
Smoothing out the business of business travel
Corporate Traveller is a Flight Centre Travel Group offshoot which just handles business travel.
And, globally, that forecast to be worth $2.374 trillion by the end of 2025.
The Corporate Traveller team reckons 2025 will be a 'breakout year' for corporate travel innovation, and has identified key airline upgrades which it believes will redefine business travel this year: 'With a focus on convenience and efficiency, these upgrades reflect the growing demand for smarter, more tailored travel experiences.'
Tom Walley, the Australian-based global managing director at Corporate Traveller, says: 'The aviation industry is stepping up in ways we haven't seen in years as passenger volumes grow quarter on quarter. Both Perth and Melbourne have already surpassed pre-pandemic international travel levels and our own data shows 40 per cent of Australian businesses plan to increase their travel in the 2025 financial year.
'This recovery is driving targeted investments from airlines, spanning upgraded cabins, expanded routes, and improved connectivity to meet demand.'
Tom says innovations like Emirates' next-generation business class on its Boeing 777 blends luxury with productivity.
'These changes go beyond incremental improvements,' he says. 'They're redefining how Australians travel and work, setting a new standard for the modern business journey.'
The Corporate Traveller team has picked five airline enhancements that it believes will be game changers for Australia's business travellers.
1. Non-stop flights to key global markets
Qantas is planning to introduce new direct flights to destinations such as Athens, Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle this year. They will mean 220,000 extra seats over a 12-month period, starting from February.
Tom says: 'Qantas' expansion of non-stop flights is a pivotal development for Australian business travellers. Direct access to key international markets means reduced travel times and increased efficiency, allowing professionals to focus more on their business objectives and less on transit.
'Beyond that, Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle are particularly significant for business travellers with Chicago being a major hub for finance, tech and manufacturing, while Vegas is the heart of global conferences and trade shows. As the home of Microsoft and Amazon, Seattle is also an important destination for tech professionals, while Athens is a growing gateway to Southern Europe.'
2. Cathay Pacific raises the bar with all-new Aria Suite
The Corporate Traveller team is excited about the Aria Suite, which was retrofitted in Boeing 777-300ER aircraft launched early in 2025. Each suite has a full, lie-flat bed with sliding privacy doors and 4K entertainment system and marble topped surfaces.
Tom says: 'Cathay Pacific's Aria Suite is a game changer for Australian business travellers, particularly for those flying to key hubs in Asia and beyond. The ability to customise your environment, whether to rest, work or relax, ensures professionals can optimise their in-flight time and arrive at their destinations ready to perform. These upgrades set a new standard for long-haul excellence.
'Beyond comfort, the Aria Suite reflects a broader shift toward creating in-flight 'office in the sky' experiences, catering to the evolving needs of business travellers who demand flexibility and productivity.'
3. Emirates unveils the new Boeing 777 business class
Following Cathay Pacific's introduction of the Aria Suite, Emirates is also revamping business class on the Boeing 777 aircraft, with fully enclosed privacy suites, lie-flat beds and a personal minibar. Each suite has a touchscreen tablet for seat and lighting controls, and there is high-speed wifi.
'These upgrades are designed to meet the growing demand for productivity and comfort,' says Tom. 'Emirates' move underlines an emerging 'luxury-plus-productivity' model that enables business travellers to capitalise on flight hours as an extension of the work day, without compromising on comfort.'
4.
Virgin and Qatar alliance unlocks global networks
The partnership between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways improves connectivity for corporate travellers. It is expected to launch in mid-2025, pending ACCC ratification.
Tom says: 'This partnership isn't just about adding destinations; it's about creating a seamless travel experience for businesses. By combining Virgin Australia's domestic expertise with Qatar Airways' global network, this alliance will simplify complex itineraries and offer more flexibility and access to some of the world's fastest-growing economic hubs.
'Australian travellers can expect more choice, competitive pricing and streamlined loyalty benefits — elements that promise to reshape the competitive landscape in business travel.'
5.
New business class lounges
Business travellers can look forward to a wave of premium lounge upgrades this year, with the long-awaited flagship First Lounge at Heathrow Airport being a standout. It is set to open by late 2025. Its opening will align with the launch of Qantas Project Sunrise direct flights between the UK, New York and Australia's east coast.
