Last week today – your top 10

Laptop screen covered by group of yellow adhesive notes

It was a week of big news in the travel industry – and Travel Weekly had it all – so this Monday we remind you of the 10 biggest stories from last week.

10. Plane passenger refused loo access

A British Airways flight attendant refused a pensioner access to the bathroom while a flight delay left her plane sitting on the runway. As a result, the poor dear wet herself and was left in her wet clothes for the duration of the flight.

9. Thomas Cook takes a stand against animal cruelty

Urging all tour operators and members of the industry to follow suit, and ditched the sale of 16 cruel animal attractions that kept them in captivity.

8. A bungalow outside of Tahiti – what?!

Yes, the thought that an overwater bungalow anywhere aside from Tahiti clearly shook you all, because it came in at number eight in the list of top stories. The pics were pretty alluring.

7. Victoria rocked by tourism scam

At least nine tour attractions (that we know of) were hit by credit card scams in Victoria, amounting to thousands of lost dollars.

6. AFTA reveals agency turnovers

An AFTA report revealed latest trends in the travel industry, along with which kinds of businesses are making the most dough. Clearly you all wanted a stickybeak!

5. Travel agents flatline vs OTAs

Mobile purchasing and OTA sales spike, as Aussies look for easy deals online, a new report revealed.

4. Virtuoso MD goes into bat for agents

Webjet strikes, and Virtuoso’s APAC MD Michael Londregan strikes back, telling Webjet to keep its eyes on its own work and stop focusing on agents.

3. Webjet slams agents

Speaking of Webjet, the OTA came out and said travel agents are limited, which you all did not take kindly to. Cue rage.

2. Flight Centre’s unlimited leave?

As Student Flights rolls out an unlimited annual leave scheme, parent company Flight Centre floated the same idea. Anyone for a holiday?

1. Flight Centre’s DMC network

When Flight Centre does something, the whole agent industry listens, so when the mega business announced it was working on some side business in the DMC arena, it had everyone’s attention.

Flight Centre explained it plans to acquire or launch similar businesses in other key regions in the short to medium-term to create a worldwide DMC network.

Clearly, you all love Flight Centre, hate Webjet, and love a bit of shock, scandal and surprise. Stay tuned for what ticked your boxes this week – next week.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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