FCM Travel Solutions

For eight years in a row FCM Travel Solutions has been named the World’s Leading Travel Management Company at the World Travel Awards.

British travellers won’t need visas for short visits to EU destinations post-Brexit - if the UK government grants EU citizens the same privilege. The European Commission has proposed to grant UK citizens visa-free travel to the EU after the UK withdraws from the European Union - if the UK also grants reciprocal visa-free travel to all EU citizens. A statement issued by the EU Commission on Tuesday this week said the proposal was “entirely conditional” on the UK granting reciprocal, non-discriminatory visa-free travel for all EU member states “in line with the principle of visa reciprocity”. This agreement would need to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states to take effect. The Commission has called on both institutions to make quick progress on this proposal, so that it can be adopted in good time before 30 March 2019.   What will it mean for business tra...

Travellers’ using their work mouse or smartphone just like their home remote control can leave a confused manager. Mark Frary explains how to thrive in a multiple channel world. Imagine a world where in order to compare the prices of different brands of baked beans you had to visit a Heinz shop, a Branston shop and as many supermarkets as there are own-brand versions. One thing is certain, you would quickly go off beans. Unfortunately, for much of business travel’s recent history, that is exactly what you had to do for certain types of product, specifically those that have ...

After years of waiting IATA’s NDC booking capability is real.Mark Frary’s guide will answer all your questions WHAT IS NDC? NDC (or New Distribution Capability) is a standard developed by IATA to facilitate communication and trade in travel. The idea is that everyone, airlines, travel management companies and self-booking tool providers, involved in the business of distributing content – such as airline seats and fares – are all talking the same (technical) language and are using the same syntax to exchange messages on shopping and  booking components of travel. WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF NDC? IATA believes NDC will transform the way air products are sold to companies and individuals by allowing airlines to bring more differentiated and personalised products to market more quickly than traditional distribution ...

The increased use of mobile devices for travel has been nothing short of dramatic since the first apps appeared nearly a decade ago. Smartphones and tablets are a necessity in the business travel space and most will have multiple travel apps downloaded on them in order to smooth their way through airports, hotels, car hire pick-ups, airport to downtown transport options, to digitalise expenses and the like. The move to a mobile world came in tandem with a move to a self-service world in which travellers can book travel and communicate directly with travel suppliers to better manage their trips. A...