The international load factor was 86.6%, while the domestic load factor was 88.2%.

Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 2.5% to 24.6 billion in September 2026, up from 24 billion in September 2025. Cargo/Mail carried in September 2026 rose 13% to 205.7 thousand tons from 2025.

According to the January-September 2026 traffic results, passengers flown increased by 5.2% to 73 million compared to the same period of 2025. Total load factor reached 85%. The international load factor was 84.8%, while the domestic load factor was 86.7%.

Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 4.4% to 212.2 billion from 203.3 billion for the same period in 2025.
Cargo/Mail carried during this period increased by 10.6% to 1.8 million tons from 1.6 million tons in the same period of 2025.
By the end of September 2026, the fleet totalled 567 aircraft.

The traffic results are consolidated and include data from TurkishAirlines’’ main brand and AJet.

(Source: Turkish Airlines)

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The inaugural flight lasting 10 hours and 20 minutes was operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Bangkok is the latest long-haul Asian destination in LOT Polish Airlines’ route network flying from its home base at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport.

For years, Bangkok has remained one of Asia’s most attractive and promising destinations and has been served by seasonal ad hoc charter flights since the airline ended scheduled flights in 2000. The launch of direct flights from Warsaw marks another step in strengthening LOT’s presence in Southeast Asia, offering a new connection that will help deepen ties between Poland and Thailand.

LO65 departs Warsaw for Bangkok on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 1545  

LO66 from Bangkok to Warsaw will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 0905. 

With the start of the winter season on 26 October, flights will increase to five times a week, and from 2 November, flights to Bangkok will operate six times a week (no flight on Fridays). During this period, the departure time from Warsaw will also change from 1545 to 1445. 

Return flights to Warsaw will depart daily at 0905, except on Saturdays. For the summer season — 28 March to 28 October 2027 — the airline will maintain three flights weekly to the Thai capital.

The return of flights to Bangkok marks a new chapter in this route’s history, which dates back to 1977, when LOT Polish Airlines launched its first scheduled service to the Far East, connecting Warsaw with Bangkok. Initially, flights included stopovers, with the Warsaw–Dubai–Mumbai–Bangkok route operated using Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft. As the fleet expanded and LOT introduced Boeing 767 aircraft, it launched direct flights to Thailand but suspended regular service from Warsaw in March 2000 to allow route expansion in North America.

(Source: LOT Polish)

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The findings were presented to 1,000 delegates, including more than 200 travel and tourism CEOs and government leaders, attending WTTC’s annual summit.

WTTC’s latest outlook shows that, despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty, global travel and tourism is expected to grow by 2.5% in 2026, outpacing the wider global economy. Europe is forecast to perform even more strongly, with international visitor spending projected to increase by 5.8%, while leisure and business travel spending are expected to grow by 3.1% and 4.2%, respectively.

Travel & Tourism remains one of Europe’s most important economic sectors, supporting around one in 10 jobs across the region and creating opportunities for communities, businesses and destinations.

Globally, the sector contributed USD11.6 trillion to the economy last year, representing 9.8% of global GDP, and supported 366 million jobs – nearly one in every nine jobs worldwide. 

Despite significant geopolitical challenges, WTTC expects the sector to grow 2.5% this year, outpacing the global economy.

In Europe, the outlook is even stronger, with Travel & Tourism forecast to grow 3.1% in 2026. This is a sector that is ready to invest and innovate, but governments must create the right conditions – enabling seamless travel, strengthening connectivity, developing talent and supporting sustainable growth. The choices made today will determine how much of this opportunity Europe captures.

(Source: WTTC)

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Inspired by the belief that the world needs more Scandinavia, the platform celebrates the values, perspectives and way of thinking that have helped make the region increasingly admired internationally and have influenced SAS since its founding on 1 August 1946.

Many of the qualities associated with Scandinavia, from trust and collaboration to innovation and openness, have long been part of everyday life in the region. The new platform explores how these qualities have shaped both Scandinavia and SAS over the past 80 years.

“Scandinavia is a wonderful place to live, visit and do business. But I also believe the world can learn something from this region. Values such as curiosity, trust and collaboration have helped shape Scandinavia and the way it connects with the world. At the same time, Scandinavia has always looked outward, with a strong desire to explore, learn from other cultures and bring new ideas home,” says   SAS Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer Paul Verhagen.

