European Commission travel tips

EU antitrust regulators warned on Friday a bid by South Korea’s biggest carrier, Korean Air Lines, for second-place Asiana Airlines could hurt competition, as they opened a full-scale investigation of the deal.

The European Commission has all but officially blocked Booking Holding’s almost 2-year-old pending acquisition of Swedish flight-tech company eTraveli Group, and Booking confidentially sent a memo to national competition authorities detailing why it thinks the commission’s arguments are flawed.

The European Commission is set to block Booking Holdings’ $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group, a critically important transaction that’s been in limbo for nearly two years.

Raluca Marian, the IRU Director of EU Advocacy, emphasized the necessity of an EU initiative to establish a well-functioning MDMS ticketing system.

Italy has suspended its golden visa programme for Russian and Belarusian citizens, the country’s Business Ministry has announced on its website.

Passengers may soon be able to make phone calls on flights in the European Union thanks to a recent ruling by the European Commission. The ruling is one of two that would allow airlines and other transportation providers to provide the latest internet connection service on their trips.

Google made changes to Google Flights and Hotels related to transparency in hotel reviews and pricing under pressure from the European Commission — but stopped short of making those modifications elsewhere in the world.

Sustainability in travel will no longer simply be judged on stated goals. Rhetoric turns to accountability as companies and destinations are forced to put goals into operations in 2023. Travel climate ambitions have reached a moment of maturity.

The European Commission has proposed labelling certain investments in aviation as green, after a months-long row over whether to add the sector to the EU’s list of sustainable investments.

Korean Air Lines’s proposed acquisition of rival Asiana may restrict competition in passenger and cargo air transport services between Europe and South Korea, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday.

The European Union’s antitrust regulators on Friday warned that Booking Holdings’ planned acquisition of Sweden-based rival ETraveli may strengthen the U.S. company’s position in the market for hotel online travel agencies, and push up costs for hotels.

There is no doubt that Booking.com is the dominant hotel room seller among online travel agencies in Europe. It is also apparent that the European Commission is acutely focused on limiting Booking’s grip.

Following, Booking.com, Kayak, OpenTable, Expedia and others, Tripadvisor has debuted a beta of an OpenAI-based trip-planning feature with the focus on experiences and dining reservations.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 17. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Booking Holdings has proposed a remedy to a hotel issue that is threatening European Commission approval of its roughly $1.8 billion deal to acquire flight tech company eTraveli Group — show hotels from competitors when someone books a flight.