Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i Business Traveller

HELLO READER, notice anything different? Why, yes! We have had a stunning new makeover! Welcome to the revamped Business Traveller magazine – where work meets wanderlust. It's not just a facelift, we've reassessed our core values to make sure we're serving the kind of content that is truly relevant to the business traveller of today. Don't worry – we're keeping all your favourite bits, from flight reviews to destination guides, but you can expect exciting upgrades and new additions, too. Our cover story delves into the enviable world of digital nomads. They've already taken over cities from Tallinn to Chiang Mai – but where are these globetrotting remote workers heading next? And will you be tempted to join them? Get plugged into world business news by discovering five unicorns born…

AVIATION Cathay unveils Aria Suite HOTELS Park Hyatt makes UK debut TRAVEL Best connected airports BUSINESS Unicorns born in 2024 BARBUDA UPGRADED its transport links last month with the opening of Barbuda International Airport and is prepped to receive a host of flights from around the world. Previously, guests could only reach the hotspot via a 90-minute ferry from twin-sister island Antigua, or by sporadic charter flights to the smaller (now permanently closed) Codrington airport to the west of the island. The new US$14 million airport has a runway twice the size of Codrington's, allowing for larger aircraft including private jets and planes such as the Embraer E-170, plus an LED lighting system for night landings. Additionally, Barbuda will welcome 23 luxury cruise ships for the upcoming winter season. Upon…

SAY HELLO TO SLH CLUB, the new loyalty programme for loyal guests. The Club replaces the former scheme, INVITED, but retains the three-tiered structure that members climb with nights stayed in SLH properties – and will now plant two trees for every night booked as part of a partnership with TreeNation. New members are automatically entered into the lowest level, Club 01, which entitles them to flexible check-in and check-out, wifi and the preferential Club Rate. Members gain access to Club 02 once they have stayed four nights – with added perks including continental breakfast, upgrades, bespoke experiences and exclusive partner offers. The highest tier, Club 03, is reserved for those staying for 13 nights or more. Members will receive US$300 reward night vouchers and invites to exclusive events. The…

SHOPPING AT Heathrow Terminal 2 has had the designer treatment thanks to the opening of a new Louis Vuitton store and cafe in collaboration with French chef Cyril Lignac – ideal for pastries before boarding. The interconnected shop and cafe stand under a curved, aerodynamic structure, designed by architect Marc Fornes, while interiors shine with orange and gold tones and colourful quetzal mobiles (hanging models of South American birds) by Atelier Oï. Items are predominantly from the womenswear collection, with a smaller selection of men's accessories and leather goods, while the all-day menu at the cafe dazzles with croissants, Croque Monsieur and branded Louis Vuitton patisseries – plus a mango Eton Mess to nod to the British location. The shop and cafe are open daily from 5.30am until 10pm, located…

Explore WELLNESS TENNIS SUPERSTAR Novak Djokovic has been appointed as the new Global Wellness Advisor for Aman Resorts. Djokovic, who has 24 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic medal to his name, will join the company in a multi-year partnership. Guests can expect exclusive programmes and events from the world-class athlete, who plans to make use of his expertise from life on and off the court. Djokovic will also get involved with future product development for Aman Essentials – the company's collection of skincare, fragrances, clothing, homeware and wellness products. “Over the years, I have cultivated a comprehensive daily wellness routine, combining mental health, nutrition and fitness, that has enabled me to achieve sustained success on both the global stage and in my personal life. Sharing those learnings with Aman…

OUR PICK OF EVENTS TAKING PLACE AROUND THE WORLD DOMESTIC Picasso: Printmaker, London 7 November, 2024 – 30 March, 2025 The British Museum is home to the UK's largest collection of Picasso prints. This exhibition provides a deeper look at his most intimate moments – including pieces from the 347 Suite, named after the number of prints created towards the end of his life. SHORT-HAUL Cindy Sherman – Anti-fashion, Antwerp until 2 February, 2025 Antwerp's photography museum FOMU is hosting an exhibition that oversees the four-decade-long career of prolific artist Cindy Sherman - and it's quite the treat for fashion lovers. Expect to see her work for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and fashion houses Balenciaga and Comme des Garçons, plus an eclectic mix of self-portraits, dramatic black and white film stills…