Tom says: 'From more efficient routes to luxe on-ground experiences, the coming year marks a paradigm shift for Australian corporate travel. For businesses navigating the global stage, these airline innovations offer a vital strategic edge that make every hour in transit an opportunity for productivity, networking and growth.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

ABC News
11 minutes ago
- ABC News
NT government expands role of G4S private security guards to support overcrowded watch houses
In an expansion of private prison staff responsibilities in the Northern Territory, Department of Corrections employees have heard the duties performed by private security firm G4S will be increased. In March, the NT government signed a six-month contract with G4S to manage the transfer of Darwin prisoners. G4S security guards currently help to transfer inmates between prisons and the courts, as territory correctional staff face record prisoner numbers. Despite a recruitment drive for 202 new corrections officers to be employed inside prisons this financial year, NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley has previously acknowledged the prison population is growing and that the government needs to expand the workforce. In an internal memo seen by the ABC, corrections staff were told Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley had signed a work order to expand the duties carried out by private security guards. "As we shape this next phase, we are working closely with G4S to determine what a Northern Territory-based G4S staffing model could look like." The United Workers Union (UWU), which represents corrections officers, has been strongly opposed to the NT's six-month arrangement with G4S since it began in March. UWU NT branch secretary Erina Early said although G4S guards had been assisting with prison transfers since that time, corrections staff had not seen any improvement to their working conditions. "It hasn't made much change to our correctional officers at all because the [prisoner] numbers are increasing," she said. "Bringing in G4S may relieve a couple of shifts, but it's not having the outcome that the government [is] hoping for." Ms Early said union members were worried for "the safety of the prisoners and also safety of the police" — who have a different skillset to correctional officers — and held concerns the expansion of G4S's services signalled growing privatisation in the NT's corrections system. "They've been saying this since it was announced by Commissioner Matthew Varley, that G4S were coming in — as soon as you have them in, it's like a cancer, they will spread," she said. "They have been taking more and more roles." Corrections Minister Gerard Maley last month told the ABC that privatising the entire NT prison system was not on the government's radar. "There are private firms that run prisons in their entirety, that's not our plan at all," he said. "Our plan is to make sure that we have highly trained officers behind the wire, and then independent contractors such as G4S doing the services outside that." The NT's corrections department has been housing a growing number of prisoners in police watch houses in recent months, due to capacity constraints at territory prisons. Earlier this week, there were about 100 people being held inside the Palmerston police watch house, including overflow corrections prisoners. G4S is part of American private security giant Allied Universal, which employs more than 800,000 people internationally and generates about $20 billion in annual revenue. The company describes itself as a "global leader in security". Security guards employed by G4S in Australia mainly work in prisons and detention centres. The firm has operated Victoria's largest maximum security prison, Port Phillip Prison, since it opened in 1997. A 2018 report by the Victorian auditor-general's office found "serious incidents" at Port Phillip Prison, including assaults and drug use, and "exposed weaknesses in how G4S … manage safety and security risks". A Victorian coroner recently recommended G4S improve staff training following the "preventable" 2022 death of an Aboriginal man in his prison cell. Port Phillip Prison is due to close by the end of this year. Last year, G4S reached a confidential settlement with the parents of an Iranian asylum seeker, who was fatally bashed by guards at a Manus Island offshore detention centre in 2014. The company was also fined over its role in the death of an Aboriginal elder, who overheated in the back of a prison van in remote Western Australia in 2008. It is not yet clear how much the NT government's contract with G4S has cost the public.


