February 10th, 2010
Continental Airlines has announced the addition of two daily services between London Heathrow and New York’s Newark airports. One will be an early-evening departure from Heathrow, starting on 28th March and one will be an early morning departure starting on 31st October. The additional services will bring Continentals schedule to 5 daily.
Other changes include flat bed seats in its business-class cabin, BusinessFirst, on the Heathrow to Houston route. The flat bed seat gives a flat sleeping area of 6′ 6″ and is 27″ wide on the 777 when the armrest is flush with the seat cusion. Other services include a 15.4″ screen, laptop power, USB and iPod sockets.
Tags: BusinessFirst, Continential Airlines, Heathrow, Houston, Newark
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February 10th, 2010
This “first” for InterContinential Hotels Group is the 366-room Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers which stands 85 metres tall and has stunning views over the Copenhagen skyline and the Oeresund region. The hotel is provided with excellent access as it is situated minutes from the international airport and a mere stone’s throw from the motorway. Additionally, there are both overground and underground stations providing excellent access to destinations such as Tivoli, the Royal Castle and Nyhavn.
As well as the 366 rooms the hotel has a bar, a Scandinavian restaurant and 3,500 m2 of meeting room space including a ballroom with capacity for up to 800 people. All bedrooms are furnished with designer furniture and feature a flat screen TV, adjustable air-conditioning, mini-bar and safe.
No less impressive are the hotel’s “green” credentials. The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is one of the greenest hotels in the world, with EU Green Building and Green Key certification and is on a journey to becoming carbon neutral through its use of environmentally responsible technology throughout the building, including a groundwater-based cooling and heating system, low energy lighting and hand dryers and the largest solar panel park in Northern Europe to be integrated into a building.
Tags: Copenhagen Towers, Crowne Plaza, Denmark, hotel, InterContinental Hotels Group
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February 10th, 2010
British Airways have launched a new service where passengers can check the latest flight information via SMS on their mobiles. This services was developed by Incentivated for BA. It allows passengers to request real-time flight information for the previous day, the current day and the next 5 days. BA are hoping that this will alleviate some of the pressure from its call centre, which currently handles 1.5 million calls a year – one can only think that this might mean more lay-offs from the call centre, however?
This additional mobile application follows the launch of mobile check-in in 2008.
Tags: BA, British Airways, Incentivated
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February 10th, 2010
TUI – which owns the Thomson and First Choice brands – has increased the number of holidays for sale for the first time in 3 years, prompted by strong demand for summer breaks. The statement also said that it believed the worst of the downturn was behind it but was monitoring demand carefully with the capability to increase capacity even more than the 3% already added. Cruise trip demand has meant that TUI has also added an extra ship for this year.
Although holidaymakers are booking later, they are still taking holidays and spending more than ever before. The average price of a family summer holiday has increased by 9% and for a winter holiday by 10%.
Tags: cruise, family summer holiday, First Choice, summer breaks, Thomson, TUI, winter holiday
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January 21st, 2010
easyJet bucked the current airline industry trend by announcing a 10.5% rise in 1st quarter revenues – with a figure of £607.5m. Revenue per seat also grew at a rate of 4.2% for the last 3 months of 2009. Passenger numbers increased by 9.1% to 11 million in the same 3 months when comparted to the same 3 months of 2008.
Maybe these figures will give rise to hope that at least budget air travel is in recovery, even if higher priced flights are still suffering the effects of the global recession.
Tags: airline industry, EasyJet
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January 21st, 2010
Whilst the Unite union has announced no strike action will be taken over Easter, British Airways commented that this would be “of little comfort” to travellers as strikes could still start from 1st March 2010.
“The union has given up the biggest weapon it had in its armoury to force BA to change course,”
said the BBC’s employment correspondent, Martin Shankleman, who believes the announcement raises hopes there could be a negotiated settlement.
Following the High Court ruling that the strike which was planned for the Christmas period was illegal, a new strike ballot will run between 25th January and 22 February.
As said in my blog yesterday, British Airways have sent a letter to staff asking for volunteers to train as replacement cabin crew during any strike.
Tags: BA, British Airways, strike, Unite union
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January 20th, 2010
Bmi has recently announced new services planned from 28th March 2010 between Heathrow and Vienna. This new service links in well with parent company Lufthansa, since Vienna is the home base of Lufthansa’s other recent acquisition, Austrian Airlines.
With Austrian Airlines already operating 2 services a day between Vienna and Heathrow, the additional Bmi flights will increase the group’s frequency to 5 a day.
We presume therefore that the prices for all three airlines on that route will be identical – given that they are all one group – let’s wait and see!
Tags: Austrian Airlines, Bmi, Heathrow to Vienna, Lufthansa
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January 20th, 2010
Domestic and Irish routes out of Heathrow will lose business class seats from 27th January 2010. All routes will then offer only an economy cabin. However, some compensation for those who normally would only travel business class will be offered in the form of Flexible Economy fares giving access to guaranteed seating at the front of the aircraft with complimentary food and drink and the use of business lounges at both ends. The change is blamed on increasingly stricter corporate travel policies where business travel is more and more focused on cost rather than convenience or comfort.
In one way the new Flexible Economy fare gives the corporate traveller a “way round” the policy which states that flights under a certain length should be taken in economy class, not business.
The company is also offering a “sweetener” to current Gold and Silver Diamond Club card holders who will no longer qualify for free food and drink. They will be earning double destination miles on all UK flights, including Dublin and Amsterdam, in and out of Heathrow between 27th January and 31st March 2010.
Tags: Bmi, Business Fare, Diamond Club, Economy, Flexible Economy
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January 20th, 2010
Both ticket sales and passenger numbers rose in 2009 at Eurostar - sales were up by 1.7% on 2008 at a total of £675.5m – and that is despite the breakdown of the trains with the snowy weather in December. Passenger numbers were up by 1.2% with the total number of 9.2 million people.
Eurostar have stated that they expect to pay up to £10m in compensation to those affected by the breakdowns and ensuing chaos, when about 2,000 passengers were trapped in the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar has been criticised for its response and has apologised. It has also set up an independent review, the findings of which are due at the end of January 2010.
Tags: Eurostar, passenger, sales, ticket
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January 20th, 2010
According to a report in The Guardian British Airways are to train baggage handlers and check-in staff to hand out drinks and demonstrate the brace position on flights in an attempt to cope with a strike due to take place from 1st March 2010.
BA is offering staff the opportunity to become “volunteer cabin crew” for those who choose not to support a strike.
Unions Unite and Bassa are not in support of this move.
To read more details go to the Guardian Online.
Tags: BA, British Airways, Guardian Online
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