News in Brief from BCD Travel, FCm, Rezidor, HRG, easyJet and IATA
BCD Travel expands in Greece
BCD Travel has expanded its operations in Greece by setting up a new joint venture with a local agency.
The Utrecht-based travel management company, among the largest in the world, said it had joined forces with Amphitrion Holidays.
The new venture will trade under the BCD Travel brand.
Amphitrion Travel was founded in 1973 and has an annual turnover of $143m and 250 employees based in four offices.
Ilona De March, BCD's president EMEA, said there had been a growing demand for a bigger presence in the Greek market for 18 months.
"This expansion sends a strong signal that as a global player in the corporate travel management industry, BCD Travel is committed to being where our customers need us to be, with owned presence in key markets, and uniformly excellent service in all of them."
Dinos Mitsiou, Amphitrion's chairman and ceo, said: "Building on our almost 40-year presence in the Greek market and our solid reputation, this move helps secure our future role in a global marketplace by aligning ourselves with a company that understands the importance combining global reach and purchasing power with local expertise and flexibility for its customers."
www.bcdtravel.com www.amphitrion.gr
FCm launches online restaurant booking
FCm Travel Solutions UK has started offering its clients an online booking tool for restaurants. The new service, called FCm Dining Solutions, is available to all clients at no extra charge.
Using the tool, travellers can now book a table for up to eight people at more than 6,000 participating venues around the world, as well as check availability, opening times and average meal prices, read descriptions and see what a restaurant looks like.
For return visits, travellers can also save their favourite locations, review their bookings and build customer profiles.
www.uk.fcm.travel/diningsolutions.
Rezidor opens first hotel in Georgia
Rezidor has opened its first hotel in Georgia, the Radisson SAS Iveria Hotel, Tbilisi.
The 249-room hotel is located in Rose Revolution Square in central Tbilisi, 25 minutes from the international airport.
It is housed in a 20-storey tower originally built in the 1970s, although New York based architect Stephan Frantzen and Berlin-based interior design company Graft Architects have updated the building with contemporary design features.
Facilities include two restaurants - Surface, serving international cuisine, and the Italian eatery Filini - as well as a spa and a fitness centre with an indoor pool.
Meeting and event space at the new hotel covers more than 800 sqm and includes a business centre and a ballroom that can host up to 450 people.
The hotel also offers free high-speed internet access to all guests.
www.radissonblu.com/hotel-tbilisi
New Bangladeshi partner for HRG
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has appointed Travelscene Limited as its new partner in Bangladesh.
Under the deal the agency will trade as HRG Bangladesh.
Travelscene, which was founded in 1986, is based in the capital Dhaka and is part of the Kamaphuli company.
Iain Andrew, divisional senior vp for Dnata Travel Services, a major shareholder in HRG, said: "We are very pleased that Travelscene, one of the most professional travel management companies in Bangladesh, is now representing HRG in that country."
www.hrgworldwide.com
easyJet expands Northern Ireland service
easyJet is to start a twice daily service between Luton and Belfast City Airport from January 7.
The route was previously operated out of Belfast International Airport.
The low cost carrier said the reason for the change was to see if passengers preferred an airport nearer the city centre on the short route.
The low cost carrier currently runs its service out of Belfast International with five aircraft, 19 destinations and more than 3m passengers a year.
easyJet said it f the switch was successful, it would increase frequency and possibly add other destinations.
www.easyjet.com
Bisignani presents aviation plan to UN
Giovanni Bisignani, director general andceo of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) presented the aviation industry's plans to cut CO2 emissions to the United National.
The plan aims for a 1.5% improvement in fuel efficiency each year to 2020, carbon neutral growth onwards and reducing carbon emissions to 2005 levels by 2050.
It was handed to UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon.
www.iata.org