Articles tagged “finnair”

This week, Sabre stopping selling Finnair tickets as talks over a new contract broke down while European airlines will most likely have to pay a new EU tax on jet fuel. Meanwhile, India is so desperate to sell its national airline, it has agreed to take over $7 billion in debt to make Air India seem more attractive to a buyer.

It's rare for airline contract disputes with distribution companies to reach this outcome. Finnair will suffer financially until it cuts a deal. Sabre, for its part, risks embarrassment if it's seen as bullying a midsize carrier. Nobody usually ends up winning in these classic games of chicken.

European governments once believed they could rely on the market to ensure their links to the outside world. But many are starting to become more protective of their national airlines. In many ways, it is a return to the past.

Finnair has made the most of its Helsinki hub’s advantageous position when it comes to flying to Asia, but clearly it hasn’t gotten everything right.

Here are the brands that are innovating and getting the lounge experience right.

Not every airline can be a global behemoth. Finnair mostly focuses on its niche — connecting Europe with Asia, including secondary Chinese cities.

Alaska took one step closer to the Oneworld alliance by kicking off a partnership with Finnair this week. It already has a strong relationship with American, another Oneworld partner, as relations with Delta continue to cool.

As we've noted before, a lot of industry professionals argue that metasearch and online travel agencies will converge. Skyscanner's new way of selling Finnair's fare families may be a sign of trends to come.

IBM has come a long, long way in rebuilding its brand thanks to all of the cool factor surrounding Watson. But it could do more to showcase the consumer appeal around cognitive travel in 2017, including the benefits of machine learning to better connect us with travel destinations.

The digital transformation of hospitality and travel is underway, and it mirrors the changes most brands and consumers now see across the broader business ecosystem.