Ian Taylor reports from the Guild of Travel Management Companies Conference in Hong Kong
>Virgin: No UK capacity hike, and fares to rise
UK air capacity will not return to 2007 levels “any time soon”, the airline has warned
>Coalition government ‘would increase lobbying pressure’
A coalition government could require double the effort in industry lobbying
>High speed rail not coming fast
Political commitment to a high-speed rail network may not translate into speedy development
>Distribution failures holding up rail growth
The boom in business rail travel has yet to be matched by developments on GDSs
>Commission down, bonding up for rail sales
Agents face commission cuts and a requirement for sales to be covered by a bond or insurance
>Agents buck unbundling trend to go full service
Nine out of ten travel management companies are offering ‘full service’ airline bookings to clients