Iceland Volcano Erupts With Minimal Tourism Impact

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, December 20. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

A volcano in Iceland that erupted on Monday, December 18th, is not currently posing any direct danger to either residents or tourism, according to officials. 

The capital of Reykjavik and much of the rest of the country remain unaffected, and major tour operators are still running trips as planned, writes Dawit Habtemariam, Skift’s global tourism reporter. Flights are operating through Keflavik International Airport on schedule.

Answering a list of frequently asked questions about the Icelandic volcano’s impact, Habtemariam said that the eruption has been shrinking. However, areas near the eruption, like the town of Grindavik, have been evacuated as a precaution. The nearby Blue Lagoon spa expects to stay closed through December 27th.

Next, Uber has partnered with expense management companies Brex and Ramp to automatically match Uber rides and Uber Eats meal receipts to corporate expense reports. This new integration eliminates the need for business travelers to manually submit receipts, writes Skift Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. 

Uber stated that this automated receipt matching is seeing “strong adoption” from corporate clients so far. 

The deal is part of a larger wave of companies attempting to streamline the business travel expense process for workers and travel managers.

Finally, Lufthansa Group has ordered aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing to modernize and expand its fleet. The group ordered 40 Airbus A220-300 jets. Lufthansa also ordered 40 Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft, marking the return of the 737 to Lufthansa’s fleet for the first time since 1995.

In a separate deal, EasyJet confirmed an order for 157 additional Airbus A320neo family aircraft to be delivered between 2029 and 2034.

The orders support both Lufthansa’s and EasyJet’s plans to make their fleets more fuel-efficient overall by replacing older jets with newer ones.