The platform will serve as the foundation for how SAS communicates with customers across Scandinavia and internationally. It reflects the airline’s role as a connector between the region and the world, carrying Scandinavian ideas and perspectives outward while bringing people, cultures and opportunities closer to Scandinavia.

“The campaign is built around a simple observation: many of the things people admire about Scandinavia are things Scandinavians rarely think twice about. What others may see as exceptional is often considered standard here. Scandinavian as Standard brings that idea to life through stories and situations that reflect the values and mindset that have shaped both this region and SAS for generations,” says SAS Head of Brand Johanna Gustafsson.

Developed by SAS together with Ogilvy, the campaign launched last week and includes TV, online video, digital display, outdoor and social media advertising.

(Source: SAS)

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“Aviation is safer today than it was a decade ago. In that timeframe, fatal accident rates have improved from one accident per 3.5 million flights to one per 5.6 million flights,” said IATA’s Director of Safety Mark Searle, during the opening session of the IATA World Safety and Operations Conference 2026 in Istanbul.

“But 2025 still saw the loss of 394 lives in aviation accidents. Every fatality strengthens our resolve to do better. The next advance in safety will come from people, technology, and standards working together better as one resilient system.”

People: Fostering a strong aviation safety culture

Three priorities were identified to sustain and strengthen aviation’s safety performance as a new generation of aviation professionals brought up in the digital age rises in the workforce:

Structured knowledge transfer: Preserving decades of operational expertise through structured mentoring, training and succession planning.

Combining experience with new capabilities: Bringing together the operational knowledge of experienced professionals with the digital skills and artificial intelligence (AI) fluency of a new generation.

Protecting safety culture: Maintaining an environment in which people can report hazards, errors and near misses without fear, enabling the industry to learn, improve and prevent future incidents.

“We have spent decades building something genuinely rare: a positive safety culture in which people report their own errors, and mistakes become opportunities for everyone to learn from. That culture was nurtured deliberately over many years, and it is critical that, as one generation moves on, the next takes over the mantle and builds on what was done before,” said Searle.

Technology: Innovation must strengthen safety

The adoption of new technologies, including AI, should be assessed against three key tests:

Does it help safety professionals understand what is happening around them?

Does it support better decision-making?

Can the operation remain safe if the technology is unavailable or compromised?

“Technology can give us critical information that helps us identify risk earlier, understand it more clearly, and take action before an incident becomes an accident. But technology alone is never enough. The aviation system must remain resilient when technology is unavailable, degraded, or provides misleading information. The rise in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference is a reminder that technology must always be supported by redundancy, procedures, training, and human judgment,” said Searle.

Standards: Consistent Implementation drives safety

The strong safety performance of airlines on the IOSA registry demonstrates the value of common global standards backed by effective oversight. Despite this positive example, today many of aviation’s biggest safety challenges stem from inconsistent implementation and oversight, rather than a lack of global standards.

“The next step change in safety will not come from writing more standards. It will come from making sure the standards we already have are understood, implemented and overseen consistently, everywhere,” said Searle.

IATA identified three actions to strengthen global standards

Improve implementation and oversight by focusing limited resources on the highest-risk areas and ensuring standards are applied consistently across the aviation system.

Strengthen state compliance with international obligations, particularly on conflict zone risk information and accident reporting.

Keep standards relevant by simplifying, modernising and updating requirements to reflect changes in technology, operations and the regulatory environment.

“People, technology, and standards must reinforce one another. That’s true whether we are addressing runway safety, GNSS interference, conflict zones or accident investigations. When one of these pillars is weak, the resilience of the entire system is reduced,” said Searle.

(Source: IATA)

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Lufthansa will also resume its direct Frankfurt-Nagoya service and introduce an additional daily flight to Tokyo-Narita. 

SWISS is also expanding its capacity and offering more flights. As a result, Lufthansa Group airlines will offer 50 flights per week to Japan during the 2027 summer timetable, positioning itself as the leading European airline group serving Japan.

Lufthansa resumes Frankfurt–Nagoya service

For the 2027 summer flight schedule, Lufthansa resumes its Frankfurt–Nagoya route seasonally. The route is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, starting 29 March 2027.

LH736 will depart Frankfurt at 1410  and arrive in Nagoya the following day at 0935. 
LH737 will depart Nagoya at 1130 and arrive in Frankfurt (Rhine-Main metropolitan area) at 1830.