1997 Star Alliance is founded in Frankfurt, becoming the first airline alliance with five members: United Airlines, SAS, Thai Airways, Air Canada and Lufthansa 2001 Star Alliance opens its first branded lounge at Zurich Airport 2012 Star Alliance opens the first alliance-branded ticket counter at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport 2020 Star Alliance Biometrics is launched at Frankfurt and Munich Airport 2024 SAS leaves Star Alliance to join SkyTeam. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines serving more than 1,100 airports across 187 countries…

Q&A Tell our readers about the Concorde experience. I was on the inaugural Concorde flight from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow on 25 May, 1976. When I first saw it, I thought, “Bloody hell, it looks like a rocket.” Concorde was like a bus to work. I was living and working in the US, so would catch Concorde from New York in the morning, land in London at 6pm and be on the Nairobi flight within three hours. I commuted every weekend for three years. My company allowed me to fly on Concorde, not because they were good-hearted, but because they got 24 hours more work out of me. My first flight across the Atlantic took 19 hours and four stops, as opposed to Concorde which was around three hours.…

1 Barcelona, Spain Average download speed: 217.52 Mb/s Average upload speed: 162.94 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £820 2 Krakow, Poland Average download speed: 154.51 Mb/s Average upload speed: 48.39 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £640 3 Athens, Greece Average download speed: 50.22 Mb/s Average upload speed: 9.69 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £655 4 Zagreb, Croatia Average download speed: 105.39 Mb/s Average upload speed: 49.02 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £544 5 Budapest, Hungary Average download speed: 217.83 Mb/s Average upload speed: 40.22 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £620 6 Skopje, North Macedonia Average download speed: 51.18 Mb/s Average upload speed: 28.77 Mb/s Average monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment: £285…

Wellness is a key pillar of IHG's Six Senses brand, offering programmes to enhance guests' well-being – including a sleep tracking programme at hotels from Mykonos to the Maldives. Eager to tackle my insomnia, I travelled to the brand's hotel in Rome (see page 76) to put the experience to the test. Six Senses Rome offers three-, five- and seven-day programmes, each of which includes sleep tracking, activities, wellness screenings and spa treatments. The programme kicks off with some sleep tracking, courtesy of the nifty SleepOn wearable ring – a high-tech gadget that monitors things like blood oxygen, heart rate and sleep cycle. A detailed chart follows the next day via an app, providing an analysis of my sleeping habits: deep sleep was minimal, tossing and turning was alarmingly constant…

HOTEL Review What's it like? Stroll down Piccadilly and you won't miss this hotel. The Art Deco structure is most striking for its 329 sqm vertical living wall on the corner that intersects with Down Street – a fitting extension of Green Park opposite. The design is pioneering, marking one of the first London hotels to feature a jungle-like stretch on its facade – a biophilic trend that now blossoms across competitors. Beyond its attractive appeal, the feature has a practical use, removing 757kg of CO2 and 559kg of oxygen from the atmosphere annually (the hotel is EarthCheck Silver Accredited for its eco initiatives). The hotel is also quintessentially British. Doormen in bowler hats and tartan outfits welcome guests into the lobby, while 3D collages nod to the Royal Family,…

IN THE EARLY 1990S, there was great excitement in the rail community. At long last the UK would finally be connected by rail to mainland Europe via the new Channel Tunnel. Eurostar was announced as the brand name of the train operator, managed by EPS (European Passenger Services), a division of British Rail. Initial routes for Eurostar were London Waterloo to Brussels and Paris Nord - a revolution for rail travel between the UK and Europe. Carriage comforts Eurostar sets are basically TGVs (France's high-speed trains) modified to suit UK's loading gauge. By the standards of British Rail back then, they were luxurious in both first and standard class. In the early days of operation, customs and immigration inspections were carried out onboard (no doubt many travellers would love to…

ALLY WYBREW Ally is a Gozo-based writer who, between diving into shipwrecks and seeking out Malta's new bars, writes about travel for titles including Time Out, The Independent, High Life and House & Garden. Head to page 27 for her tips on Valletta's best bits. JOSEPH PHELAN Joseph is a London-based writer whose portfolio spans sport, business, travel and the environment. In this issue, he follows in the globetrotting footsteps of digital nomads to find out where they're heading next. Turn to page 54. MATT POTTER Matt Potter is a journalist, broadcaster, presenter, author and documentary maker whose work appears in the BBC, Washington Post, Independent, Time and others. On page 48, he investigates the glitzy world of airport retail.…

