SAN FRANCISCO — Uber chose Dara Khosrowshahi, who leads the online travel company Expedia, to be its chief executive on Sunday, two people with knowledge of the decision said. The selection capped a contentious search process as the ride-hailing company seeks to move past a turbulent period. Mr. Khosrowshahi emerged as the leading candidate from a field of three finalists over a weekend of Uber board meetings, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were confidential. Continue to read the full article here on the NYTimes  |  August 28,  2017   |||

According to the CWT Connected Traveler Study, released today by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, business travelers are bringing more devices, and feel more productive as they are on the road conducting business. The survey of more than 1,900 business travelers found that travelers on average carry four different types of technology (mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc.), with the smartphone being the one “travel tool they can’t live without,” as more than 80% of travelers across the globe rely on their phone to conduct business. Global findings With technology, most travelers (88%) believe travel is easier to navigate today. This has led…

Sick of those cramped, seemingly ancient economy airline cabins? Well, we’ve got good news.  Today Qantas announced a whole lotta’ cabin upgrade plans for its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s. Why? To improve passenger comfort obviously – especially on those 26-hour flights to Europe every single young Aussie takes each winter. The announcement was made alongside a Melbourne Domestic Lounge and an evaluation of new ultra-long range Qantas International aircraft in Qantas’ full-year results this morning. The results also showed that Qantas’ performance was down over eight per cent from last year – but that didn’t stop them from making…

Air New Zealand is to further grow its operations to Samoa with a move to fly up to six Dreamliner services a week to Apia during the peak season. The airline will operate between four and six weekly services using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between April and October 2018. Between November 2017 and March 2018 Dreamliner aircraft will operate three services a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Other services will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A320 aircraft. Air New Zealand’s Senior Manager Pacific Islands Brent Roxburgh says the move to operate more widebody services comes in response to…

Air New Zealand is poised to launch its first ever global brand campaign showing international travellers why the airline is A Better Way to Fly to New Zealand. The campaign will kick off in the US on Thursday night (Friday afternoon NZT) with a star-studded event in Los Angeles then roll out progressively across the UK, Europe, Asia and South America in coming months. It’s set to feature New Zealand’s own Sam Neill (Hunt for the Wilderpeople; Jurassic Park) as the voice of CGI character Pete, a kiwi who wants to see the world but is hampered by his inability…

Research, commissioned by Cathay Pacific and published in Travel Weekly via the pen 0f Hannah Edensor  shows that despite the average Aussie traveller snapping on average 33 pictures a day, 78 per cent of Aussies believe they're in real danger of missing out on holiday memories because they're  too focused on taking photos or posting on social media. Seven out of ten people surveyed wished they had more ways to remember their holiday experiences. The research shows this ‘snap and dash’ culture means thousands of Aussies are spending too much time capturing and revisiting their holiday through a screen, and…

China is to start running the world’s fastest train service between Beijing and Shanghai, with trains eventually hurtling along the track at up to 400 kph, making them a viable alternative to flying the sector. The Fuxing fast bullet trains will initially run at a slower speed of 350 kph on the route. Service will begin in just one month, on 21 September 2017, China Railway Corporation has confirmed. Fuxing is not an adjective. It means rejuvenation, with national rejuvenation being a slogan promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The train has been put into service initially on two railway…

Air New Zealand customers at Sydney Airport will get to experience the role robots may play in future travel journeys this week.  Click here to watch Air New Zealand’s Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan and CommBank’s Tiziana Bianco explore the future of travel with social robots. The airline is partnering with CommBank in a five-day experiment utilising Chip CANdroid, the bank’s social humanoid robot, which will interact with and assist Air New Zealand customers checking in and at the gate prior to boarding. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says “this partnership and experiment with Commbank and Chip…

Bartlett School of Architecture graduate Cassidy Reid has designed a concept for a high-speed transport network based on Hyperloop to create infrastructural and cultural corridors across Europe, and shrink travel time between cities. Connecting London to Krakow in just one hour and ten minutes, and passing through Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt and Prague, Reid's Pan-European Corridor network leverages newly developed Hyperloop technology to make Europe's cultural corridor easily commutable while also helping to connect deprived communities that have been "left behind" by globalisation. Hyperloop is the vision of entrepreneur Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, PayPal and space exploration company…

Virgin Australia has claimed that it will be the first Australian airline to offer Wi-Fi on international flights. The airline, which has invested in installing Gogo’s 2Ku service, also announced that it will offer a base-level free Wi-Fi service to all of its passengers on domestic flights. Once the rollout is complete, more than 90% of Virgin Australia’s fleet will be fitted with the 2Ku solution on both domestic and international aircraft. Passengers will be able to check emails and social media, send text messages, catch up on the day’s news, or stream movies and TV shows. The airline is…

Jaclyn Sienna India, president and founder of the decade-old travel consultancy Sienna Charles talks to Industry Week about their role in the world of business travel for the elite. Private jets for execs and their families are almost always reimbursable corporate expenses. Why? Transportation is considered a matter of security, and most CEOs plan travel in tandem with work trips, taking their family with them to Dubai for a few days before jetting off to the Maldives. In the era of the humble brag, it’s harder than ever to know how your boss travels. Assuming he or she is the…