In Brief

CWT Germany signs deal with lastminute.com

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) in Germany has signed a partnership deal with online agency lastminute.com to their customers to book individually tailored trips. A statement by CWT said it wanted an equal partner to offer its clients the opportunity to book tourist trips.
Johann Benthin, manager leisure and operations at CWT, said his customers would benefit from the range of offers and advanced technology of lastminute.com.

Iberia launches online check-in

Spanish national carrier Iberia has launched an online check-in service for its domestic routes and most Schengen area flights. The airline said passengers could check-in from any computer up to two hours before the flight with either e-tickets or traditional paper tickets and print their boarding cards.
The service will be available for all flights in the near future.

ELFAA protests again at Alitalia funding

Jan Skeels, secretary-general of the European Low Fares Airline Association, has again protested about alleged state aid in the rescue of Italian carrier Alitalia.
In a letter to three EC commissioners including Jacques Barrot at Transport, Mr Skeels said the rescue plan was a “blatant breach of state aid rules and the so called ‘one time, last time' principle.”
He called on the EC which is due to make a decision next month, to reject the plan.

ACTEAssociation of Corporate Travel Executives: A non-profit association that represents the global business travel industry. It provides executive-level educational programmes and carries out independent industry research. Its members come from all areas of business travel - from corporate buyers to suppliers. Provides members with a forum for sharing ideas and also offers independent advice. Power Talk in Paris

Todd Kramer and Bruno Arbones of the Business Alliance will be among the speakers at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives' Power Talk in Paris on Thursday, June 7.
Topics for discussion will include what self booking and expense management tools are available for travel management.

Swiss reports improved figures

Swiss International Airlines which was taken over by Lufthansa earlier this year, reported a loss on operating activities of €6.5m for the first three months of 2005 compared with a loss of €44.6m for the same period in 2004.
Total revenue for the first three months rose year on year from €547m to €551.6m.

Malev seeks to join oneworld

Malev, the state-owned loss-making Hungarian national carrier has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the oneworld alliance.
The Budapest-based airlines hopes to join the alliance whose members include American Airways and BA, in 2006.
Oneworld managing partner John McCulloch said its members wanted to recruit in regions where it wanted to broaden its network.
Malev ceo Janos Gonci said it was “vital” for his airline to join a global alliance. “In the current state of the airline industry, there is no chance of sustainable earnings for a mid-sized network carrier without partners,” he said.