Business Traveller

Welcome to the September issue of Business Traveller. I hope you all had a chance to take a proper rest from business travel over the summer, and that your travels instead revolved around pleasure somewhere with family or friends. As experienced trav

Gareth is a journalist specialising in meetings and incentives, luxury travel and the Middle East, where he lived for 15 years, dividing his time between Beirut, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In this issue, he looks at how the Omani capital, Muscat,

CHRIS HARDING is an architect and chair of BDP, a major international architecture practice. He has worked on projects such as the Channel Tunnel and the Armada Housing development in Den Bosch, Netherlands. Which project are you most proud of? Ma

I had almost 20,000 Flying Blue miles and since I mainly fly Oneworld nowadays, I decided to redeem them for a leather bracelet from the Flying Blue shop before they expired. Collecting these miles has taken numerous flights over the past few years.

I travelled this week on the BA overnight from Dubai to London (0130-0600) in premium economy. I’m a light sleeper and don’t like wearing eyeshades. With a quiet cabin and a bit of luck, I can get three to four hours on this flight. An hour into the

John Strickland is entitled to his view in “Out of proportion” [May 2019 issue] but I disagree [that airline compensation in Europe is too high]. The difference between air travel and other forms of transport such as rail is that the former, when the

A property so famous it spawned an entire brand of hotels – 14 and counting – that is now part of Accor, Raffles Singapore reopened last month after a two-year renovation. Its famous Arcade has also been revamped, featuring a Raffles Boutique, Ah Te

WHAT TO SEE: Bait al Zubair, the capital’s go-to museum, will leave your head spinning with wonder at the Sultanate’s incredible past, with exhibits including a large collection of ancient weapons. Open 9.30am-6pm Sat-Thurs, entry 2 rials (£4.30). ba

One hundred years ago, in April 2019, the Staatliches Bauhaus art school was founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany. At first glance, its spirit of experimentation and regrowth seems out of kilter with that era – Germany was a country

Since George Devol invented the first digitally operated and programmable robot in 1954, hoteliers the world over have been trying to replace that ridiculously expensive and unreliable cost called “personnel” with automation. Devol’s first machine, t

May’s announcement by Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi to reintroduce trophy hunting has caused a ruckus across the globe. This is a watershed moment for the business of African wildlife conservation. What is required is a carefully thought-out e

The annual Business Traveller Airline Survey gives you all the information you need to choose the best airline, class and seat for your journey and budget. In this issue, we list economy and premium economy classes. The strength of this survey is tha

BACKGROUND Air France’s Paris-Nairobi route launched in March last year and operates five times a week. BOARDING I had already checked in as I was connecting from Heathrow. Cabin crew told me my new gate number on the first flight. We landed into Pa

BACKGROUND Formerly a low-cost carrier, Canada’s Westjet has been moving into the full-service market. This year it stepped that up with the delivery of four B787-9s, scheduled for daily Toronto-Gatwick flights year round, as well as routes out of Ca

BACKGROUND This hotel relaunched in June after a four-month closure for renovation. When it first opened in 1998 it was a breath of fresh air for London’s hotel scene, with great service, quirky design, a well-known general manager – Simon Hirst – an

BACKGROUND The Luxury Collection, previously a Starwood brand and now part of Marriott International, comprises more than 100 properties worldwide. This hotel opened in March. Marriott already has a property in the Armenian capital, in Republic Squar