:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OOU7M7IV4DCREKCXHIXXYRC5RE.jpg)
On Monday, Qatar Airways QR920 became the world's longest flight at 14,535km when it landed at Auckland, New Zealand, after a 16 hours and 30 minutes non-stop flight from Doha, Qatar. The return journey was an hour longer as it fought headwinds. Pushed into second place is Emirates EK449, Dubai to Auckland, at 14,193km, and third place is Qantas 9, Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth, at 13,804km.
Payment card breaches
Payment card breaches are becoming the bane of the hotel industry.
Intercontinental Hotel
Group has confirmed that bar and restaurant systems were hit by malware in a dozen hotels in North America and the Caribbean. Cards used between August and December last year may have been compromised. Almost all the big hospitality groups have been hit over the past few years by payment card breaches.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/NDM5MIDTMW6ZGD4BJEYAWWHEBY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6WXZXQOF2L4UD4XB7HBSBJFNTQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/66M2GOWA5DLJ2FJHONN4CCXGDA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RC35QRGY73QCUKMIAMNEHEHGCY.jpg)
Putting trust in Providence
Norwegian Air
International has picked Providence, the capital of
Rhode Island
in the US, as the second east coast base for its transatlantic services. Using the
Ryanair
format for smaller and secondary airports, it has also confirmed that it will be using Stewart International Airport in
Newburgh
, New York, for the first base. Newburgh is 60 miles north of the city on the Hudson river. Norwegian will be using the 200-seat Boeing 737 MAX jet. The major legacy US carriers are meeting the US president, and Norwegian Air International’s air operator’s permit is expected to be on the agenda, along with three Middle East carriers.
Big spenders
Business travel spend in
India
is the fastest growing worldwide, and the country is expected to reach sixth place from 10th in worldwide spend by 2019. The
Global Business Travel Association
(GBTA) report
Outlook India
reveals double-digit growth in business travel spending. The GBTA forecasts the result for last year at 11.4 per cent growth to $33 billion (€30.8bn), and 11.6 per cent and $36.8 billion (€34.4bn) for 2017. jscales@irishtimes.com