Corporate Travel News: February 2021
Airlines/Airports.
Quarantine-free NZ-AU travel bubble resumes
Australia has resumed the quarantine-free bubble with New Zealand following a temporary suspension of travel by the Australian Government. DFAT has reaffirmed that to qualify for quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia, travellers must have been in New Zealand for 14 days prior to travel to Australia, not including time spent in isolation, and will be subject to pre- and post-flight COVID screening. Quarantine-free travel at the moment is only one way, with New Zealanders able to enter Australia but not vice versa.
Australian ‘triangle’ reopens
Domestic travel restrictions in Australia have eased significantly over the past two weeks, with the much anticipated reopening of the high-traffic business travel ‘triangle’ between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane without restrictions (no testing, quarantine or self-isolation requirements).
VA free booking changes extended
Virgin Australia has extended its fee-free booking changes for bookings made until 31 March 2021. The extended flexibility, part of Virgin Australia’s ‘Passenger Promise’, will see Australian travellers able to make unlimited date changes to their bookings, without incurring any change fees, for bookings made by 31 March 2021 for travel until 30 June 2021.
QF fee-free symptom policy
Qantas has issued a new commercial policy for domestic and trans-Tasman travel, allowing fee-free changes to travel dates if passengers feel they cannot fly due to COVID-19 symptoms. Changes are allowed from seven days prior to departure.
Virgin Australia temporary closes short-haul international
VA has confirmed the closure of all short-haul international services to destinations such as New Zealand until at least 19 June 2021 in response to ongoing international border closures and government restrictions. The airline advised that the decision is temporary and that a resumption of services could be implemented quickly if conditions change.
Emirates suspends UK services
Emirates has been forced to suspend all its flights between the United Kingdom and Australia indefinitely following a UK Government decision to prohibit all air travel to and from the United Arab Emirates. The move temporarily impacts services between the UK and Australia, on which the airline’s UK-UAE connection serves as a key leg.
Qantas extends NDC offers for Frequent Flyers
Qantas has confirmed its NDC-based Qantas Distribution Platform (QDP) now has the capability of positioning special price offers for Qantas Frequent Flyer members when booking via an indirect channels, including Corporate Travel Management (CTM).
Hotels.
IHG rebrand
The Intercontinental Hotels Group has been rebranded to IHG?Hotels &?Resorts as part of a brand refresh which includes a new logo, brand colours, and renaming of its loyalty program to IHG Rewards. The group’s 16 brands have also been split across four categories; Luxury and Lifestyle, Premium, Essentials and Suites.
Hilton Sydney refurb
The Hilton Sydney has unveiled a $25 million refurbishment of its 587 rooms and suites, with new features including updated soft furnishings such as carpets and curtains, European tapware, recliners, bedside lights and new 55 inch Smart TVs.
Information on this page is sourced from third party sources. While effort is taken to verify the accuracy of this information, CTM recommends that travellers seek independent advice and/or information from their CTM travel consultant, CTM travel tools, or direct from their chosen travel suppliers relating to the status of supplier services, schedules and booking conditions as information may change regularly.