ON THE SOAPBOX: Rob Burgess, CEO, Head for Points

When Head for Points, acquired Business Travel News from Malcolm Ginsberg last month as he hit his 80th birthday, Malcolm asked me for a few thoughts as he, wife Linda and Sharon Ross launched the monthly newsletter Travel News Update.

Travel is, in many ways a good sector into which to introduce a forward-looking publication.  Aircraft and hotels have long lead times.

If you want a new aircraft from Airbus or Boeing in 2025, you’re probably already too late.  Once your order is in, your new cabin design needs to be approved well before the aircraft is due for delivery due to the complexity of getting every single element certified by safety regulators let alone the component supply issues. There are long lead times.

Similarly, hotels do not emerge fully formed overnight.  A new-build property can take 5+ years from initial announcement to accepting paying guests, so everyone in the industry is well aware of what new capacity is going to appear on the market.

Conferences have to be known about and booked many months, even years, in advance.  Try getting accommodation in London for the Coronation weekend. 

The same goes for cruise ships and, another passion of Malcolm’s, new car releases.  The potential for something truly new emerging is limited.

There is still scope for surprise, however.  Airlines do a remarkably good job of keeping new cabin designs secret, especially in Business Class, even to the extent of refusing to patent key design items to avoid tipping off the competition.  Virgin Atlantic’s new Upper Class seat entered into service this week and wasn’t unveiled to the public until June, even though it had been on the drawing board for well over five years.  Finnair launched a revolutionary new ‘no recline’ Business Class seat without anyone even knowing they were considering a change.

Hotels also rebrand or change operator, even before opening.  It is surprisingly common for a hotel group to publicly announce that it will be opening a certain property in 3-4 years’ time, only for the operator to quietly change in the interim.  The recent Radisson RED hotel which opened at Gatwick Airport was previously scheduled to be part of Marriott’s Moxy brand, and before that was due to be a Hyatt Place.

These are the ‘known knowns’ and ‘known unknowns’, of course.  We know what we know and we know what we don’t know, but we don’t know what else we don’t know.  This is the gap that Travel News Update can fill.

As well as rundowns on new airline routes, new aircraft, new hotel signings and new cruise ship orders, there is space for a more philosophical look at where the world of travel is going.  Few people have more historic knowledge than Malcolm, and when you have travelled a longer road than most from the past to present, it is easier to see where the next destination will be."

Rob Burgess
Editor Head for Points

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READERS' COMMENT

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John Jones, West Ham

Rob. I wish you well with BTN. Malcolm Is a hard act to follow.

Adam Smith, London

Some interesting points are raised here by Mr Burgess. I wish him and Mr Ginsberg well with this new project.