From KLM's Green Misstep to Uber's New Bet 🚗

Hi there,

Here is our weekly curation of the top news, trends, and startup stories in the travel industry. Ready?

• The go-to places for work trips. In 2023, Amsterdam and New York took the crown as the go-to spots for European business travelers, hitting the short and long-haul top spots. Turns out, business travel in Europe is almost back to what it was before Covid, with spending nearly hitting those pre-pandemic marks. Germany led in intra-European travel, overtaking the UK. Around half of European business travelers flew business class on intercontinental flights, with direct flights preferred within Europe to reduce CO2 emissions.

• Trends and future outlook. If you're here for the latest in tech and how it's changing our daily lives, you've got to check out this video. Amy Webb, a superstar futurist, rocked one of the most anticipated keynotes at SXSW recently. It's especially great for people into tech and creativity, but if you've noticed AI is moving really fast, you'll find it interesting too. Left me thinking about where we're headed with all this...

• Iceland: front and center. Nice piece Business Insider did on Birgir Jónsson, the CEO at Play. I mean, it's not every day you hear about a heavy metal drummer turned airline CEO, right? Birgir's got this unique vibe and approach to running Play, a budget airline with cheap flights across the Atlantic. He's leveraging Iceland's prime location and a straightforward, no-extra-fluff flight experience to roll out some unbeatable deals and nudging competitors to rethink their strategies.

• Greenwashing red flags. Dutch court just called out KLM for making their green efforts sound way better than they actually are. Turns out their "Fly Responsibly" campaign was kind of misleading. ​​Fossil Free took them to court for "greenwashing" because, truth be told, flying is still navigating its path to sustainability. While the court didn't slap KLM with any fines, seems that it did nudge them to be more transparent about their environmental footprint. Despite this, they've pledged to keep working on reducing their emissions.

• Uber's fresh investment bet. ​​A Nigerian startup on a mission to help people finance cars for ride-sharing or delivery jobs, just got a big boost with $100 million from investors, including a big name, Uber. This deal pumps up Moove's value to $750 million. Since starting in 2020, they've helped over 20,000 folks in places like Africa, the Middle East, India, and the UK get into more than 30 million rides, mainly with Uber. With this new cash, Moove plans to grow bigger, aiming to reach 16 new places around the globe by 2025 and bring in 45,000 more vehicles.

• All about European startups. It's that time of year again, and I'm deep into planning the EU-Startups Summit. The event is hosted by our sister-brand and is a fantastic opportunity for (travel) startups to meet, get inspired with new ideas, and possibly accelerate their growth. Tickets are going quickly, so if you're thinking about attending, it's wise to book your spot soon. To give our readers a little extra, we're offering an exclusive discount with the promo code FT25OFF – it'll save you some money on your ticket. Just a friendly reminder, don't delay too long, or you could miss your chance!

See you next week,
Ana

Thank you for reading until the end.

The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, an innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.

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