Nurdin to leave
Ian Nurdin, business travel manager for Nestle UK for 18 years and vice-chairman of the UK Institute of Travel Management, is being made redundant and will leave the company by the end of the year.
His role is being transferred to the company's procurement department.
DERPART to join Radius
One of Germany's leading business travel organisations, DERPART, is joining Radius, a major global network of travel management companies.
DERPART is a conglomerate of 480 agencies with a specialist section, Derpart Travel Services (DTS) aimed at the corporate market. DTS has 31 agent members.
Radius, with 90 members in 80 countries, has been searching for a German partner for some time. Tony Hughes, Radius president and ceo, said DERPART would enhance his network's ability to win multi-national contracts.
Andreas Heimann, DERPART's managing director, said it had been looking for a global partner and felt his agencies would benefit “substantially” from the association with Radius.
GetThere signs SNCF deal
A new deal between GetThere, Sabre's online reservation system, and SNCF will enable business travellers on the French rail network to self book seats and services through the system from 2005.
The reservation system already has a similar deal in Britain through a partnership with The Trainline.
Floyd Widener, vice president of GetThere, said: “Rail is the final piece in the jigsaw and once we have that in place, it will aid our growth in continental Europe where rail is an important part of the business travel mix.”
Alitalia under fire
Eight European airlines have criticised the survival plan drawn up by Alitalia to stave off bankruptcy. In a letter to the EC, the carriers, among whom are BA and Lufthansa, claimed the rescue plan seemed to be against Commission rules on state aid.
It added that help for the Italian national carrier would “severely hinder the much-needed consolidation of the European airline industry.”