»»Awards and Nominations for Czech Airlines

Czech Airlines (CSA) is ranked as the third Central Eastern European airline in the evaluation by business class passengers and first for the quality of service in the economy class. That is what emerged by a survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) among thousand passengers from April to October 2005 flying on eleven European air carriers.

Czech Airlines ranked on top in both the economy and business class categories, with respect to the quality of onboard services such as refreshments served, as well as to passenger satisfaction with the performance of the stewards and stewardess.

CSA also was included in the shortlist of airlines nominated for the OAG “Airline of the Year 2006”. The shortlist, result of a selection made from 38 of the prominent carriers, includes airlines such as British Airways, Emirates, Continental Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas.

The satisfaction of Czech Airlines passengers is expected to increase, as the airline plans to expand its fleet by adding 12 new Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft within next 2 years, that would provide an higher level of comfort.


 

»»Hotels To Replace Comment Cards by E-mails

The major hotel chains, such as Marriott and Hilton, seems to be replacing the paper comment cards and customer surveys with e-mail.

What emerges from this news is the slowness of hotels in responding to tech needs of business travelers. If you consider the largest chains have waited until 2006 to introduce a so little innovation, not surprisingly, that one of the top complaints about the hotel services is their poor Internet access.

Coming to this new system, it will rely on e-mail, ensure accuracy of statistics and timely of the comments delivered by the guests.
Keith L. Alexander on The Washington Post reports that

“E-mail comments give the hotels a quicker sense of how customers felt about their stays […] Previously, it took as much as a week to enter the survey information because someone had to type the results in after they arrived by traditional mail”

But also it will ensure that all comments are recorded, as:

“Some customer comment cards, the hotels had discovered, would disappear when guests left them at the front desk, especially if they contained negative comments about the staff”

Marriott says it switched to e-mails because the majority of its frequent guests were Internet-savvy business travelers.


 

»»Survey Shows Business Travelers Increasingly Unhappy

A survey conducted among 1,600 business travelers by marketing firm YPB&R , published in the past week, revealed how the business trip be increasingly perceived as a tedious experience.

The bad quality of sleeping is the top complaint for business travelers. 47 percent of interviewed travelers do not get enough sleep on business trips, with 29 percent saying that they don’t sleep well when traveling.

They also blamed the quality of bedding, the mattress and linen. Only 49 percent believe the quality of service in hotels is improving - down from 72 percent in 2000. (Source iht.com)

The problems created from the new airport security measures, are the second major complaint.
Poor Internet access and the uncomfortable airline seating also are the causes that make business travelers unhappy.


 

»»MasterCard Announces New Tool To Optimize Travel Programs

MasterCard has announced the introduction of several innovations for corporate customers by the end of the year.

Among them, an online interactive tool that helps companies optimize their own travel programs by benchmarking against similar companies. (Source cpnonline.com)


 

»»Business Class Flyers Push Up Airlines Profits

North Atlantic routes confirmed of being among the most profitable ones and the business travelers the more-profitable passengers.

That is what emerges after British Airways reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.  
Financial analysts say the improvement was driven by rising volumes of premium business class passengers, strong expansion on North Atlantic routes and on routes to China and India - India is British Airways’ second-biggest long-haul destination, after the U.S.

Geoff van Klaveren, an Exane BNP Paribas analyst in London, said

“Strong long-haul premium traffic is driving good results for all the network airlines. British Airways is benefiting because it is the No. 1 long-haul carrier out of Heathrow, and when business travel is good, it does well.'’ (Source)

British Airways stated to have no plans to raise fuel surcharges this year.