Heywood in court next month
Ian Heywood, the UK airline executive held in Qatar since May1, is to appear in court next month, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said.
A spokesman said it had no details of the charge or charges My Heywood, 47, would face on October 5.
Mr Heywood was working out his notice at Qatar Airways where he was vp global sales and distribution before joining bmi when he was arrested on May 1.
He was released on bial on May 28 but not allowed to leave the Gulf state.
The FCO said it was in regualr consular touch with Mr Haywood and his family.
SAS in "loose talks" on future
Scandinavian carrier SAS is in "loose talks with different parties" over its future, its chairman Fritz Schur said.
He told a Danish daily newspaper Berlingske: "I heard today that some people are suggesting that SAS will be taken over on Thursday.
"I can only say that I'm going on a wine trip on Thursday. That has been planned for some time and it still is."
He said the airline group was "looking at structural issues...We are not in negotiations."
SAS also issued a statement regarding its future after press reports of ongoing talks with fellow Star Alliance member Lufthansa.
The statement said: "SAS would like to reiterate the following: SAS confirms that it is in the process of evaluating various structural possibilities for the Group.
"Within this process SAS is conducting talks about a possible structural solution.
“It must be emphasised that no decisions have been made and no dates for such decisions are set at this point."
New Partner for ITP
ITP – International Travel Partnership has signed up a new partner in the Czech Republic.
OK Tours, founded in 1990 and part of the OK Tours Group, is among the top ten agencies in the Central European country.
Ian Epps, director of partnership relations for ITP, said OK Tours was an experienced company which offered a "broad range of travel management services."
Miroslav Belovský, OK Tours' ceo, said: "We can now progress further and increase business opportunities within the framework of ITP."
ITP, a network of medium-sized travel management companies, has expanded considerably in the last year.
It now has partners in 27 countries.
Eurostar still running restricted service
Eurostar, the high speed train service from London to Paris and Brussels, was still running a restricted service this week after the fire earlier this month in the Channel Tunnel.
The train company said it was running 15 trains a day to Paris and six a day to Brussels.
It said because of the restricted timetable, there would be £extended gaps” between departures.
The situation is expected to continue until at least September 30.
AEA tackles Dutch PM on air ticket tax
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has told the Dutch prime minister Dr Jan Peter Balkenende that his country's tax on airline tickets is causing "significant problems."
In a letter to the premier, the AEA's secretary general, Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, said: "With only two months' experience of this tax, the effects in the marketplace are already becoming apparent.
"We note that Schiphol is losing significant numbers of passengers; indeed, the number of local passengers in Amsterdam decreased by between 7-8% in both July and August."
Mr Schulte-Strathaus said that low cost carriers were cutting services to the Netherlands and Dutch travellers using airports in Belgium and Germany.
He said that since the tax was first proposed, the airline landscape had dramatically changed through the high price of oil.
He called on Dr Balkenende to "eliminate the unsustainable tax burden."
HRG launches car transport tool
A new tool to enable companies integrate their car transport with their corporate travel programmes has been launched by Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).
The travel management company said HRG Ground Transportation was the "first fully integrated service available in the industry."
HRG said the tool gave full details of spend on all taxi, chauffeur cars bookings. It was also fully integrated with GDSs.
Brian Merry, HRG's director of products, said the tool "enables companies to consolidate their ground transportation spend and provides vital information about what is being spent where, giving businesses better control than ever before.
He added: "Our bespoke solution accesses a variety of international and local suppliers, including clients' own preferred suppliers as required, to identify the most economical and efficient means of transportation."
CRS raises Global Hotel Alliance revenues by 25%
The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) said its new CRS has increased its members' revenue by more than 25% since 2007.
The new booking system had produced an additional 40,000 room nights compared to last year.
Members of the Alliance using the system were also getting an extra $25 per booking.
The GHA has nine members with JurysDoyle joinignlater this year.
The number of hotels in the group is 180 in42 contries.
Among the current members are Kempinski, Pan Pacific, Leela and Marco Polo Hotels.