SITA eWAS helps SWISS avoid turbulence

In the snowy heart of the Swiss Alps, one hotel is changing the game for what après-ski means. Traditionally, après-ski is all about kicking back after a day of skiing, maybe with a hot drink or a beer in hand. It's a time to relax and share stories of the day's escapades on the slopes. But at the Tschuggen Grand Hotel, they're offering something different, something more.

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What a thrill to journey by train to St Moritz in the snowy Swiss Alps to see the work of Gerhard Richter (born in 1932), the German painter who critics describe as our “greatest living artist.” His works can be found in international collections and have been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries in Europe and the United States. He’s also the most expensive European living artist (his abstract painting Abstraktes Bild (599) sold for a record $46.3 million at Sotheby's in London). While Richter’s paintings are highly covetable, collectors visiting his new three-venue exhibition in the Swiss Alps must be content with simply viewing the works as none are for sale.

Between the enchantment of snow-coated landscapes and the hush that comes with it, winter reveals a different world of national parks with significantly fewer crowds. 

There’s a joke in certain circles, that whenever something goes wrong in Paris, we blame Emily. I think you know of whom I speak.

The first thing travelers should know about the Swiss Travel System is that it’s available exclusively for international visitors to Switzerland for a choice of 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 consecutive days. In fact, nearly all forms of transportation are included with a Swiss Travel Pass.

I’m a budget-conscious skier, so Switzerland is rarely on my radar. Sure, resorts such as St Moritz, Zermatt and Verbier are world-class, but I’ve always assumed they have sky-high prices to match. My last ski trip was to wallet-friendly Andorra. A quick check of the Post Office’s annual ski resort report confirmed my suspicions: Switzerland is consistently the priciest destination in Europe, while Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Andorra offer more affordable skiing.

To reach the top of the Waldspritz sledding run above the village of Grindelwald in the Swiss Alps, I hiked 90 minutes into the backcountry, dragging a small runnered sled by a rope to roughly 7,400 feet.

As a travel company, managing risk is extremely important. Claims or lawsuits are not only a financial burden on your company — potentially resulting in bankruptcy — but can also destroy its reputation. A tainted reputation will also impact the financial health of your company. The fitness of your company depends upon you following strict risk management protocols. In its many years of administering travel industry claims, Aon has identified seven common missteps that have resulted in a claim or a poor outcome. Kenneth F. Whitman, Esq., Senior Program Manager and Counsel for the Travel Agents and Tour Operators Professional Liability Program at Aon, details how to protect your company and what should be done to avoid these detrimental missteps.

Biometric exit at Honolulu Airport is now operational and available to all international airlines.

For Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), Advent begins this year on 1 December with the launch of its “LXmas” campaign and an appropriately festive raffle.

Sergiy Nevstruyev steps into his new role after an extensive tenure working with the aviation industry within Accenture’s global industry group, focusing on strategy, transformation, customer experience and delivery.