus on pushing transaction volumes in the standard. IATA NDC program director Yanik Hoyles... Keep Reading