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The post ABTA provides submission to BEIS Select Committee on flight cancellations appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

ABTA has provided a written submission to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee which has been looking at the difficulties some passengers experienced when travelling over the May half-term period.

In a letter from Chief Executive Mark Tanzer, ABTA highlights the valuable role – and passion – travel agents have both in helping their customers organise their holiday as well as supporting them in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.

The submission also aims to provide MPs on the Committee with contextual information and background on the impact of the pandemic on the travel industry, including how Government decisions not to offer sector-specific support, and to withdraw furlough support significantly ahead of the lifting of travel restrictions, have worsened the recruitment challenges facing travel businesses.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive at ABTA – The Travel Association said: “It’s important MPs on the Committee understand the travel industry’s complex supply chain. Travel agents in particular are wholly reliant on the published inventories and flight schedules of airlines and tour operators and have no control over some of the operational issues seen in recent weeks. The hearing rightly focused on what had happened and how the companies involved responded, but we felt it was necessary and helpful for the Committee to hear from the wider industry.

“It’s also important these recent issues continue to be put into context. For anyone caught up in the delays or cancellations it will have been a stressful and upsetting time, but most people were able to travel without issue. This is something we continue to emphasise in all of our communications – with media, politicians and consumers.

“We continue to work hard to make sure that politicians don’t lose sight of the challenging environment the whole industry has had to operate in over recent years and the solutions the industry needs to support its recovery. Government does need to act to make the recruitment process easier and should look at adding the aviation-specific jobs to the UK’s shortage occupations list, which would enable staff to be hired more easily from abroad.”

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The post Cebu Pacific adds flights to Manila and Cebu from Singapore appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

The Philippines’ leading airline, Cebu Pacific (CEB), continues to boost its international network as it ramps up flights to two of its largest hubs, Manila and Cebu from Singapore. 

CEB doubles its daily frequency between Singapore and Manila on July 1 as it adds another morning schedule option for all. Flight 5J 814 is scheduled to depart Changi Airport at 10:15am and is set to arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 2:00pm. Singapore-bound flight from Manila, Flight 5J 813, is scheduled to depart Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 5:35am and is set to arrive at Changi Airport at 9:20am. 

On July 16, CEB intends to restart its flights between Singapore and Cebu, beginning with a thrice weekly frequency (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). Flight 5J 548 is scheduled to depart Changi Airport by 4:00am and is set to arrive at Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 at 8:05am. Flight from Cebu to Singapore, 5J 547, which operates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, is scheduled to depart Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 at 11:05pm, and set to arrive at Changi Airport by 3:00am the following day. 

“We are delighted to continue ramping-up our international flight frequencies, not only in Manila, but also in Cebu. We know majority of the travelling public have been looking forward to fly abroad again, especially since a lot of countries, including the Philippines, have eased their restrictions. We continue to work towards the expansion of our international network while we maintain operating over 100% of our pre-pandemic domestic capacity,” said Xander Lao, CEB Chief Commercial Officer. 

Fully vaccinated travelers flying to the Philippines are no longer required to submit a pre-departure COVID 19 test if they received primaries series of COVID-19 vaccine and at least 1 COVID-19 booster shot. They must present their proof of full vaccination (VaxCertPH or BOQ Yellow Card) before departure.  

All passengers must register for One Health Pass before going to the airport to avoid delays in checking in. They must save the unique transaction number once registration is complete. This number is needed to fill-up the electronic Health Declaration Certificate (e-HDC) on the same link. Upon completion, each passenger will be issued a personal QR code. This must be presented upon check-in for the flight, and upon arrival in the Philippines.  

CEB continues to offer its guaranteed low fares to stimulate travel across its flight network which covers the widest Philippine destinations. It continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, while it operates with a 100% fully vaccinated crew, 95% of whom have been boosted – all to ensure every Juan flies safely and conveniently on Cebu Pacific. 

The post Cebu Pacific adds flights to Manila and Cebu from Singapore appeared first on Travel Daily.

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The post Airbnb launches new safety product for solo travellers appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily.

Airbnb strives to be a place where anyone can belong and feel safe while travelling. One strength is in the flexibility we offer to our guests through our over 6 million listings. From group trips; to business travel; to solo exploration — no matter what you’re looking for, you should be able to find and book it on Airbnb.

As the “live anywhere” phenomenon has taken off among people who are able to work remotely, our platform has become increasingly integral to solo travellers. In 2021, 26% of all nights booked on Airbnb were by solo travellers, and more than 50% of nights booked for long-term stays during the first quarter of 2022 were for solo travellers.

We recognize that the trust and safety of our solo traveller community is critical. As we saw the solo travelling and “live anywhere” trends begin to accelerate, our Trust team began working last year on a new product aimed at promoting a safe and secure experience for solo travellers, and we’re proud to announce it today.

Our new Solo Traveller in-app experience is specifically designed to better support safe solo travelling on Airbnb. When a solo guest books a private or shared room reservation, we will activate a specialised in-app experience, starting with supplying the traveller with expert tips they may want to try to help stay safe when travelling alone.

The key component of this new feature is the ability for the solo traveller to easily share, with one touch, their reservation itinerary with the important and trusted people in their lives for added peace of mind and in the rare event of an emergency during a stay. The itinerary includes: listing address, reservation code, and check-in and out dates.

Once the reservation is confirmed, in the message thread with the Host, the traveller will see automated prompts by Airbnb suggesting questions to ask the Host about the listing and surrounding neighbourhood. These suggested questions stem from research with experienced solo travellers who provided detail on the types of local insights that helped them stay safe while on the road.

This feature is initially being rolled out for English-speaking guests. At this time, it will focus on bookings by solo travellers to private rooms or shared spaces. We plan to introduce this feature to additional countries and languages in the coming year, as well as expand it to include entire home listings as well.

Additionally, we recognize that female solo traveller safety is top of mind for the travel community right now. As we began developing the product, it became apparent that this could benefit all solo travellers, so the in-app experience will be made accessible to guests regardless of their gender identity.

Our hope is this new product will better equip solo travellers on Airbnb to be more informed travellers by getting their pre-trip questions answered, giving them a better understanding of their surroundings, and informing the important people in their lives about where they will be and for how long.

This new feature complements our longstanding products and tools to promote safer travel experiences. Other in-app products like the 24-hour Safety Line are available to all travellers during active reservations. If a guest ever feels unsafe, they’ll get priority access to specially-trained safety agents, day or night.

We also make our Local Emergency Services in-app feature available to all Airbnb users 24/7, regardless of whether or not they are in the middle of an Airbnb reservation. With one touch, this feature quickly connects the user to local emergency services (i.e. 999) — which could be particularly helpful for solo travellers who are travelling abroad in countries where they do not know the phone number off-hand for local police. This feature was recently extended to 70 countries and regions, with more to come.

Lastly, all Airbnb users have the option to add one Emergency Contact to their Airbnb profile.

In the rare circumstance that Airbnb needs to contact someone on your behalf, adding an emergency contact can help quicken that process. This can be found in Account Settings in the Personal Info tab towards the bottom of the page and only visible to Airbnb.

The post Airbnb launches new safety product for solo travellers appeared first on Travel Daily.

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