Mercure Hotels and Resorts has opened the 90-room Mercure Oradea under a franchise agreement with Grand Hotel West. The hotel has flexible meeting spaces, wellness facilities and a dining concept by Chef Henrik Sebok. In western Romania, it is conveniently located for accessing Oradea’s business hubs plus its historic core and arena. Andrii Davydenko, Vice President Operations, Ukraine and Romania at Accor, said: “Rooted in the character of its surroundings, the hotel reflects the unique spirit of Oradea while delivering the high-quality standards guests expect from Mercure worldwide. As our first address in the city, this new hotel marks an important step in strengthening both our presence in Romania and the city’s connection to global travellers.” Accor has a portfolio of 26 hotels in Romania.
Tewolde Gebremariam has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India. He succeeds Campbell Wilson, whom the board thanked for his leadership. To replace him, the airline’s board was seeking a leader with “a proven record of managing mega-scale airline turnarounds, delivering operational excellence, fostering a strong culture of safety and service, and driving profitable expansion”. He will lead Air India in its next phase of growth. Gebremariam served for a decade as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, transforming it from a regional carrier into Africa’s largest, most profitable and decorated airline group.
Navan has upgraded its Singapore Airlines NDC access to a direct connection using the carrier’s Amadeus Altéa NDC 21.3 API. More than 70% of Singapore Airlines bookings are now being made through the NDC channel. Built on Navan’s proprietary content aggregation platform, Navan said the integration creates a stronger foundation for faster troubleshooting, future API enhancements and a more consistent shopping and servicing experience. It brings access to Singapore Airlines NDC-exclusive fares, customised fare bundles and ancillary content plus faster and more efficient booking changes, cancellations and refunds. Dane Molter, Senior Vice President, Group Travel Marketplace at Navan, commented: “Singapore Airlines is a critical partner in connecting business travellers across Asia Pacific with the rest of the world. This direct NDC connection will enable us to bring the airline’s rich content into Navan and deliver a better experience for travellers that raises the bar for airline retailing.”
Delta Concierge is now available to all SkyMiles Members in the Delta Air Lines app. The service helps Delta’s passengers manage travel needs, track luggage, initiate cancellations and get support during disruptions through a generative AI assistant. SkyMiles account details are also available. Cancelling an eligible flight directly through a conversation with Delta Concierge is among the newest functionality, with the assistant submitting a refund request or issuing an eCredit in real time. Eric Phillips, Chief Digital Officer at Delta, said: “Over the past several months, we’ve listened closely to how customers use Concierge and rapidly added the features they’ve asked for most. Making it available to every SkyMiles Member is a big step forward in our goal to put more control in customers’ hands.”