Business Traveller September/October 2020

Welcome to the September/October edition of Business Traveller. First, an explanation of where we’ve been over the summer months. The short answer is, nowhere much, although I did manage to join a World Tourism Organisation trip to the Canary Islands, just before a travel ban was placed on the whole of Spain by the UK (see page 38). It gave me the chance to look at the new normal for airports at Heathrow, Madrid and Gran Canaria, as well as fly on several carriers, and this, along with our reports on businesstraveller.com, has given us an insight into what travelling will be like for the next year or so. Like for many of you, the Covid-19 pandemic swept over us in early March and, despite having personally been out to Asia…

DR ROGER TYERS Roger is a visiting fellow in sociology at the University of Southampton whose interests include examining behaviours and policies regarding the environment, energy and transport. In his column he looks at the role of the aviation industry in the climate emergency, exploring whether a tax on jet fuel is the way forward; see page 64. HANNAH BRANDLER Our staff writer Hannah reports on all aspects of business travel for the magazine and website, as well as acting as our resident Francophile for all things French. This month she discovers the charms of Italy’s northeastern coast (page 44) and, closer to home, takes a whistlestop tour of London’s Paddington (page 52). PAUL J DEVRIES Paul has been following the latest developments in the hotel industry for the past decade, and was previously contributing…

American Airlines and Qatar Airways move into Heathrow T5 AMERICAN AIRLINES AND QATAR AIRWAYS have joined fellow Oneworld members in Heathrow T5. With Heathrow having condensed its operations down to only two terminals (T2 and T5), the airport has been gradually shuffling operations as flights resume. AA said the move from T3 to T5 would “improve the customer experience and strengthen American Airlines’ and the International Airlines Group’s Atlantic joint business”, while Qatar Airways said that it would be “temporarily moving” from its home at T2. Eligible customers departing with both carriers will have access to BA’s lounges at T5 – at the time of writing, the airline had reopened its Galleries South and North Club lounges, as well as its Galleries First facility at the terminal. DESIGN FOR 70-SEAT ELECTRIC HYBRID AIRCRAFT UNVEILED ELECTRIC AVIATION…

READ: Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You, edited by Adam Kay Compiled by the former junior doctor and author of bestseller This is Going to Hurt, this anthology features more than 100 heartfelt stories about our hard-working National Health Service. Contributors include Stephen Fry, Sir Paul McCartney and Emilia Clarke, and all profits from the book go to NHS Charities Together and the Lullaby Trust. Orion Publishing Group; £16.99. WATCH: Grayson Perry’s Big American Road Trip In the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, this three-part Channel 4 documentary follows artist Grayson Perry as he crosses the country on his custom-built motorbike, exploring issues of identity, race, money and class. Available to download from September on All 4. LISTEN: White Lies This seven-part podcast by NPR investigates the 1965 murder of Reverend James…

69% want to take long-overdue overseas holidays 63% are concerned by disruptive travel restrictions such as the imposition of quarantines 56% are concerned about potentially catching the virus on a flight 53% said that free hygiene kits would give them confidence 41% want to travel to reunite with family 33% want to get back to their usual work travel routines 32% expect to fly within the next six months 23% already feel comfortable flying 5% do not intend to fly any time soon Source: Malaysia Airlines, August 2020…

DR TIZIANA ULIAN is a senior research leader in plant diversity and livelihoods at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. FAVOURITE BOTANICAL GARDEN ABROAD? Jardin Botanico Nacional Dr. Rafael Ma. Moscoso in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1976, it is named after a Dominican botanist who catalogued the flora on the island of Hispaniola. Colleagues there are welcoming and passionate about studying and conserving plants. Since 2007, I have travelled with them to collect and conserve seeds under Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership. We are now working on a project to save threatened forests of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic. DO YOU WORK WITH INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD? Yes, with partners in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. I have worked across 28 projects in 18 countries. FAVOURITE AREA OF KEW GARDENS? The…