Many companies and industries are incorporating Web3 technologies into their business structures, and the travel industry is no exception. On Sept. 21, Flybondi, an Argentinian airline, announced a strategic alliance with TravelX, a blockchain technology company responsible for tokenizing flight tickets. The partnership intends to enable travelers to purchase airline tickets as non-fungible tokens through Binance Pay, using USDC as payment for transactions. Speaking with Cointelegraph, the Co-founder of TravelX, Facundo Diaz, shared that he was fully convinced that Web3 technologies could allow the travel industry to expand, not only in market size but also in terms of use cases …

Emirates, the largest airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced that it has plans to implement Bitcoin (BTC) payments and launch nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to be traded through the company's websites. In a media gathering held at the Arabian Travel Market, the chief operating officer of Emirates, Adel Ahmed Al-Redha reportedly stated that the Dubai-based airline will be onboarding new employees who will be focused on blockchain-related projects such as the crypto payments, blockchain tracking, metaverse and NFTs. According to Al-Redha, the airline is looking into using blockchain to keep aircraft records. Additionally, the airline executive also noted that …

Legendary boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is taking another jab at the crypto space by launching a new NFT and Metaverse project called the Mayweverse. The nonfungible tokens (NFT) will feature the likeness of Mayweather himself and provide various utilities and prizes for holders depending on the rarity of the item. Little more is known about the project at the time of writing other than that the Metaverse will contain a boxing gym. After many months of hard work I’m launching my new NFT Project @mayweverse⁰ The collection will have 5,000 NFTs (5 different NFTs cards of 1,000 each). Each card …

Ethereum-based decentralized travel marketplace Winding Tree has announced a new collaboration with American Airlines that will allow select travelers to receive tailored booking options, opening up a potential new use case for blockchain technology. Through the collaboration, American’s largest corporate travel buyers will have access to Winding Tree’s marketplace to book travel directly and receive “uniquely tailored and cost-efficient travel options,” the companies announced. Neil Geurin, who serves as American Airlines’ managing director of digital and distribution, said Winding Tree gives customers “provides a frictionless approach” to accessing travel accommodation. Winding Tree said its marketplace accommodates all sorts of peer-to-peer …

As a result of El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, Volaris El Salvador, a local subsidiary of budget Mexican airline Volaris, will accept Bitcoin as payment. The Bitcoin move comes a month after Salvadoran aviation authorities gave Volaris’ local subsidiary permission to operate in the country. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to announce that the airline would accept Bitcoin. Ya tenemos aerolínea salvadoreña, de bajo costo y que acepta #Bitcoin @viajaVolaris pic.twitter.com/mMqzxtOYhA — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 20, 2021 In a recent Volaris event hosted on Twitter, President Bukele highlighted that the ability to pay with Bitcoin and …

Passengers flying with Latvian airline airBaltic now have more cryptocurrency payment options. According to an announcement on the airline’s website on Monday, passengers can now pay for flight tickets using Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Other accepted digital currencies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and four U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins: USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard (PAX). The airline began accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments back in July 2014. Indeed, the Latvian national carrier is touted as being the first airline in the world to offer cryptocurrency payment options. As part of its announcement, airBaltic clarified that …

Russian oil firm Gazprom Neft's aviation subsidiary, Gazpromneft-Aero, announced Monday that it has completed a successful pilot of its blockchain-based refueling project, Smart Fuel. The new platform was implemented for more than 100 scheduled flights of Russian budget airline Smartavia, operating at Murmansk's international airport. Alongside Smartavia, the pilot involved major banks VTB and Raiffeisenbank. Dmitry Makarov, head of the Smart Fuel project, told Cointelegraph that the blockchain-based trial in Murmansk ran from September 2020 to December 2020. Following the successful pilot, Gazpromneft-Aero will continue providing its refueling payment solution to Smartavia, Makarov said. Based on the major blockchain framework …

With travel and tourism being one of the industries hardest-hit by the coronavirus-pandemic-induced lockdowns, several stakeholders are increasingly prioritizing digital and contactless solutions. In this vein, Air France has partnered with MedAire, SGS, International SOS and the International Chamber of Commerce to test a blockchain-based COVID-19 travel system. Beginning March 11, Air France will begin the pilot test of the ICC AOKpass system developed by MedAire and the International SOS. The ICC AOKpass is an app that travelers can install on their smartphones that contains a secure record of their COVID-19 test results from approved labs. With the app, travelers …

Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, the heightened need for various biosurveillance measures sparked interest in the relevance of privacy-enhancing technologies such as blockchain that could protect public health data amid the crisis. A Twitter user claimed last week that Frankfurt Airport's coronavirus testing center appeared to be using Iota blockchain technology to manage passengers' health stats, and this fact has now been confirmed to Cointelegraph by the technology provider. Ubirch, a blockchain-based cybersecurity technology provider based in Cologne and several other locations, has developed the IT infrastructure for a solution it calls the "Digital Corona Test Certificate." The solution …

Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, is working with a major domestic airline company to introduce a blockchain-based ticket sale system. Russia’s largest bank is reportedly collaborating with S7 Airlines on a new ticket sale platform that will enable corporate clients with instant settlement through smart contracts and tokens. According to an Aug. 26 report by local newspaper Kommersant, the new system is planned to roll out in September 2020. This would be the first time virtual tokens are used for payment and settlement in Russia, the report notes. As reported, the new system is only targeting corporate clients …

Teleport, the logistics division of major airline, AirAsia, has launched a blockchain-based cargo booking system called Freightchain. According to an April 16 announcement, Freightchain is “the world’s first digital air cargo network run on blockchain.” The network — which is launching today — allows shippers or freight forwarders to instantly book and confirm any of AirAsia’s 247 aircraft to carry cargo. Freightchain assigns shippers and their freight forwarders to cargo connections to help them with their supply chain needs, and facilitate bookings in real-time which are processed on-chain. The project’s chief technology officer, Vishal Batra, explained that the network is …

As blockchain technology increasingly gains traction in the airline industry, another major international air company has announced a blockchain project. Flagship global airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is applying blockchain technology to facilitate intercompany settlements process with its subsidiaries. Part of one of the world’s biggest airlines, Air France-KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines has partnered with Dutch software startup Unchain.io in order to explore the potential benefits of blockchain technology for its business and internal processes. KLM’s Digital Studio was actively working on blockchain in recent years After close collaboration, Unchain provided KLM Royal Dutch Airlines with a strategic finance application …