Nagoya is one of Japan’s most important industrial and economic centres. Aichi Prefecture is the main centre for the country’s automotive industry and other manufacturing companies. Rich in samurai history, Nagoya also offers direct access to key destinations in the region, such as the ancient imperial city of Kyoto. Via Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub, travellers from Nagoya can connect to numerous destinations in Europe and South America.

Daily service from Frankfurt to Tokyo-Narita

Lufthansa will launch a daily flight starting 28 March 2027.

LH710 departs from Frankfurt at 1345 and lands in Narita the following day at 0930. 
LH711 departs Tokyo-Narita at 1120 and lands in Frankfurt at 1840. 

With this daily service to Narita, Lufthansa is expanding its offerings for business and leisure travellers in the Tokyo metropolitan area on a seasonal basis for summer 2027. The airline also continues to fly daily from both Munich and Frankfurt to Tokyo-Haneda, the region’s second international airport.

Lufthansa will operate both routes with its Boeing 787-9 in the latest Allegris configuration — Lufthansa’s new premium cabin product — configured with 28 seats in business class, 28 seats in premium economy class, and 231 seats in economy class.

“Japan is a key market for the Lufthansa Group, and we are pleased to strengthen our presence with additional capacity and the resumption of flights to Nagoya, said Lufthansa Group Executive Board member and Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx. “Together with our expanded Tokyo services, these investments provide our customers with more travel options and support the continued diversification of our intercontinental network. As the leading European airline group in Japan, we remain committed to connecting people, cultures and economies between Europe and Japan.” 

More Japan connections 

SWISS is also expanding its service to Japan in the summer of 2027, with daily flights from Zurich to Tokyo-Narita.

In total, the Lufthansa Group’s hub airlines (Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, SWISS, and ITA Airways) will offer up to 50 weekly flights to four destinations in Japan in the summer of 2027 — Tokyo-Haneda, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka, and Nagoya.

(Source: Lufthansa Group)

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New destinations and additional winter connections will link these airports with Northern and Southern Europe, the Canary Islands, Egypt and the Middle East.

Eurowings will offer an extensive Middle East network in winter 2026/27. Baghdad is brand new to the schedule, with two weekly direct flights planned from both Berlin and Düsseldorf from 10 December 2026. The new connections complement the existing services to Iraq and strengthen the range of routes in the region.

Dubai will be served daily from Berlin, four times a week from Stuttgart and three times a week from Cologne/Bonn – a total of 14 weekly flights. Eurowings will fly to Jeddah twice a week from both Berlin and Stuttgart and three times a week from Cologne/Bonn. Direct services to Erbil will be available from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg, Hanover and Stuttgart. Tel Aviv will be served three times a week from Düsseldorf. Beirut will be connected with Stockholm, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Prague and Salzburg. Eurowings will also operate two weekly flights between Stuttgart and Amman, Jordan.

From 1 December 2026, the Premium BIZ Seat will be available on all Eurowings flights to Dubai and selected connections to London Heathrow, Mallorca and Málaga. The new seating configuration offers eight seats across the first two rows of the Airbus A320neo in a 2×2 layout. 

(Source: Eurowings)

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While reaffirming its long-standing commitment to sustainable tourism development, the famous mountain railway plans to enhance restaurants, hotels and visitor attractions further while maintaining a strong focus on environmental conservation and community participation. 

The company is also advancing its digital transformation, including using Artificial Intelligence to provide personalised travel guidance, to gradually move towards a fully online travel experience.

Jungfrau Railways CEO Oliver Hummel explains that for more than 100 years, Jungfrau Railways has been recognised as a symbol of Switzerland’s pioneering spirit and innovation. In 1912, the railway reached Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe for the first time, taking passengers to the highest railway station in Europe at an altitude of 3,454 metres above sea level. The spectacular railway journey passes through tunnels beneath the Eiger and Mönch mountains, while passengers can also experience breathtaking high-alpine scenery through the panoramic windows at Eigergletscher station.

“During the pioneering era, visitors began their journey to Jungfrau from Interlaken, connecting from boats to Switzerland’s main railway network. At the time, different routes to Jungfrau were operated separately. Jungfrau Railways later integrated the routes and continued developing connections between destinations to make travel more convenient for visitors,” said Hummel.

One of the latest developments is the Eiger Express, part of the innovative V-Cableway system. Introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eiger Express significantly reduced travel time to Jungfraujoch, taking just 15 minutes from Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher.

Community participation is an important part of Jungfrau Railways’ development approach. The company operates across nine municipalities in two cantons, and it conducts public consultation before undertaking new development projects.

