Posts Tagged ‘flights’

APD increase to be included on pre booked flights

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Britain is facing an announcement that, for the fourth time in just five years, Air Passenger Duty will be increased. Many in the airline industry are concerned that the hike will hit those who have already booked their seats on future flights. If the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is as predicted, the new level of APD will be introduced on 1 April 2011.

This increase will be added onto all flights after that date, meaning that those who have thought about their travel plans well ahead of time will still be required to pay the controversial tax.

Virgin Atlantic has said that it already has thousands of advanced bookings, and if the other airlines are taken into account this amounts to some 6.5 million seats already bought for after 1 April next year. APD will have to be tacked onto the price of every one of these tickets.

If the government manages to put its proposals through, Virgin said that the £2 billion raised because of the tax in 2010 would increase to £3 billion. It is expected that an average of 10 per cent will be added to the price of airline tickets after the Chancellor makes his announcement. However, some prices could go up by a third.

Hoteliers, tour companies and restaurateurs are predicting that APD will cause bookings next year to fall by around five per cent. The November 2010 APD increase saw some flights shoot up in price by well over 50 per cent.

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Iceland volcano erupts ash and smoke

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

Domestic flights have been cancelled and Iceland’s Keflavik airport has been closed as Grimsvotn volcano, the country’s most active, erupts. Although smoke is rising 12 miles into the air, meteorologists are saying that disruption to air traffic is unlikely to be widespread. Last year, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano forced governments to shut down most of the airspace across Europe. The fear was that ash particles could cause engine failure on passenger jets.

According to Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist, the Grimsvotn eruption is more intense that the Eyjafjallajokul eruption. However, the ash particles are coarser and there are no strong winds meaning the cloud is less likely to spread very far.

The last time Grimsvotn erupted was in 2004. Although transatlantic services were forced to re-route to the south, there were no airport closures. The ash coming from Eyjafjallajokul meant nearly a week of closures across Europe, resulted in disruption for millions of travellers and caused many airlines to accuse governments of over-reacting.

A recently published joint study by the University of Iceland and the University of Copenhagen suggests that the ash particles which were ejected into the atmosphere by the Eyjafjallajokul eruption could have caused abrasion in aircraft engines and that the authorities were right to be cautious.

Air traffic control in Europe said it was continuing to keep operators up to date on the situation but as yet sees no reason to disrupt schedules. Meteorologists are warning that if the eruption continues, ash could reach France, Britain and Spain by the weekend.

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Foreign office advises Brits in Syria to leave

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

British nationals currently in Syria are being advised to leave the country as Bashar Al-Assad’s government continues its crackdown on protesters. Foreign Secretary William Hague said that unless there was an extremely good reason to remain in the country, anyone holding a UK passport should leave.

The Foreign Office has also warned that the British Embassy in Damascus is unlikely to be able to offer the usual consular service if the civil unrest and violence continues. In the past few days around 500 Brits have contacted the embassy to make their presence known. The FCO has also advised UK citizens to take advantage of commercial flights back to Britain before the country goes into lockdown.

Since the uprising began five weeks ago around 300 people have been killed. Syrian security forces have been accused of staging night time raids to kidnap opposition figures. A funeral in Nawa, a city in the south of the country, saw thousands of demonstrators call for an end to Assad’s rule. At least one civilian was shot dead in Jabla.

According to a Foreign Office spokesman there are several contingency plans in place to avoid the farce which followed the cancellation of scheduled flights to Libya. The source said that the government had been in contact with Middle Eastern states including Jordan and Turkey.

Hague has condemned the situation adding that the Syrian authorities need to act in a decisive manner to calm the violence. He went on to say that this could only be done by paying attention to the demands of the people of Syria.

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Airline passenger rights law to be revised

Friday, April 15th, 2011

The European Commission has announced that it will be reviewing the regulations which allow passengers to claim food and hotel expenses if the plane they have booked a ticket on is grounded for some reason. The airline industry has been lobbying for a change in the law since the eruption of a volcano in Iceland caused the closure of European airspace for nearly a week last year.

