June 27, 2019 View in browser

Growth through acquisitions has long been a strategy for major travel management companies, and no one does it quite as often as American Express Global Business Travel.

This week it made the move to buy Frankfurt-based DER Business Travel, further strengthening its presence in Europe following its purchase of Hogg Robinson Group last year. The big get bigger, and everyone else has to deal with it.

Fresh on the heels of TripActions bringing New Distribution Capability bookings to its platform, Travelperk is partnering with Lufthansa to do the same. Lufthansa's direct strategy continues to pay dividends as the sector slowly moves to disintermediate the global distribution systems.

Check out these stories, and many more, below.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at as@skift.com or tweet @sheivach.

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Featured Stories
American Express GBT Acquires German Business Travel Agency

Add yet another integration to the docket for American Express Global Business Travel. They have plenty of experience with this by now.

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Booking Management Shakeup Leaves Gillian Tans Out as CEO of Flagship Unit

There's little doubt that Tans' abrupt departure, without any transition time, points to conflicts within Booking Holdings over the company's strategic direction.

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TravelPerk Partners With Lufthansa for Direct Booking

TravelPerk's reveal comes on the heels of TripActions' announcement earlier this month. So what travel management company will be next to offer direct distribution?

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The Most Amazing Airline Failures of the Past 15 Years

The airline industry is a tough business. Dozens of carriers have gone belly-up since Skift Airline Weekly began publishing in 2004. We picked 10 of the most interesting bankruptcy and grounding stories in the last 15 years.

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Skift Tech Forum Is Here!

We are so excited for Skift Tech Forum, which is taking place today! Check out our coverage on the 20+ highly focused sessions and talks on the travel tech trends you need to know about.

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The Future of Travel
Basic Business Class Fares Set Landmines for Frequent Flyers

A new series of unbundled business class fares coming to market pushes many frequent flyer benefits to the side. For those religious about loyalty programs, the fares are worth avoiding.

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Grab Invests in Splyt to Give Users a One-App Ridehailing Solution Globally

What if you could use your everyday ridehailing app anywhere in the world? No more cumbersome downloads of another app or losing loyalty points from your app. That's what Grab wants to achieve with its investment in Splyt. Too good to be true?

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U.S. Customs Delays Could Get Even Longer as Global Entry Staff Transferred

Does anyone remember the misplaced hope that President Trump would act as though he were the hotelier-in-chief or a pro-travel president? Then came Muslim travel bans, shutting down U.S. travel to Cuba, and — the latest — depleting staffing conducting Global Entry interviews.

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Skift Senior Enterprise Editor Andrew Sheivachman [as@skift.com] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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