APX Success at National Travel Industry Awards
We are proud to share our success at the recent 2015 TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards, where APX was awarded the Best Brand Corporate (Multi Location) title for the second year running and two of our stars also took home awards.
Jackie Bell, APX Head of Operations Southern, won the Best Travel Agency Manager Corporate category and Amelia Glubb, APX Consultant, was awarded the Best Travel Consultant Corporate title.
These awards represent all of the categories APX was eligible to enter as a travel management company with a national structure – so we were elated to take home all three awards! We were also delighted to congratulate our new technology partner, Amadeus, on their award of Best Technology Supplier.
Upcoming Peak Travel Dates
Each month we bring you a list of peak travel dates, to ensure you can book business trips ahead and avoid missing out on flights, accommodation and rental cars. This list is not comprehensive, but covers a number of peak dates.
Auckland
6-8 November – ITM 500 Auckland (V8 Supercars at Pukekohe)
21 & 22 November – Fleetwood Mac concert
12 December – Ed Sheeran concert
15 December – ACDC concert
17 January 2016 - UB40 concert
6-7 Feb - NRL Auckland Nines
Wellington
24 September - 11 October – World of Wearable Art
15 November - Toast Martinborough
21 November – Elton John concert
12 December – ACDC concert
30 – 31 January 2016 – Wellington Sevens
18 - 21 February 2016 – Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (Accommodation at capacity)
Christchurch
7-14 November - New Zealand Cup and Show Week
Dunedin
18 November – Fleetwood Mac concert (Accommodation at capacity)
Australia
2 October - AFL Grand Final - Melbourne
3-5 October - NRL Rugby Grand Final - Sydney
30 Oct - 4 Nov - Spring Racing (Melbourne Cup) - Melbourne
5 December - V8 Supercars - Sydney
London
19 September - 1 November - Rugby World Cup
As always for travel bookings contact us on 0800 TRAVEL (872 835).
Air New Zealand Introduces Airpoints for Business
Air New Zealand has introduced a new initiative which for the first time will reward New Zealand businesses with bonus Airpoints Dollars when their employees travel with Air New Zealand for business purposes.
Aimed at small to medium businesses, participating businesses will earn Airpoints Dollars at a rate of 20 percent of the personal Airpoints Dollar earn rate. The business earning rate does not affect the individual's personal Airpoints.
However please note, organisations that use a UATP Travelcard as their form of payment are excluded.
As part of an introductory offer, Air New Zealand is offering to triple a business's travel earnings, when employees book and travel on eligible flights between 16 September and 31 December 2015. There is also the opportunity to win a mentorship with one of New Zealand's top business leaders.
APX Infographic | 6 Tips For Spending Less on Business Travel
Our blog post 6 Tips for Spending Less on Business Travel is now available as an infographic for easy reading.
Discover how to make savings within your organisation's business travel programme, while maintaining the comfort and wellbeing of travellers – it's about finding smart ways to proactively manage travel purchasing.
Air New Zealand alliance with Air China
Air New Zealand and Air China have recently formed a strategic alliance and have launched joint sales for a new daily direct service between Auckland and Beijing.
The alliance between the two national carriers will see air capacity between Auckland and Mainland China increase by more than 25 percent year round.
Under the alliance Air New Zealand will continue to operate daily between Auckland and Shanghai and Air China will operate the new service between Auckland and Beijing. The two carriers will codeshare on each other's services between New Zealand and China.
The Beijing-Auckland service will begin operating on 10 December this year and fares will go on sale immediately.
Park Hyatt Planned for Auckland's Waterfornt
Plans are underway for the development of a new luxury hotel, the Park Hyatt Auckland, in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter after resource consent was granted this month.
Work on the $200 million luxury hotel will begin next year, and will eventually stand at seven stories high. It will have 195 rooms, a ballroom, entertainment facilities, health centre and day spa and will have a total floor area of 29,000sq m.
Serko Launches Luggage Tracking for Serko Mobile
APX supplier, Serko, has announced a new feature called 'Bag Tracker' that allows travellers to use Serko Mobile to keep track of their bags.
To use the new Bag Tracker feature, travellers simply 'pair' their tags (which must be purchased online) with Serko Mobile and then drop the tags into their luggage. Serko Mobile can track up to three tags simultaneously.
The Bag Tracker app will be available for iPhone users of Serko Mobile from the end of September.
Kiwi Regional Airlines Spreads its Wings
New Zealand's newest airline, Kiwi Regional Airlines, will take flight from 27 October this year with its first plane.
Kiwi will fly from Dunedin to Queenstown return, Dunedin to Nelson return, and Nelson to Hamilton return. The aircraft seats 32 and is a SAAB 340A twin-engine turboprop model.
Visit the website flykiwiair.co.nz
