Travel Technology
PRNewswire | August 24, 2023
BeCause, a startup enterprise software company that is transforming how companies in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries manage their sustainability data, has announced a new partnership with easyJet holidays to help the tour operator more efficiently collect and communicate hotel sustainability data.
BeCause will collect data on hotels certified according to 33 recognized Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards and integrate that data into the easyJet holidays system. That sustainability data will help inform the tour operator's "eco-certified" hotel collection.
Efficient and scalable sustainability data management
BeCause's sustainability data management solution replaces easyJet holidays' current manual update processes. Under the new partnership, hotel sustainability data will be automatically updated in the easyJet holidays database, ensuring that users and travelers always have up-to-date sustainability information about eco-certified accommodation options.
"Through our shared involvement with GSTC, we quickly recognized both easyJet holidays' need for a scalable sustainability data solution and their genuine commitment to industry transformation," said Frederik Rubens Steensgaard, CEO and co-founder of BeCause. "We look forward to a long and productive relationship and helping to make real headway on reducing travel's impact on the environment."
Supporting easyJet holidays' eco-friendly goals
Part of the easyJet group, easyJet holidays is the UK's fastest-growing tour operator, projected to grow by 60% year-on-year this summer. The company, who were the winners of The Globes' Sustainable Future Award, is committed to making sustainable holidays mainstream and, in addition to the GSTC, partners with the University of Oxford and the UNWTO to help drive forward the development of sustainable travel.
"We're committed to our holidays being a force for good and making a positive impact on the environment and local communities in the destinations our customers visit," said Matt Callaghan, Director of Customer & Operations for easyJet holidays. "We know that holidaymakers are caring more than ever about the eco credentials of the hotels they're choosing to stay at. So, we needed a partner to help us connect and communicate hotel sustainability data more efficiently and scale with us as we grow, and BeCause delivered on those criteria."
BeCause's technology framework connects certification entities like GSTC and Green Key with travel providers and distributors, enabling over 11,000 hotels, tour operators and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) to provide travelers with accurate and reliable sustainability data. These processes, traditionally handled via spreadsheets, emails and unconnected niche systems, are ripe for transformation, and managing them more efficiently allows travel and tourism companies like easyJet to accelerate their sustainability efforts across their consumer-facing platforms.
About easyJet holidays
easyJet holidays is the UK's fastest-growing tour operator, having carried 1.3 million people in its first fully operational year and being named Rising Brand of the Year by Travolution. It offers great-value beach, city and lakes holidays to over 5000 hotels, in more than 100 destinations across Europe, directly through its website and through over 5000 travel agent partners. The ATOL-protected holidays can be secured with a deposit of just £60 per person, including flights, hotel, 23kg luggage and transfers on beach holidays. easyJet holidays is a member of ABTA, and all packages are covered by its Ultimate Flexibility, offering freedom to change a booking, a refund guarantee, and best price guarantee.
Winners of the Sustainable Future Award at the Globe Travel Awards 2022, easyJet holidays has a sustainability strategy focusing on three key pillars – create better holiday choices which is about making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone; keep our holidays special, which is maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of travel and tourism, and transform travel for everyone which means embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviours and driving meaningful change in the industry. Through ongoing collaboration with the University of Oxford and as a member of the GSTC, easyJet holidays is focused on building its research, partnerships and certifications and taking action to make a positive impact on the people and places that make its destinations so special.
easyJet holidays has been named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 – being called out as one of the most loved employers and highly commended as a great place to work for LGBTQIA+ employees, as well as being named The Best Workplace in Travel 2023.
About BeCause
BeCause is an enterprise software company that enables sustainability data to flow more simpler, faster and cheaper so travel and tourism companies can positively impact people, the planet and their profits. BeCause works with over 11,000+ companies, including sustainability-certified hotels, eco-labels, certification entities like GreenKey, industry partners including UN GSTC and marketplaces including Booking.com. The BeCause Sustainability Management Hub allows organizations to collect and display all their communication about their sustainability efforts in one place, empowering them to make sustainability manageable for their operations and a competitive advantage for their business.
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Destination and Tourism
Spirit Airlines | September 15, 2023
Spirit Airlines partners with Liberty University to launch the Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program, focusing on nurturing the next generation of skilled pilots.
Liberty University aviation students can apply for the program after their sophomore year and a faculty recommendation, gaining conditional employment offers from Spirit Airlines, mentorship, and essential resources.
The program enhances the academic experience at Liberty University and aligns with Spirit Airlines' commitment to developing a proficient and motivated pilot workforce.
The company emphasizes its growth, new aircraft acquisitions, and improved pilot benefits, offering a promising future for Liberty Aeronautics graduates.
