PredictX wins Business Travel Innovation Faceoff at BTS Europe 2025.

Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.Sabre-Air IndiaSabre has announced the launch of New Distribution Capability (NDC) content for Air India. The NDC offers are part of Air India’s modernization efforts and will help Sabre-connected travel agents shop, book and service Air India reservations. “At Air India, our aim is to deliver superior customer service through innovative technologies," said Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial officer of Air India. "By continuing to enhance our partnership with Sabre, we’re able to advance our NDC journey to meet the evolving needs of travel agencies and passengers, providing an enhanced experience."Meanwhile, Sabre Hospitality has launched data and analytics tool SynXis Insights which aims to provide hoteliers with actionable insights to help decision making.The technology provides a holistic view of SynXis reservation data with visualizations and daily data updates to reduce manual effort as well as improve decision-making at a local level.“The launch of SynXis Insights marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing our customers with better reporting and data,” said Scott Wilson, president of Sabre Hospitality. “We are enabling our customers to make informed decisions that drive revenue and improve overall business performance.”Amex GBT's NDC moveTravel management company American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), is working with Air France and KLM on an expanded roll-out phase of NDC fares.The move aims to create value for corporate customers through NDC-enabled technologies while ensuring the effectiveness of managed travel programs.“This development demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with the best travel options within our marketplace, across all our solutions – proprietary and third-party channels, online and offline,” said John Bukowski, vice president of content acquisition and strategic sourcing at Amex GBT.BlaBlaCar adds Spanish rail operatorsBlaBlaCar, a specialist in multimodal travel, is integrating train ticket offers from Spanish operators Renfe and Iryo into its platform. The move is part of BlaBlaCar’s ambition to bring together various transport modes on to a single platform. A statement from the company said that high-speed rail traffic in Spain increased 33% to 32 million passengers in 2023.“Thanks to recent rail market liberalization and rising demand for collective transport alternatives, Spain is a natural choice for adding train tickets to BlaBlaCar,” said Nicolas Brusson, BlaBlaCar’s co-founder and CEO. Digital human for Saudi Tourism  The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has unveiled its artificial intelligence-powered assistant SARA to act as a travel companion and personal concierge. SARA, which is currently in beta, aims to deliver engaging and interactive content through the use of generative AI and is said to be able to respond to queries with “intent and contextual understanding.”Growth plans for ValpasValpas, a company providing a technological solution to the bedbug problem in hotels, is aiming to reach two million beds by the end of 2030.The Helsinki-based company, which recently announced €4 million in seed funding, hit 40,000 beds in 2024.Currently, Valpas is using the investment to double the amount of beds in hotels implementing its technology in 2025. The company has partnerships with brands including Accor, Design Hotels and Bob W