BTN Expert Q&A

InterContinental Hotels Group is fresh off a leadership transition. Former chief commercial officer Keith Barr assumed his new role as CEO on July 1, replacing CEO of six years Richard Solomons, who will retire on Aug. 30. But a transition of another sort was already underway at IHG, as SVP of worldwide sales Derek DeCross,... Keep Reading

Choice Hotels International's board of directors has appointed Patrick Pacious CEO to succeed Steve Joyce, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Joyce will become vice chairman upon ceding leadership to Pacious, who also will retain his president title. Joyce has collaborated with the board for "the past several years" to identify a... Keep Reading

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is on a path for growth, not just in the U.S., but also in Europe, where it opened its first property in May, the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam. CEO Mike DeFrino spoke with BTN.... Keep Reading

American Airlines will enact an incentive program to encourage travel agents and content distributors to connect via New Distribution Capability methods. American partner British Airways announced a decidedly different approach few weeks ago in which bookings through global distribution systems will include a surcharge... Keep Reading

Japan Airlines this year finally saw the end of government-imposed restrictions stemming from its bankruptcy protection and now can set its sight on growth. Tokyo's Narita International Airport, meanwhile, is exploring adding a runway and reducing the duration of an overnight curfew on arrivals and departures, which could... Keep Reading

Latin America's aviation industry shows strength this year—traffic in the region increased 16.1 percent year over year in April, according to the International Air Transport Association—and Panama-based Copa Airlines' corporate travel sector is rebounding, as well, Copa Holdings CEO Pedro Heilbron said. Now, the carrier is... Keep Reading

Avis Car Rental plans to double its fleet connectivity in the coming months. About 50,000 of the company's vehicles are "fully connected," which allows customers to access and control such functions as locking doors or flashing headlights through the app and enables monitoring of cars' performance and maintenance. By early... Keep Reading

American Airlines is pouring resources into its sales efforts this year, including a significant buildup of its sales team under SVP of global sales Alison Taylor, as the carrier seeks to reclaim corporate market share. Taylor, who joined the airline from the same role at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, spoke to BTN transportation... Keep Reading

When Oliver Quayle joined KDS to lead product marketing in 2010, he didn't want to "market a terrible product that's just the same as everyone else's." So, Dean Forbes, CEO at the time, told him to fix it, Quayle told BTN payment and expense editor JoAnn DeLuna. By 2012, KDS had launched Neo, a reimagined, mobile corporate... Keep Reading

Tradewind Aviation has established itself as a private jet service to such tony leisure destinations as Martha's Vineyard, St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean and Vermont skiing destination Stowe. But about a year ago, it began targeting corporate travelers with scheduled service between Boston Logan's private terminal and... Keep Reading