“Our responsibility covers nine municipalities across two cantons. Therefore, every development project must involve the local community through public consultation. If the community does not agree, we will not proceed with further development,” Hummel explained.

Among the projects currently being planned is relocating the access point to Grindelwald First closer to Grindelwald railway station, creating a more convenient connection for visitors. The project is being planned in cooperation with neighbouring communities, aiming to preserve the area’s beauty and character.

Personalised travel with AI

In 2025, approximately 80,000 Thai visitors travelled to Jungfrau. As travel patterns continue to evolve, Jungfrau Railways is developing an increasingly digital travel experience, from booking across multiple platforms to using AI to help visitors plan their journeys.

interested in hiking and mountain activities can discover areas around Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg – Top of Hiking.

Future developments

A new restaurant with 400 seats is also planned at Eigergletscher, at the end of the Eiger Express route, giving visitors more dining options while helping reduce congestion at restaurants on Jungfraujoch. In addition, a hotel development featuring approximately 200 rooms and 400 beds is planned in Interlaken Ost for 2028.

“We are trying to develop the area further, but always on the basis that development must not harm what already exists. This is not simply because the area is part of a World Heritage Site. From the first day we encountered this ‘little lady’ – Jungfrau – many years have passed, yet she remains much the same. Although climate change has caused the ice to recede by around one centimetre each year, we remain committed to protecting the surrounding areas of Jungfrau and Grindelwald so that their natural beauty can endure,” Hummel said.

Grindelwald: A gateway to Jungfraujoch

Grindelwald is a mountain village in Switzerland located at the foot of the Eiger in the Jungfrau region. Its appeal lies in the combination of dramatic mountain scenery, mountain tourism accessible by railway and cableway, and a village shaped by agriculture and warm hospitality. It is one of 23 municipalities within the UNESCO Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage area and serves as a gateway to Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe.

Activities change with the seasons. Spring offers village walks and easy trails across the green meadows, with snow still visible on the mountain peaks. Summer brings hiking, trail running and mountain biking, while autumn remains ideal for hiking. During winter, skiing and snowboarding are the main activities, complemented by snow-covered mountain walks for travellers seeking a more adventurous experience.

About Jungfrau Railways
Jungfrau Railways is one of Switzerland’s iconic mountain railway operators, connecting visitors with the spectacular alpine landscapes of the Jungfrau region and Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. 

(Source: Jungfrau Railways)

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Since launching, Explora Journeys has sought to change the way people experience ocean travel through its Ocean State of Mind philosophy — combining the freedom and discovery of travelling by sea with the elegance and refinement of European hospitality and design. The brand now intends to bring that same approach to Europe’s most iconic rivers.

The company has not disclosed the exact number of river vessels ordered, guest capacity, or ship dimensions. Renderings and onboard feature specifications will be released closer to the 2027 sales launch. Details regarding ship design, onboard experiences, delivery schedules and initial itineraries will be announced shortly. However, cruises will focus on the Rhine, Danube, and Seine rivers.

About Explora Journeys
Explora Journeys is the privately owned luxury ocean travel brand of the MSC Group, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Rooted in Swiss precision, understated European elegance and the Aponte-Vago family’s 300 years of maritime heritage, the brand has grown from a long-held vision to redefine the ocean experience.

(Source: Explora Journeys)

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Building on a successful relationship that began in North America in 2001, the agreement now extends worldwide, giving Virtuoso member agencies access to Bedsonline’s full portfolio of travel products and services for the first time.

Expanding from a North American relationship to a global partnership unlocks greater choice, wider reach, and new growth opportunities for both organisations and the Virtuoso travel advisor community. 

Through Bedsonline, Virtuoso advisors can book accommodation, premium transfers, car rental, experiences, and activities through a single platform designed specifically for travel professionals. They will also have access to Bedsonline’s Luxury Collection, featuring a carefully selected portfolio of luxury hotels complemented by The Luxurist’s concierge service, helping advisors deliver seamless, tailored experiences for their clients.

Virtuoso’s global network includes more than 20,000 travel advisors and over 2,800 preferred travel partners, making it one of the most influential communities in luxury travel. For HBX Group, the expanded agreement creates new opportunities to connect its hotel and travel partners with an engaged global advisor network while further extending the reach of Bedsonline’s premium offering.

About HBX Group
HBX Group is a leading global B2B travel technology marketplace that owns and operates Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, The Luxurist, Roiback Civitfun and PerfectStay. 

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