Kate Harden-England

API-led integration to bring real-time bookings to corporate hotel travel Navan, business travel and expense platform, has revealed its plans to launch an industry-first hotel–Travel Management Company (TMC) direct connection…

🗺 Travel technology firm Vibe has unveiled AI integration for corporate travel management via ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot. This is the first solution keeping Travel Management Companies in control, facilitated by Vibe's MCP server. ITG Business Travel is the first to test this technology. This innovation allows users to book and manage travel using natural language, eliminating the need for TMCs to build AI infrastructure, and ensures competitive edge in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.

🛫 Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Qatar Airways, with SITA, launched Fast Pass, a major biometric system connecting over 700 touchpoints, enabling passengers to board using facial recognition. This initiative, one of the largest in the Middle East, aligns with IATA research showing a preference for biometrics. Fast Pass enrolls passengers via a mobile app or kiosk, enhancing security and efficiency. Future expansion will include Qatar Airways transfers and other airlines.

✈️ Pan American World Airways, a historic aviation brand, partners with IBS Software to launch its iLoyal platform. The platform aims to enhance customer loyalty through personalized rewards and digital engagement as Pan Am prepares to re-enter commercial aviation. Though no specific date is announced, flights are expected to resume this year. Ed Wegel, CEO, emphasizes loyalty's role in Pan Am's strategy, choosing IBS for its scalable and innovative technology.

📈 Leaders from RateHawk, TikTok, Lufthansa City Center, Travelport, and MakeMyTrip discussed adapting to tech changes and market uncertainty at the RateHawk’s Futurecast. Gen Z is reshaping travel demand, with social media as a key engagement tool. APIs are crucial for travel distribution, with demand expected to grow. Emerging Travel Group is beta testing a Demand Shift tool for market insights. RateHawk celebrated its 10th anniversary, highlighting the need for embracing tech and human interaction in travel.

🗺 Travelport and Travelsoft integrated Travelport's Trip Services API with Orchestra, Travelsoft's Transport Hub, to enhance real-time distribution of leisure travel products. The integration makes Travelport's airline content available in Europe to over 400 agencies through platforms like Travel Compositor and airQuest. This strategic collaboration enhances content delivery of traditional EDIFACT and NDC formats, offering expanded airline options and services, including exchanges and multi-city bookings, across multiple Travelsoft platforms.

💸 Perk, an AI-native platform, has opened a Middle East office in Abu Dhabi's ADGM with Abu Dhabi Investment Office's support. By 2031, the UAE aims for AI to contribute 20% of non-oil GDP. Perk targets tripling UAE business travel spend by 2028, as the market is expected to hit $94 billion by 2030. Their business, which grew 48% in 2025, is nearing $400 million in annualized revenue. The UAE is Perk’s ninth-largest market.