Patrick Whyte

Air France-KLM had hinted at adding a distribution surcharge as far back as 2015, so the announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. What it does tell us is that airlines are increasingly confident that the positives of introducing such a fee outweigh any negatives.

Under current CEO Dana Dunne, eDreams Odigeo has been going through something of a turnaround, swapping years of losses for profit. At this stage we don't know the identity of the potential buyer(s) or what they want to do with the business.

IAG's testing of the low-cost, long-haul market with a virtual airline seems to have paid off. Its success shows that the model is here to stay. We'll be keeping a close eye on how this affects the legacy carriers, including those in IAG's own brand stable.

IHG has fewer brands in its portfolio compared to most of its competitors, so adding a couple more makes sense.

Sadly, whatever resolution was agreed upon will remain a secret between Ryanair, Google, and eDreams. We'll have to keep an eye on the Google search results to see if anything changes.

A prolonged period of uncertainty over Catalonia's future does nobody any favors. The region and the city of Barcelona have endured a difficult 2017 and it will be interesting to see if this has any impact on tourism in 2018.

Unbundling has been one of the biggest buzzwords in the airline industry in recent years, and for good reason. Full-service carriers like Delta think it is a great way to hit a broader range of consumers, but it doesn't come without its risks.

It is easy to see why Lufthansa, which sells flights and ancillary services, would be interested in blockchain. Airlines, hotels and tour operators might be able to use blockchain to dramatically reduce their distribution costs. At this stage, it is hard to tell how close this is to being a reality, and how fearful online travel agents and others should be.

Coming together and trying to carve out a deal from the UK government makes sense for the tourism industry. The only problem with that is the country's looming separation from the European Union, which is casting a shadow over its political and economic future.

While some of the deals done by AccorHotels have raised eyebrows, this one seems like a good strategic fit. The Orient Express brand is known the world over and will give AccorHotels a greater presence in the luxury space.