Business travel Weekly · 2026 · Week 45 · 2 Nov — 8 Nov

On November 2, 2026, PhocusWire reported that an unauthorized access incident occurred in a system operated by Amadeus, with multiple airlines reporting that passenger booking data was exposed, and some cases involving passport numbers and contact details. Cathay Pacific said the unauthorized party used credentials assigned to an Amadeus system account to access booking data. The access timeframes disclosed by Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific span from August 2023 to September 2026. On November 5, TravelDaily China reported that Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, ANA and other airlines disclosed that their passenger booking records were leaked due to unauthorized access to the Amadeus system, involving bookings during the period from August 2023 to September 2026. The reports currently do not disclose the specific number of affected passengers, the complete list of affected airlines, or the progress of incident handling.

On October 22, 2026, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the third-quarter earnings call that travel is one of the key application scenarios for the Muse AI agent, and that users can plan itineraries through Meta's apps. Muse is currently available through WhatsApp and is planned to expand to Meta's AI glasses, but it does not yet cover the combined 3.64 billion daily active users of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Zuckerberg also said he is considering taking a commission from this scenario. On October 23, Klook announced a partnership with Meta's Muse to integrate its experience products into Muse, and Muse simultaneously launched in Japan for the first time; travelers can search, compare, book and pay for Klook experiences within a single conversation with Muse, and Muse gives recommendations based on Klook's 426,000 bookable products covering more than 4,600 destinations, and seeks confirmation before placing an order and initiating payment. On the same day, another report said that Muse's launch in Japan is its first market outside North America, supporting iOS, Android and the muse.ai website. On October 28, Agoda announced that it would connect to Muse as a connector, becoming the first travel platform in the region to connect to Muse, and the connector is currently live in Singapore and Japan; the same-day report mentioned that Expedia had previously connected when Muse launched in the US, and that Meta lists Expedia as its hotel booking partner and Duffel as responsible for flights. An October 29 report said that Muse launched in Singapore, after its global release in September, and connects to local services including Shopee, Grab, Singapore Airlines, Agoda, ShopBack, Klook, Trip.com and Lazada. A November 2 report again confirmed that Muse launched in Singapore, supports iOS, Android and muse.ai, offers most features free with a paid subscription option, connects to the above local services, and can assist with price-comparison shopping, planning dining and travel bookings.

On November 5, 2026, Air France-KLM published its third-quarter results, with adjusted operating profit of €1.35 billion, up €126 million year on year, and revenue up 7.6% to €9.9 billion. On the same day, KLM announced it would reduce its workforce by nearly 15% as a restructuring measure to cut costs and improve long-term competitiveness; about 5,000 positions have been or will be cut, outsourced and transferred within the group. The plan targets an additional €1 billion improvement in annual results, raising the total target to €1.4 billion. KLM CEO Marjan Rintel said KLM's future is not guaranteed and every department must contribute. Other reports said KLM plans to cut a further 1,000 ground services positions, replace the previously planned additional A320neo purchases with the E195-E2 in its fleet, and phase out the 737 and E190; the group lowered its full-year capacity growth forecast from a maximum of 3% to 2%, and raised its 2026 fuel cost forecast to $9.2 billion. The plan is currently at the announcement stage, with no reports of further implementation progress.

On November 3, 2026, GBTA News & Press released the results of a joint survey by GBTA and Cvent. The survey shows that 62% of travel managers believe their teams are understaffed; among programs with annual travel spend above $30 million, that proportion rises to 68%. Travel programs have an average of 4.9 full-time employees devoting at least 75% of their time, with a median of only 3 people. Regarding organizational placement, 36% of travel programs sit within procurement departments and 23% within finance. The survey also shows that 39% of travel buyers believe travel and meetings functions are more integrated than before, and 28% of respondents say travel teams themselves are driving AI transformation.

On November 5, 2026, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) published sustainability and procurement standards for purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using SAF Levy revenue, requiring the fuel to meet International Civil Aviation Organization CORSIA eligibility and to reduce lifecycle emissions by at least 40% compared with conventional jet fuel. Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company SAFCo will launch its first tender before mid-December 2026, with delivery in June 2027; the first batch procurement volume is 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes, and the contract may be awarded to one or more suppliers. Current progress: the procurement standards have been published, and the first tender is still pending launch.