Perth Now
41 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Russian oil ‘bound for Australia'
A tanker purportedly full of Russian oil is set to dock in Western Australia within days, despite sanctions being in place against Moscow, Ukrainian and anti-Russian oil campaigners According to DFAT, the 'import, purchase or transport' of several goods is prohibited 'if they were exported from, or originated in, Russia'. That includes oil and petroleum products. The ship Seferis left Sika in India two weeks ago full of oil from the Jamnagar refinery, and it is due to arrive in the outer-Perth suburb of Kwinana by 4am Sunday. The Jamnagar refinery is notoriously fed by Russian crude oil, with as much as 55 per cent of their 2025 stock coming from the European pariah. This means the imported oil, which originated in Russia, could end up fuelling Australian vehicles on the road. Anti-Russian oil campaigners allege this ship is full of covertly imported Russian oil Credit: Supplied The alarm has been raised about a 'loophole' that allows Russian oil to be bought and sold in Australia, with local campaigners and parliamentarians calling for immediate action. Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie raised the issue in Question Time on Thursday, asking the Defence Minister Richard Marles 'Why are the loopholes in our sanctions so big you can drive a tanker through them?' 'In July, two vessels reportedly docked in Botany Bay, with some 175,000 tonnes of petrol from the Jamnagar refinery in India, which uses up to 55 per cent Russian oil,' Mr Wilkie said. 'So these vessels effectively carry some 90,000 tonnes of Russian-sourced petrol, paid for by Australians, which will help fund Putin's war in Ukraine.' Independent MP Andrew Wilkie questioned the government about the 'loophole'. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Marles largely avoided the question instead focusing on the sanctions that had been put in place. 'Sanctions, which is the topic of the question the member has asked, is an important part of what we are putting in place to stand with Ukraine,' Mr Marles said. 'And our government will stand with Ukraine. 'I know the Australian people will stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to resolve this conflict on its terms.' The loophole has recently been closed in the European Union, which has banned the importation of petroleum products refined form Russian crude oil in its 18th sanctions package against Russia. Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles defended Australia's sanctions. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations has urged Australia to take similar action. 'This decisive action closes a glaring and deeply exploited loophole that has allowed Russian crude to enter global markets through refineries in third-party countries – undermining sanctions and fuelling the Kremlin's war machine. 'We urge the Australian government to take similar action and close this loophole in Australia's own sanctions regime. 'Since February 2023, Australia has imported an estimated $3.7bn worth of Russian crude, as a component in refined petroleum products from Indian refineries – sending around $1.8bn in tax revenue to the Kremlin. 'This flow of profits directly helps fund Russia's brutal war against Ukraine.'

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Tanker carrying Russian oil set to dock in WA despite sanctions, campaigners say
A tanker purportedly full of Russian oil is set to dock in Western Australia within days, despite sanctions being in place against Moscow, Ukrainian and anti-Russian oil campaigners According to DFAT, the 'import, purchase or transport' of several goods is prohibited 'if they were exported from, or originated in, Russia'. That includes oil and petroleum products. The ship Seferis left Sika in India two weeks ago full of oil from the Jamnagar refinery, and it is due to arrive in the outer-Perth suburb of Kwinana by 4am Sunday. The Jamnagar refinery is notoriously fed by Russian crude oil, with as much as 55 per cent of their 2025 stock coming from the European pariah. This means the imported oil, which originated in Russia, could end up fuelling Australian vehicles on the road. The alarm has been raised about a 'loophole' that allows Russian oil to be bought and sold in Australia, with local campaigners and parliamentarians calling for immediate action. Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie raised the issue in Question Time on Thursday, asking the Defence Minister Richard Marles 'Why are the loopholes in our sanctions so big you can drive a tanker through them?' 'In July, two vessels reportedly docked in Botany Bay, with some 175,000 tonnes of petrol from the Jamnagar refinery in India, which uses up to 55 per cent Russian oil,' Mr Wilkie said. 'So these vessels effectively carry some 90,000 tonnes of Russian-sourced petrol, paid for by Australians, which will help fund Putin's war in Ukraine.' Mr Marles largely avoided the question instead focusing on the sanctions that had been put in place. 'Sanctions, which is the topic of the question the member has asked, is an important part of what we are putting in place to stand with Ukraine,' Mr Marles said. 'And our government will stand with Ukraine. 'I know the Australian people will stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to resolve this conflict on its terms.' The loophole has recently been closed in the European Union, which has banned the importation of petroleum products refined form Russian crude oil in its 18th sanctions package against Russia. The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations has urged Australia to take similar action. 'This decisive action closes a glaring and deeply exploited loophole that has allowed Russian crude to enter global markets through refineries in third-party countries – undermining sanctions and fuelling the Kremlin's war machine. 'We urge the Australian government to take similar action and close this loophole in Australia's own sanctions regime. 'Since February 2023, Australia has imported an estimated $3.7bn worth of Russian crude, as a component in refined petroleum products from Indian refineries – sending around $1.8bn in tax revenue to the Kremlin. 'This flow of profits directly helps fund Russia's brutal war against Ukraine.'