The hotel group Swissotel Hotels and Resorts announced plans this month to launch a new property based in Kolkata. The opening will take place this winter and will the first of this brand’s in India. This is welcome news for business travel.

Swissotel, has contracted the Bengal Ambuia Housing Development to manage the hotel which will house 147 rooms. The property will be included in the City Centre – New Town property complex which will also include restaurants, cinema and a shopping centre.

There will be three restaurants within the hotel which will also include an open-air restaurant, a speciality eatery and a poolside and lobby bar. There will be great meeting amenities for business travel with a whopping 1,261 sqm of conference rooms.

The president of Swissotel, Meinhard Huck said:

“India is the world’s second-largest nation. Consumer demand is growing steadily, particularly in the cities and the middle class, which is also growing rapidly and has ever increasing consumption needs. Against this background, we see great potential for our hotel chain and are delighted to have found a well-known partner that appreciates our Swiss values.”

The hotel is built just 3km away from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport, in the Rajarhat district. This area of Kolkata is home to various international commercial and IT businesses. Kolkata is not only the capital of West Bengal but also eastern India’s top financial centre.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Following the arrival of a fourth Airbus A380 to Qantas this month, the airline has been able to increase its Sydney-Singapore-London route from three flights to five per week. The services for Sydney-Los Angeles is set to increase to four times a week from a previous three flights.

A further 20 of the Airbus super jumbos have been ordered and are expected to be aquired fully in 2014.

Another two A380s will arrive later this year and will be used on the Sydney-Los Angeles and Sydney-London routes. These will operate daily and the Melbourne-Los Angeles service will increase from two flights to three per week.

The CEO of Qantas, Allan Joyce said:

“People are seeking out this aircraft. From our customer research, we have seen exceptional ratings in terms of the vehicle’s performance, and passengers are extremely happy with the product. We have never seen such ratings before.”

He went on to say that these high ratings were echoed across all classes but particularly so in the Business Class and First Class groups.

In 2010 the airline will launch three more of the A380 super jumbos enabling business travel on these aircraft on the Melbourne-Hong Kong-London routes. Currently passengers fly via a Boeing 747.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Several business travel news outlets are reporting currently that Excelsis Airways, a new carrier, is due to start flights between Durham Tees Valley and London City.

The BBC were one of the outlets to report in July that the air carrier was due to pick up these flights after BMI pulled out from the Heathrow-Durham route earlier in the year.

The airline has released limited information on the new route on its website www.excelsisairways.com and the BBC reported that the airline is planning to start up three flights per day between the two cities commencing this month. The Bombardier Q400 turbotrop will be used for the flights.

On the airline’s website it states that all passengers will get free access to the lounge at Durham Tees Valley airport. This will include complementary wine, beer and soft drinks during the flight. There is also a chance to design the outside of the airline’s aircraft. The deadline is 19th September for all entries.

However there are no solid dates for when this service will start and Excelsis Airways has commented that there aren’t any interview opportunities available currently.

The addition of a new airline has created quite a stir in the business travel industry however it still remains to be confirmed if Durham will eventually link to the UK capital.

Popularity: 21% [?]

There has been some bad news for business travel this week with the announcement from Easyjet that it will cut flights by 20 per cent out of London Luton airport and cease flying from East Midlands airport completely. The cut price airport blames rising taxes and costs for the decision and says the planes will used at ‘more profitable airlines’.

Until the end of this year flights to and from the East Midlands airport will remain unchanged. This remains the same for Christmas and New Year flights. Flights in Luton will remain as they are until further notice.

The airline held Luton at most fault for the changes accounting the cuts to airport costs rising by 25 per cent in the last three years.

In response London Luton airport said:

“We regret that Easyjet has chosen not to take up the improved commercial terms on offer from the airport, which are highly competitive and which reflect the external cost pressures London Luton airport has had to face over recent years. We will continue to work closely with easyJet in what remains a substantial and important business partnership.”

At East Midlands Easyjet says they prefer to move the three aircraft there to ‘higher priority markets’.

However East Midlands are confident that other low cost airlines will fill this gap ensuring business travel remains unaffected.

Popularity: 18% [?]

There have been plans announced to open the Park Inn Dubai Free Zone hotel by the Rezidor Hotel Group. This hotel will be opening in 2012 and will be conveniently located for business travel just 1.8km from Dubai International Airport and its Terminal 2.

The facilities will appeal to many businesses with its plentiful conference facilities and meeting rooms. There is planned an excellent restaurant offering a wide range of cuisines, leisure facilities including a spa, swimming pool, fitness centre and for those with twinkling toes even a 575 sqm ballroom!

The hotel is to be situated in the Free Zone district of Dubai Airport, a district that houses around 1,300 businesses in the logistics, IT and aviation sectors.

Rezidor is the parent company of Park Inn and has a over 30 airport hotels up and running or in progress across Europe. The Dubai Park Inn marks the first airport hotel for the group in the Middle East. In Egypt this year the Radisson Blu Hotel will open in Cairo. There are further plans for the hotel group to expand into the Middle East as well as Europe and Asia which is fabulous business travel news.

Popularity: 3% [?]

There are plans for the Park Plaza to open the first of its Art’otel in Amsterdam. This hotel will become the tenth of this brand of hotel to be opened by the group and the date for the grand opening is in early 2011. Based in Holland’s capital this is a great addition for business travellers.