On November 6, 2026, MakeMyTrip announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Bengaluru-based carpooling platform Quick Ride, thereby entering the carpooling and shared mobility sector. Details such as the transaction amount, shareholding ratio and completion time were not disclosed. Subsequent reports said that what was acquired was the Quick Ride brand and its carpooling business, which had previously been placed into the newly established Co Ride Mobility Private Limited, while the original electric taxi business remains in iDisha Info Labs Private Limited. The acquisition complements MakeMyTrip's existing ground transportation business of providing bus booking through redBus and intercity car rental through Savaari; Quick Ride connects commuters with similar routes to share travel costs, and partners with enterprises, IT parks and business parks, with a customer base not limited to individual travelers. A November 10 report said the founding team will continue to be responsible for business operations, and MakeMyTrip plans to rely on redBus's ground transportation business experience to expand the urban commuting and intercity travel markets. Currently the transaction is at the announcement stage, and subsequent progress remains to be disclosed.

On November 6, 2026, Airbnb announced its 2026 third-quarter results: revenue grew 19% year over year to $4.9 billion, the fastest growth rate in three years. The report said that in the same period Expedia Group revenue grew 12% and Booking Holdings revenue fell 1%, the latter including a $1 billion accounting impact related to a potential settlement with the FTC. Airbnb said the growth mainly came from strong demand in all regions and continued progress on its product roadmap, including search and merchandising, pricing and tools, and flexible payments. Follow-up reporting the same day added that gross booking value for the quarter grew 21% year over year to $27.7 billion, nights, experiences and services booked grew 16% year over year, net profit was $1.9 billion, and adjusted EBITDA grew 22% year over year to $2.5 billion; the company disclosed that its hotel business accounts for only a single-digit percentage of booked room nights, and it plans to gradually roll out a travel planning AI agent in the first half of 2027.

On October 30, 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released global air passenger data for September 2026. Measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), total global passenger demand for the month fell 0.5% year-on-year; total capacity measured in available seat kilometers (ASK) fell 0.2% year-on-year; the load factor was 83.2%, down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year. The report did not disclose regional breakdowns or the specific reasons for the year-on-year changes.

On October 30, 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a report calling for a fairer division of responsibility and costs between governments and airlines when passengers are denied entry. The report is based on a survey of 49 airlines and 22 border management agencies, noting that 40 of the 49 airlines encountered cases where immigration authorities did not state the reason for denial of entry, and that in more than 90% of cases airlines paid part of the costs that should have been borne by governments, with per-person costs ranging from about USD 4,000 in North Asia to about USD 14,000 in Europe. Current progress: IATA has publicly made the above call.

On 4 November 2026, the European Commission published the first EU sustainable tourism strategy, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the tourism industry. The strategy sets out ten action areas around three pillars—competitiveness, sustainability and resilience, and raising the standing of European destinations—with flagship actions including the EU Tourism Academy, the EU Tourism Observatory, the common European tourism data space, the tourism simplification initiative and advancing a seamless European travel area, accompanied by an EU tourism management model, a Council recommendation, a balanced tourism toolbox and an EU tourism crisis coordination network. A Q&A published the same day explained that the strategy does not harmonise national laws but provides a common framework for cross-border coordination, SME support, and data and transport connectivity; the relevant tools will be discussed with member states and are to be ready by next summer. The Commission says tourism accounts for 10% of the EU's total value added, supports more than 20 million jobs and 5 million businesses, 99% of which are SMEs; Europe accounts for about 40% of global international tourist arrivals. Subsequent reporting said the strategy will bring together national and local bodies, tourism businesses and stakeholders through an EU tourism alliance; under the current multiannual financial framework, tourism involves 15 funding programmes and is expected to receive about EUR 18 billion in support by the end of this programming period. Reporting on 5 November said the strategy aims to spread visitors to less-visited destinations and across all seasons, but allocates no new funding and sets no quantitative targets, and noted that an average of 42% of overnight stays are concentrated in a destination's three busiest months. On 12 November, GBTA welcomed the strategy, saying its sustainable procurement criteria had been cited in the strategy's working document, and argued that corporate travel programmes, TMCs and MICE and travel technology suppliers can aggregate demand and accelerate the scaling of low-carbon solutions; the European Commission also announced the establishment of a new EU Tourism Alliance.

Navan and Skift released the eighth annual business travel and expense report. The report shows that 58% of travelers expect to travel more in 2027, and 87% of travelers and 89% of travel and finance managers consider business travel essential or necessary.