CHEF THOMAS PIAT mixes French flair with British classics at St Pancras Bar & Brasserie. “Guests can reach Paris in just over two hours. Our goal is to reflect the duality between our two great cities and their respective culinary styles, offering a journey without having to leave the station,” said Piat. Menu highlights include escargot de Bourgogne with garlic and parsley butter, and onion soup with Gruyère croutons – plus comforting British fish and chips, or sausage and mash. The brasserie will keep Martin Brudnizki's Art Deco design, but the bar will feature a new bespoke model train set designed by British manufacturer Hornby – complete with replicas of trains that previously operated from St Pancras, such as the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard. Take it all in while…

PERFUME PICK THE PRODUCT Chanel winter tale Get your hands on this limited edition, winter-themed bottle of Chanel's No.5 Eau de Parfum, draped in a silk-crafted shawl resembling powdery white snow. 100ml; £145. THE EXPERIENCE Peninsula privileges THE PENINSULA LONDON is upping the ante with a series of one-of-a-kind experiences as part of the Peninsula Academy. The Concorde Legacy Experience at Brooklands is a fine fit for aviation enthusiasts, provided you have £6,400 to spare. The day kicks off with a Rolls-Royce transfer to Brooklands Museum in Surrey, home to the supersonic Concorde. Guests will enjoy a glass of Champagne and visit to the flight deck before hearing from former chief Concorde pilots over a three-course lunch. A taste of the action will follow on the Concorde simulator, then the…

Insight THE BIG INTERVIEW WITH THEO PANAGIOTOULIAS CEO STAR ALLIANCE Expert opinions on the future of travel Q&A What is the purpose of Star Alliance? When you think about the origin of Star Alliance – the first alliance to be formed in 1997 – it was all on the back of the business traveller. It was about creating convenience, building a great network, offering recognition and loyalty – and we've got a proud history in that regard. I joined Star because I really believe in the mission and the vision of the organisation, and it's as relevant today as it was then. No carrier can serve every destination around the world, but through an alliance, airlines can leverage the networks of other member carriers to serve destinations they couldn't otherwise. That's the core…

Insight LOYALTY LESSONS AS THE year comes to a close, many of us find ourselves in a familiar predicament: struggling to requalify for elite status or feeling frustrated by the lack of meaningful perks from the airline or hotel programme we've stayed loyal to. If this sounds like you, now is the perfect time to rethink your loyalty strategy and consider whether your current programme is truly working in your favour. Here's my advice: shop around for a new loyalty programme. You might be surprised to find that switching could unlock more valuable benefits, even if it means leaving behind some of the perks you're used to. The Power of Status Matches IF YOU ALREADY have elite status, switching programmes doesn't have to mean starting from scratch. Many airlines offer status…

LASTING MEMORY I have probably flown with BA at least a dozen times in the last 12 months (mostly long haul). No matter how great the check-in, lounge, flight or service is, I always leave Heathrow with the feeling of: 'How come it can't get the simple things right?' and 'Why do I continue to keep flying with BA?'. Every trip I have done this year has seen me waiting over an hour for my 'priority' luggage to appear. Compare this to Hong Kong (45 minutes from landing to get on the train to the city) or Singapore (25 minutes on my most recent trip to get to the taxi). Why is BA at T5 consistently so poor? After an hour, I suggested that the baggage team make an announcement…

ONEWORLD'S AI-powered travel service helps ambitious travellers book international trips with its member airlines. Oneworld's Round the World fares allow passengers to book up to 16 flights between at least three continents on a globe-spanning trip that lands back home up to a year later – but with 15 airlines, hundreds of destinations, millions of possible flights, constantly changing seat availability, and varying fare rules, scheduling such a trip is beyond conventional airline booking engines and a daunting prospect for travellers. To simplify the process, Oneworld turned to AI start-up Elemental Cognition, which leveraged Google Cloud infrastructure to produce a robust booking system capable of handling airline schedules' complexity. The tool includes a chatbot that asks customers about their home city, ideal destination and desired travel dates. It then produces…