The hotel will be situated directly opposite Central station in the Kadaster building. There will be 100 guest rooms available spaces for showcasing art works, and social and cultural events as well as an art café.

This development is part of a project to regenerate the Kadaster building and the surrounding land. Originally the building was Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd’s, a shipping company, head office. In more recent times the building has housed the Amsterdam registry office.

The chief executive and president of the Park Plaza Hotels, Boris Ivesha, was quoted as saying:

“To develop our first Art’otel in Amsterdam is an exciting evolution. With Art’otel Amsterdam, we bring a modern, contemporary and edgy hotel to the city’s accommodation offering, presenting guests who have a passion for art and travel the unique opportunity to literally sleep in an art gallery.”

There are two hotels under the Park Plaza brand already in Amsterdam and these can also be found in close proximity to the Central Station. There are more Art’otel hotels due to be opened with Cologne and Marrakesh opening later this year and another due to be opened in 2012 in London. This lifestyle brand of hotel offers something different to leisure and business travellers from the norm and will delight all art lovers.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Airline, Star Alliance is launching a multi-carrier flight for passengers making several stop offs in northern Asia. The fare is called the Circle North Asia and is for use on flights between China, Korea and Japan.

This fare is ideal for business travel and can be used on ANA, Air China, Shanghai Airlines nad Asiana. The travel path must cover Japan, China and Korea and have at least three stop overs on route. Travel should start and end in the same country but allows travellers to journey within the same region on one single ticket.

First flight reservations are made a week in advance and then the following flights can be booked last minute and swapped at no extra cost. The ticket is then valid for three months from the first booking.

The following travel classes can buy the ticket – business, first and economy and the range of miles travelled will vary according to the travellers needs. On a 4,800 mile journey for economy starting out at Hong Kong you can expect a charge of £667 and a business class ticket will cost £1,065 for the same mileage.

There are a total of 13 Star Alliance fares on offer which includes the Africa Airpass, Europe Airpass and the Round the World far.

Popularity: 12% [?]

This week Ryanair has revealed it is to open new routes from the Esat Midlands, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Gatwick and also cut it’s flights from Manchester.

On 3rd November the flight from Edinburgh to Brussels Charleroi open and will be of particular interest to business travellers. Brussels Charleroi is situated just 46km from central Brussels and now offers a low cost business travel option between the Begian and Scottish capitals. The flights will depart from Edinburgh each Tuesday and Saturday at 1745 and on Thursdays at 1110. Returning flights will be Tuesdays and Saturdays at 2100 and Thursdays at 1425.

Flights from Edinburgh to Girona Airport, Memmingen Airport and Oslo Torp Airport will commence also. Other new destinations from Edinburgh will include Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria in Spain and Gdansk in Poland.

Derby’s East Midland Airport will have an extra three flights to Poland plus additional direct flights to Morrocco. On 28th October flights to Lodz, Poland will start and those to Rzeszow and Bydgoszcz will commence on 3rd and 4th November. On 5th November a new flight to Marrakesh will start.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport will have extra flights to Morocco and Bremen and flights from Gatwick to Sweden will be added in November.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and Westin Hotels and Resorts have come together to offer a helpline for business travellers and the like in the US who can’t get a good night’s sleep. This initiative is in aid of honouring the ten year anniversary of the Westin Heavenly Bed.

A free help line has been set up, 888-TIME-4-SLEEP and will be answered by medically trained NSF staff who specialise in sleep related problems. Solutions will be offered to travellers who have well-known sleep issues such as snoring, insomnia and even sleep walking.

Callers will be able to contact the helpline Monday to Friday in the evening from 6pm to 1am (Eastern Standard Time). This is considered to be the most frequent time that most people prepare for bed or will be having sleep issues. The helpline will be open until 15th September 2009.

NSF staff will advise callers on the various lifestyle factors that can disturb sleep. Tips for a sound sleep include the following:

• Sleep in total darkness in a cool room
• Do not eat for two hour before going to bed
• Book hotel rooms with an eastern or southern facing window to benefit from more sunlight. This will help your body to adjust to the new time zone

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Middle East is set to see eight new properties from hotel operator Rotunda this year. This will include the launch of the new Centro Hotels in Abu Dhabi and another couple of properties in Dubai.

Rotana brand Centro Hotels have been long anticipated and first property is set to debut in October this year located in Abu Dhabi on Yas Island with a Dubai opening to follow quickly after.

The Centro brand has been developed to appeal to business travellers. These properties are three star rated and above and come kitted out with wifi, C Taste, a full service restaurant, C Mondo bar, fitness facilities and also a deli-like takeaway service.

There will be 259 rooms in the Centro Hotel which will be situated next to a Rotana hotel. The deluxe Yas Isalnd Rotuna hotel will have 308 rooms and is four star rated. It will be opening in October also. This will be in time for the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the Yas Marin Circuit. From hotel balconies guests will have a prize view.

The Park Rotana is also set to open in Abu Dhabi. This will be located on the edge of Abu Dhabi and offers a mix of suites and rooms plus a range of banqueting and conference facilities, a fitness centre, a swimming pool and numerous dining amenities.

Popularity: 21% [?]