Amex to acquire CWT, Southwest Redeyes and Qatar's new First Class

🚀 Big news in Corporate Travel! AmexGBT has announced it will acquire CWT. This is just the latest in a series of mergers that have been taking place in the travel industry. AmexGBT bought booking platform Egencia from Expedia in 2021 for $5.5bn, while rival TripActions, now called Navan, acquired UK-based specialist Reed & Mackay for more than $250mn that year. But will it truly benefit clients? 🤔 🌍 While merger announcements often promise more selection and choice for clients, the reality tends to be the opposite. In any case, CWT is a respected name with great people, and we're all interested to see how this acquisition plays out.
📈 With the corporate travel sector buzzing with merger activity, maybe this won't be the last deal we'll be hearing about this year!

If you’ve ever looked at a flight schedule for Southwest Airlines, you’ll notice there’s one thing missing from the schedule: a red eye 👁️flight. A recent article in The Points Guy attributes this to the carrier's old reservation technology, which had difficulty with flights going past midnight. We have a few other theories: crew rest, market demand, and flight stage length. After all, Southwest grew on its simple business model. This is all shifting now that the carrier has longer flights from the Mainland to Hawaii and a large base in Las Vegas, which was previously home to America West’s late-night hub. Both operations provide an opportunity for red-eye flights that would dramatically increase Southwest’s aircraft utilization. 

Qatar Airways is developing a new First Class concept that blends commercial and private jet experiences. The airline issued an RFP for a significant aircraft order. The airline recently reported a Record net profit of $1.21 billion after the Qatar World Cup. The carrier is looking at Market expansion plans in China, India, Australia, Japan, and Korea.