Corporate Travel Alerts

Wade Lambert | 19 February 2018

The Gautrain has launched a new website and a mobile app that allow travellers to register a profile, and receive relevant, up-to-date travel information online.

Gautrain cards are still only available for purchase at Gautrain stations, but passengers can now manage their cards, claim refunds, and plan their trips online. It is also possible to reload funds, buy bulk cards, view transaction history, and check card expiry dates, among other features. The app is available for both Android and iOS. The trip-planning tool allows passengers to find their closest station from their location, or to add a starting address from which they would like to begin their trip. It will also assist them in locating the nearest bus, and to view the train schedules of their departure and arrival stations, as well as the total cost of their trip.

Kenya Airways has announced the launch of a non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York. The airline has started selling tickets for the inaugural flight, which is scheduled for 28 October.

Kenya Airways becomes the first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and the United States and it already serves Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and Asia. The arline will operate its Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with a capacity of 234 passengers, on the route. The flight will depart every day from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi at 23h25, arriving at JFK Airport in New York at 06h25 the following day. From New York it will depart at 12h25, landing at JKIA at 10h55 the following day. Flight duration will be 15 hours east-bound and 14 hours west-bound.

Lufthansa has launched a new automatic check-in service for customers travelling on flights within Germany and to selected European destinations.

The new service applies to flights that are “completely within the Schengen area”. Customers who have added their personal details in their Miles and More accounts of Lufthansa ID profile will be automatically sent their mobile boarding pass 23 hours before departure – providing the flight was booked at least 24 hours before departure. Under the new system passengers will still be able to change their seat or opt to cancel check in, as well as use online services such as activating electronic luggage tags. Customers can also opt out of the automatic check-in service in their customer profile, and those without a Miles and More account of Lufthansa ID, can opt for automatic check-in on an individual flight basis by following the link in their booking confirmation.