Dispatch BUSINESS 1 xAI: Artificial intelligence looms large with this year's unicorns. xAI was founded last year by Elon Musk “to accelerate human scientific discovery”. It's already worth US$24 billion and has a chatbot called Grok to rival ChatGPT. The company wants to develop “truthful” AI systems that don't create misleading information. 2 BillionToOne: The genetic testing company's slogan is: “Detect disease one molecule at a time.” With three billion letters making up our genome, the company says its molecular diagnostics can measure tiny DNA fragments that will lead to advances in everything from prenatal screening to oncology. 3 Wayve: Earlier this year, British autonomous vehicles (AVs) start-up Wayve raised US$1.05 billion – the largest round of funding for an AI start-up in Europe. It's currently building software for AVs…

Both partnerships will see customers able to combine air and rail trips and medium/long-haul flights in single reservations. For instance, a passenger can fly from New York JFK to Rome Fiumicino, before continuing their journey with Trenitalia's high-speed Frecciarossa. While the Eurostar announcement hinted at SkyTeam benefits, frequent flyers will be able to earn and redeem miles on Frecciarossa services, and CartaFRECCIA members will similarly be able to earn and burn points on eligible SkyTeam flights. At present no date has been given for the expected launch of the Trenitalia partnership - SkyTeam's agreement with Eurostar is slated to start in the first half of 2025.…

Explore Eat, drink, shop, relax EXTRA DAY VALLETTA START OFF AT ST JOHN'S CO-CATHEDRAL. Visions of the Maltese archipelago are often dominated by turquoise waters, soaring cliffs and brightly coloured luzzus (fishing boats), but on land, the most distinctive sites are defined by the country's Catholic roots. Terracotta, honey and sandstone church cupolas signpost towns and villages across the ancient islands, providing handy orientation points. Valletta is one of Europe's smallest capitals, yet houses 28 churches - including one of its most famous places of worship. Commissioned as the spiritual home of the Knights of St John and completed in 1577, St John's Co-Cathedral is today renowned for its intricate marble tombstone floor (beneath which many of the original knights still lie), as well as its gold-leaf, baroque interior and two Caravaggio…

Old bread, anyone? Turkish Airines is serving the world's 'oldest bread' to business class passengers on select intercontinental flights – but don't worry, it's not stale. The historic recipe features a mix of einkorn and emmer wheats – widely considered the oldest types in the Turkish region of Anatolia. It was developed with the help of Turkish culinary historian Ömür Akkor and academic Çetin Şenkul. The comforting carb reflects the history of Anatolian agriculture, with the first grains sprouted approximately 12,000 years ago in the Taş Tepeler region. The bread is heated and served to passengers in a special bag with butter and olive oil before the meal service. Celebrity upgrade Singapore Airlines has teamed up with celebrity chef and MasterChef judge Monica Galetti to design four seasonal menus for…

BY HENRY A. KISSINGER, CRAIG MUNDIE AND ERIC SCHMIDT (OUT 21 NOVEMBER) One of the most polarising politicians of the 20th century, Kissinger, the late US Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, waded into an equally controversial topic for his final book: artificial intelligence. He teamed up with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Microsoft executive Craig Mundie to tackle questions about technology's rapid rise and what it means for the future of humanity. In the book, they write that AI has the power to radically transform society and revolutionise our relationship to reality and the divine. How can we harness AI and make smart decisions without letting it change humanity for the worse?…

THE AI QUESTION A AI is at its infancy stage right now, but we're exploring it a lot. I think you'll find as we move forward, it will play an important role in this industry. Examples like customer FAQs on a website move to just typing a question and getting an answer. I see a lot of the information in call centres being handled by AI. It's going to be something compelling for our industry. 'You've got to love rumours, don't you! We'll always explore new opportunities as they arise' The Middle East is also somewhere you don't have a strong alliance partner. There are rumours that Etihad may join one day - any comment on that? You've got to love rumours, don't you! Obviously I can't speak for any discussions…

You don't have to take your purchases with you. You can either collect your shopping at the Excess Baggage counter if you're returning to the same airport, or get free home delivery, so long as you spend above £300 for Heathrow Reward members, and £500 for non-members. (And you pick up reward points for using Home Delivery too.) The pre-bookable personal shopping service comes with a specially style-trained team to offer travellers their personal focus and assistance on-site. Customers can pre-book on the airport website, with just their flight details, brief personal info and a little about their preferred brands or shopping goals. They're contacted by their assigned assistant for a casual consultation, to get a feel for areas of interest, time available and ballpark budgets. You can request the…