2023 Business Travel Highlights

January-March

China reopens borders and indicates return to business as usual  

After nearly three years of isolation, China reopened its borders to the rest of the world; bidding farewell to zero-COVID and saying hello to travellers from across the globe.  

Hong Kong Airport scraps ‘travel zone’

Following the reopening of China’s borders, Hong Kong Airport bid farewell to its colour-coded travel zones for mainland-bound and transit travellers, therefore expanding lounge access for business class travellers and allowing for a more seamless travel experience.  

Unpacked Events series makes on-air debut with its first webinar  

Adrenaline was high as we kicked off our Unpacked webinar series featuring iFly Flat CEO, Steve Hui, AKA The Points Whisperer. Steve shared some terrific little-known insights into how you can accumulate and get the most of your rewards points before, during, and after travelling.  

April-June

Flight Centre Travel group signs historic agreement with Singapore Tourism   

FCTG charts a new course with Singapore Tourism Board; marking its first global agreement since the pandemic. The multimillion-dollar deal invites more travellers to explore Singapore’s never-ending charm as a top business and tourist destination.   

Jetstar tightens check-in times to boost timeliness  

In its attempt to boost punctuality, Jetstar Airways announced earlier times for check-ins, bag drops and boarding gate closures. Domestic: check-in and bag drop up to 40 mins before departure, international: up to 60 mins before departure, boarding gate closure: 20 mins before departure.  

Unpacked Events hits the road in Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney 

Corporate Traveller hit the road with our first in-person Unpacked events, in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Guests unpacked the latest business travel trends and hacks for SMEs to supercharge their travel programs over tasteful luncheons and high tea style breakfasts with Steve Hui (CEO of iFly Flat). 

July-September

Up, Up and Away!  

The future of business travel arrived as  Corporate Traveller launched Up, a market-first and specially designed Customer Care Program for SMEs to take their corporate travel management to new heights, complete with killer insights, top-notch services and unparalleled partner perks. 

Accor and Peloton team up to put fitness first 

After monitoring business travellers’ needs for maintaining their fitness regimes on-the-go, Accor and Peloton joined forces by installing Peloton bikes in over 50 of Accor’s most popular properties Australia-wide. Accor guests can also pedal for perks when working out on a Peloton on-site during their stay.  

We kicked off our partnership with Business Chicks  

We announced our partnership with Business Chicks providing our customers with a chance to attend a series of inspiring events. Featuring a 5-city events series with none other than world-famous designer and entrepreneur, Professor Jimmy Choo, a six-city series of International Women’s Day events and series of Office Manager’s events.  

From counter to carousel: Virgin Australia launched its new baggage tracking tool 

After a successful pilot program in May, Virgin Australia launched the nation’s first baggage-tracking tool in late August; allowing almost 70% of domestic flyers to track the status of their check-in baggage via the Virgin Australia app from counter to carousel. 

The Calile crowned Oceania’s jewel, World’s No.12 

In a global invitation-only event, Brisbane’s beloved The Calile Hotel carved a name for itself as the Best Hotel in Oceania, and No.12 among The World’s 50 Best Hotels – a major win for Brisbane as a destination and the Australian hotel industry.  

October-December

Rex raises the stakes with new loyalty program 

Rex’s frequent flyers rejoiced as the airline announced the launch of its new loyalty program. The comprehensive “Rex Flyer” offering spices up the competition, while serving corporate travellers with more benefits than ever before.  

Unpacked Roadshow 2 covers more ground 

Our second stage of the in-person Unpacked roadshow continued in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with additional stops in Adelaide and Perth to spread the word on how SMEs can make the most of their business travel programs. 

We became #GPTWCertified 

Our people have spoken – Flight Centre Travel Group is officially certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW) in 25 countries! GPTW is globally recognised as the authority on workplace culture and we’re so proud and grateful to our Flighties for this recognition.  

IHG’s Hotel Indigo brings back the lost art of borrowing from your neighbour   

In its largest-ever international marketing campaign, Hotel Indigo AKA The World’s Neighborhood Hotel, launched Borrowed by Hotel Indigo – where those living in the hotel’s same postcode can “borrow” everyday necessities (sugar, olive oil, coffee, etc) at no cost to foster connection and build community.  

The Rise of Bleisure  

In our final webinar of the year, we unpacked the booming value of business leisure (or “bleisure”), top bleisure travel trends, benefits of incorporating bleisure into your travel policy, PLUS 3 jam-packed itineraries for London, Singapore and Doha created by our travel experts to add a dash of adventure to your corporate travels!  

About Flight Centre Travel Group

The Flight Centre Travel Group is one of the world’s largest travel retailers and corporate travel managers. The company, which is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, has company-owned leisure and corporate travel business in dozens of countries, spanning Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia. ASX listed Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) also operates the global FCM corporate travel management network, which extends to more than 100 countries through company-owned businesses and independent licensees, along with Corporate Traveller, the flagship business specific to the small-to-medium-sized enterprise sector. For more information, visit fctgl.com.