100 Years of Business Travel: Powering Innovation Through Meetings and Moments

Strategic Insights -

Over the last century, business travel has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern world, connecting innovators, and fostering partnerships that have transformed industries. In celebration of 100 years of powering business through travel, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is sharing 100 business travel stories that resulted in groundbreaking moments, discoveries, and epiphanies that have changed the course of history. The stories, carefully curated with historians from research firm History Associates, showcase the entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance of individuals and companies that have defined the business travel industry.

Key Takeaways:

  • The first 50 business travel stories from GBT's 100th Anniversary series are available for download on the GBT microsite, with 50 more stories to be released over the coming months.
  • The stories highlight the crucial role business travel has played in shaping the modern world, including the establishment of companies like American Airlines and IBM, and the founding of airlines such as QANTAS.
  • GBT partnered with historians from History Associates to develop the list and ensure historical accuracy, showcasing the significance of business travel in driving innovation and growth.
  • Each moment in the series tells the story of a business discovery, invention, expansion, idea, or connection that changed business as we knew it.
  • The stories demonstrate the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance in driving business growth and expansion.
  • GBT's 100th Anniversary series aims to reveal a more in-depth look at each story's history, starting with 1915 and continuing through 2015.

Statistics:

  • Over the last 100 years, business travel has powered countless innovative moments that have changed the world we live in.
  • American Express Global Business Travel has operations and network partners in nearly 140 countries worldwide with approximately 12,000 employees.
  • GBT ranked first among corporate travel providers in the 2014 Corporate Travel 100 ("CT100"), an annual listing compiled by Business Travel News which ranks companies with the largest volume of U.S. air bookings.

Sources:

  • American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) press release, "American Express Global Business Travel Honors 100 Years of Powering Business Through Travel".
  • Businesswire.com, "American Express Global Business Travel Honors 100 Years of Powering Business Through Travel".
  • Business Travel News, "2014 Corporate Travel 100 (CT100) Ranked Companies".
  • American Express Global Business Travel, "GBT 100th Anniversary Microsite".