News in Brief: November 9 2009

Fuenso, the Business Travel and Meetings Show, Choice Hotels International, Finnair, Radius, Transhotel and SAS...

Spanish hotel chain to launch in Middle East

Spanish hotel company Fuenso has announced plans to expand its Hospes Infinite Places brand into the Middle East.

Two new hotels under the luxury brand are set to open in Beirut and Damascus in 2012, with further expansion into the United Arab Emirates and North Africa in the pipeline.

The group is also looking for a property in London.

Hospes currently operates ten hotels in Spain and France.

www.fuenso.com   www.hospes.com


BA headline sponsor for BTMS

British Airways is to be the leading sponsore of the Business Travel and Meetings Show in London next February.

Centaur, the show organisers, said the UK national carrier was one of a "long line of world-leading business travel suppliers" supporting the event.

As part of its sponsorship, BA will host an exclusive business lounge.
Virgin Atlantic will also be sponsoring the BTMS' executive buyer programme and firstr class lounge with thetrainline and Concur.

 Other show supporters include Sabre Travel Network, which is sponsoring the agents lounge and association partners include Buying Solutions, ITM, NBTA, Paragon and HBAA.

ITM will also be a key contributor to the brand new Advice Clinic alongside Eventia, HBAA, ITM Project Icarus, JMP Consultants and a number of experienced travel managers. 

The show will be held at Earl's Court on February 9-10, 2010.

www.businesstravelshow.co.uk


Choice reports dip in pre-tax earnings

Choice Hotels International reported a lsight dip in pre-tax earnings of $51.7m for the third quarter compared to $64.4m for the same period in 2008.

The chain said operatyignincome fo rthe three months to the end of September was $48.1m  compared to $61.9m last year.

Choice said the outlook for the rest of 2009 remained uncertain because "the current economic environment and credit market conditions and their impact on travel patterns and hotel development activities make it difficult to predict future results."

www.choicehotels.com


Finnair traffic drops by 11%

Finnair traffic dropped by 11% in October compared with the same month in 2008.

Capacity was 12% down compared with last year but the load factor rose by 1% to 78%.

The Finnish national carrier said that its European traffic fell  by nearly 10% in the month weith a 12% cut in capacity while traffcie to Asia dropped by 12% while capacity was down 13%.

Christer Haglund, Finnair's senior vp communications, said: "Capacity was optimally cut to match falling demand.

"Winter is expected to continue to be difficult, so further adjustments to traffic will be made.

"For leisure traffic in particular, the coming winter season will be tough."

www.finnair.com


Radius partners with Transhotel

Radius has announced a new partnership with global travel services provider Transhotel.

The partnership means Radius agencies get access to Transhotel's network of 50,000 hotels worldwide, plus they have a preferred relationship within the Transhotel booking system.

Radius is a group of independently owned travel management companies based in more than 80 countries around the world.

www.transhotel.com   www.radiustravel.com


SAS revenue drops 16.6% in Q3

Operating revenue for SAS dropped by 16.6% to SEK11m (€1m) for the third quarter from SEK13.2m (€1.3m) in the same period last year.

The three months to the end of September also saw a 14.7% drop in passengers but a rise in net income from a SEK1,986m (€191.6m) loss last year to a SEK152m (€14.7m) profit.

For the nine months to the end of September, SAS said its operating revenue dropped 13.8% to SEK34,595m (€3.3bn), passenger numbers were down 15.8% to 18.8m and net income fell from a profit of SEK3,571m (€334.4m) to a loss of SEK1,643m (€158.5m). 

SAS said that during the third quarter, the global economy remained very weak.

It added: For the SAS Group, the third quarter was characterised by an increased load factor, but weaker yield.

"The fall in yield is primarily attributable to lower demand for business travel and increasing competition.

"However, the load factor was strengthened as a result of the comprehensive capacity reductions we implemented in line with the SAS Group's strategic approach, Core SAS, and the many aggressive market initiatives we have carried out."

www.flysas.com