The transatlantic air travel market in the first quarter of 2009 will lose nearly 384,717 seats, nearly 5 percent less capacity than in the same period this year, according to OAG data. The reduction is surprising, given that new capacity and service flooded the market in the second quarter of 2008, following the enactment of the Open Skies agreement that aimed to grow business between the United States and Europe.

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Hoteliers entered 2008 on the wave of a seller's market that analysts said was here to stay for at least another year or two. Little did they know that by the end of the year, the deepening global economic crisis would have reversed it completely into what analysts now are calling a buyer's market. The quickly changing forecasts were the big story of the year, but economic woes did not keep some hotel companies from making investments of interest to the business travel buyer. Here are the stories Business Travel News has identified as the top lodging stories of the year.

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Corporate travel buyers in 2008 wrestled with the necessity of cutting travel costs in an a recessionary environment as prices—at least for a good part of the year—rose, in some cases dramatically. With no economic recovery in sight, buyers are expected to experience price decreases, a more receptive negotiating environment and a strong shift to what could truly be a buyer's market. Here are the stories Business Travel News has identified as the top travel management stories of the year.

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Business Travel News throughout 2008 again spoke exclusively with several of the CEOs of some of the largest suppliers in the corporate travel industry to discuss the tumultuous market and the road ahead.

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Certainly, 2008 posed its share of challenges to corporate travel managers many of whom had to balance the need to cut travel costs with higher prices, all while grappling with developments in technology, globalization and green travel management. Today, BTN presents a sample of the most notable corporate travel management profiles we published this year. Happy New Year, all the best for a prosperous 2009, and thank you for reading Business Travel News.

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The air travel management landscape at the end of 2008 looks far different than it did at the beginning, after the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the decision of all legacy U.S. carriers to curtail domestic capacity and new fare-unbundling initiatives developed as carriers hunted for revenue. Those changes, though, could pale in comparison to the impact of the global financial crisis on air travel demand. Here are the stories Business Travel News has identified as the top air stories of the year.

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