Hong Kong - AirPlus International has opened an office in Hong Kong, bringing its corporate travel payment system to the region.

A leader in Europe where it commands a 30 per cent market share, AirPlus’ key product is the AirPlus Company Account lodged in the company’s travel agency.

The invoicing system collects the data and presents a clear and combined statement.

Managing director, Mr Patrick Diemer, said: “We work as the middleman between the travel agencies and the corporations, by giving each company a number which is then given to each of the travel agencies they use. When we collect the data we use that number to track the transactions.”

AirPlus can also track payment through credit cards and is connected to major online booking systems should the employees choose to do the booking themselves. It has existing worldwide partnerships with BTI, Carlson Wagonlit and TQ3.

Mr Diemer said: “The reason we started in Hong Kong is because many of our customers in Europe have subsidiaries in Asia and they have been asking for the same service here.

“But of course we are also targeting the companies which are headquartered in Hong Kong. Within 10 years, I see a third of our business coming from Asia,” he added.