On September 14, 2023, Spirit Airlines, a leading customizable travel options provider, has announced a collaboration with Liberty University to cultivate the next generation of pilots. Spirit Airlines has unveiled the Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program, a strategic initiative to expand its pool of skilled aviators. This innovative program, hosted at Liberty University's School of Aeronautics in Lynchburg, Virginia, marks a significant milestone in the airline's mission to bolster its ranks of professional pilots.
Liberty University students pursuing aviation degrees benefit from this partnership. Students may apply to the Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program after completing their sophomore year and obtaining a faculty recommendation. Successful candidates will receive conditional employment offers from Spirit Airlines, essential resources like a Spirit Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and invaluable mentorship opportunities. As they progress through their academic journey and accumulate flight hours, program participants will ultimately step into the role of a Spirit First Officer, contributing to the airline's commitment to excellence in aviation. This initiative enhances the educational experience at Liberty University and reinforces Spirit Airlines' dedication to cultivating a highly skilled and motivated pilot workforce.
Ryan Rodosta, Senior Director of Flight Operations and System Chief Pilot at Spirit Airlines, shared,
We put a lot of hard work into developing the Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program and assembling a great group of partners making it incredibly rewarding to reach this key milestone. Liberty University offers a premier pilot training program designed to provide graduates with the skills to lead in the aviation field, and Spirit's growth creates opportunities for those graduates to achieve their dreams with us."
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
Spirit's Pilots fly some of the industry's newest, most fuel-efficient aircraft to 90+ destinations across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Eight brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2023, creating opportunities for First Officers to get promoted to Captain quickly. Recently, Spirit's pilots ratified a contract that includes a substantial pay raise and improved benefits. In addition to industry-leading training, Spirit provides its pilots with an exceptional quality of life.
The partnership would open exceptional prospects for their graduates, offering Liberty-trained aviation professionals a distinctive pathway to Spirit Airlines upon meeting the requisite training and experience standards. Rick Roof, Dean of the School of Aeronautics, emphasized that Spirit Airlines would gain access to pilots distinguished by their outstanding technical competencies and character, making them valuable contributors to the aerospace sector. He further noted that Liberty Aeronautics graduates could envision themselves as integral members of the Spirit team, enjoying the advantages of being associated with a renowned industry leader and operating some of the most advanced aircraft worldwide.
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Airlines and Airports
businesswire | August 04, 2023
Zartico, the creators of the world’s first Destination Operating System™, announces the latest in game-changing data solutions with the launch of ZDOS™ Airport. Designed to meet the unique needs of airports, ZDOS™ Airport offers new insights into passenger behavior, allowing airports to make data-led decisions for the benefit of travelers and local communities.
With a partner base of more than 250 North American destination organizations, Zartico recognized that the airports share a common pain point with many destinations — a lack of transformational data insights that fuels innovation and supports competition. This new self-service application fills that gap and allows them to compete on revenue generation.
ZDOS™ Airport uses the same rigorous data science methodology that powers Zartico’s destination management solutions. The application’s passenger-specific data model simplifies dataset analysis, requiring little customization or technical know-how to derive meaningful insights that drive new revenue possibilities in route development, local passenger inflow, and parking utilization.
ZDOS™ Airport equips airports to now answer key questions, including:
Where do our outbound and inbound passengers live? See the full picture of your local catchment area, and understand what markets inbound travelers are coming from.
How does our market share compare to nearby competing airports? Know how your airport stacks up — who in your catchment area is choosing a competing airport, and who is traveling into competing airports to reach your destination.
Who is using our parking services, and who is choosing an off-site competitor? Develop targeted marketing strategies to drive incremental parking growth.
Where do inbound passengers go in our destination? Understand travel motivators for inbound flyers to create out-of-market advertising opportunities and grow strategic partnerships with in-market attractions and event venues.
“Data is a powerful tool for understanding human movement and the economic opportunities tied to it,” says Zartico CEO Sarah Lehman. “In developing ZDOS™ Airport, we’ve combined everything we’ve learned from working with tourism destinations, then innovated, focused, and streamlined it in order to give airport leaders the precise intelligence they need to elevate their organizations moving forward.”
ZDOS™ Airport is built on Zartico’s Integrated Data Model, using high-resolution geolocation data and event data to generate meaningful insights that supplement gate data. By filling in the data gaps, ZDOS™ Airport brings the full picture of passenger behavior into focus, empowering airports to market more strategically and manage more effectively.
About Zartico
Zartico powers the possibilities of place. Makers of the first Destination Operating System, Zartico harnesses and streamlines big data, science, AI, and technology to provide unprecedented visibility into the movement of people and economic opportunities. ZDOS™ is a complete strategic planning solution that equips communities to make better decisions and navigate the future. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Zartico has decades of experience in technology, tourism, data science, and storytelling.
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