Innovazione

🌊 Amadeus River Cruises will expand its fleet with a new ship, "Amara," in Spring 2025, designed to carry 164 guests on the Danube and Rhine rivers. The Amara will feature 12 balcony suites and 70 standard cabins with panoramic windows, plus an indoor pool. The ship will be capable of navigating shallow waters, equipped with solar panels, and have an autopilot system for fuel saving, as reported by travelweekly.com.

🎮 nhow Berlin introduced two new gaming rooms equipped with advanced PCs and a PlayStation 5, targeting video game enthusiasts and e-sports fans. The rooms were designed in collaboration with SK Gaming to cater to professional and amateur gamers' needs. Christian Friedrich from Minor Hotels Europe & Americas mentioned a synergy between hospitality and e-sports, hinting at more gaming rooms in other nhow Hotels & Resorts locations soon.

🚠 Swedish company Candela Boats will supply 8 electric ferries, the Candela P-12, to Saudi Arabia for use in Neom's waterways. The 30-seat P-12 is part of a movement towards emission-free transport systems. Candela Boats' CEO Gustav Hasselskog announced the deal, with deliveries expected between 2025 and early 2026. The P-12 will debut in Stockholm in autumn of the current year.

💸 In Switzerland, the National Bank and SIX Swiss Exchange have introduced instant payments, immediately available to approximately 60 financial institutions, covering over 95% of retail payments. All retail institutions will have this option by the end of 2026. The system allows for immediate account-to-account transactions, reducing risks and providing instant funds availability while maintaining the option for traditional transfers. This move potentially paves the way for future payment innovations in Switzerland.

💻 SITA collaborates with Cradlepoint, owned by Ericsson, to include Cradlepoint routers and NetCloud Manager in its cloud-based mobile to Wi-Fi solutions, ensuring top customer service and network performance. Martin Smillie, SVP for communications and data exchange at SITA, highlights the next-gen products for airports, airlines, and ground services. The technology also extends to passenger processing outside airports, SDWAN backup for remote sites, and data connectivity for aircraft.

🏡 Gitavillage Le Marze, part of the Gitav group in Europe, will launch Air Dream Suite, floating bedroom accommodations, in 2025. Created by Cesare Francorsi, these unique "houses suspended in the air between trees" include mobile homes of approximately 20sqm, featuring double beds, single sofa beds, kitchens, bathrooms, and verandas, plus a 5m high suspended room accessed via a tree platform, hatch, and ladder. Each suite ensures privacy with exclusive reserved spaces, despite shared walkways.

🚀 Etihad's A380 to commence flights to Singapore starting February 1, adding it as the fourth destination after London, New York, and Paris, with Paris flights beginning in November. From October 27, Etihad will increase Thailand flights to 41 per week, flying three times daily to Bangkok and operating 20 weekly flights to Phuket.

🌊 Traghettiper, a ferry booking comparison website, launched a new user interface featuring a modern and intuitive design to enhance user experience. This update allows travelers to quickly compare offers and select suitable ferry rates and availability in real time. Traghettiper collaborates with leading maritime operators, offering customers a wide selection of navigation companies and routes across the Mediterranean.

🚀 Cathay Pacific orders 30 A330-900 widebody aircraft to renew its medium-sized fleet and replace A330-300 models, aiming to expand regional high-capacity routes. The A330-900 can fly non-stop for 7,200 nautical miles (13,330 km) and features the award-winning Airspace cabin. Airbus states these planes can operate with up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with a goal of 100% by 2030.

✈ In a $3 billion restyling project, Emirates launched its first upgraded Boeing 777 with a new Premium Economy cabin featuring 24 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, 38-inch legroom, 19.5-inch width, and an 8-inch recline. The inaugural flight heads to Geneva today. Emirates President Tim Clark emphasizes the commitment to unmatched onboard experiences. The new cabins will also fly to Tokyo Haneda and Brussels in the coming weeks, with more destinations to be announced.