More than 100,000 services had to be cancelled costing the industry some £2.2 billion. A large chunk of the bill came from compensation claims made by stranded travellers. The denied boarding regulation was first introduced to protect customers from airlines suspected of deliberately delaying or cancelling services because the flights were not full.

However carriers are claiming that the legislation is being misapplied when it comes to unforeseen disruptions such as volcanic ash in the atmosphere. Following the eruption, a number of major airlines demanded compensation from the governments which made the decision to ground fleets.

Complaints about who should pay passenger compensation also came after air traffic control staff decided to strike and sever snow storms caused airports to close. Ryanair has long made it clear that it is opposed to the passenger rights rule. Airline spokesman, Stephen McNamara, said it was not up to airlines to bear the cost of airports being unable to clear snow, workers walking out of their jobs or governmental decisions to close the skies.

An official at the European Commission said the legislation was not introduced to deal with events such as a week long closure of airspace.

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The BMI bidding war continues as Flybe joins the battle

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

The race is still to buy the BMI airline from parent company Lufthansa. For several months it has seemed as though leading airline British Airways was in the lead, showing the most interest and outbidding all other interested parties.

However, this week rival airline Flybe has shown an unexpected interest in the BMI bidding wars and it seems as the regional carrier may even decide to make a joint bid. Flybe has now emerged as a potential runner in the race to buy BMI from Lufthansa. The regional carrier is being tipped to make a joint bid with British Airways. According to recent reports, Flybe has indicated its interest in buying part or perhaps even all of BMI.

It is yet uncertain whether Flybe will be able to outbid British Airways, and it has been suggested that the two airlines may even form an alliance in order to buy BMI.

Whatever the outcome, it is certain that BMI needs a serious cash injection soon, as it is expected to lose at total of £170 million this year alone. However, despite hemorrhaging money, BMI is still a great buy as it owns 11% of Heathrow Airport’s runway slots, which is second only to British Airways.

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Ryanair to introduce ’smokeless cigarettes’ on flights

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Many people who smoke cigarettes regularly may find having to go without smoking for several hours during long flights a bit of a challenge and something that stops them from fully enjoying the flight.

This week Ryanair have announced that they are taking the needs of this customers seriously by launching an innovative new range of Smokeless Cigarettes, which will ensure that passengers get their nicotine hit without breaking the law by ‘lighting up’ onboard their aircraft.

The Smokeless Cigarettes are being introduced after 24,000 Ryanair passengers said in a recent survey that they would like to smoke cigarettes during flights.However, smoking has been illegal on commercial flights since the 1990s. In order to cater to the needs of its customers, the airline has introduced Similar Smokeless Cigarettes. Not only does this faux cigarettes look and feel like a real cigarette, it also delivers a small amount of nicotine through inhalation.

Passengers do not have to light this new device and Ryanair’s new Similar Smokeless Cigarettes are available to passengers over the age of 18. Similar Smokeless Cigarettes are sold in packs of 10 onboard all Ryanair flights for just €6. The airline says they contain no toxins or chemicals, making them harmless to the user and to the passengers around them.

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Qantas waits patiently for spring to arrive

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

While a number of airlines and travel companies have recently announced that they are starting to see a reversal in their fortunes as revenues start to rise once more after a lean few months, the same cannot be said for all companies.

This week Qantas released its annual report in which the airline revealed that it was uncertain whether or not it would ever be able to recover from the massive slump in air travel. The chairman of Qantas admitted in the report that the global economic outlook remains uncertain and the company is still waiting to see any substantial improvement in the underlying business conditions. However, Qantas still remain optimistic that the sun will soon shine on their business, and that the seeds they have so busily been sowing in establishing new flight programmes, deals and offers may soon start to sprout.

However, the report also indicated that although times are still tough for Qantas at thje moment they have what it takes to weather the storm and will be ready and waiting when things take a turn for the better.

Still, the airline has a lot of ground to make up as they posted back in August that they had suffered an 88% fall in their full-year net profit, taking them down to $117 million

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Europcar and Swiss International Airlines prove to be a winning combination

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Prominent car hire company Europcar and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have revealed that they have updated their partnership agreement. The ongoing partnership between Europe’s leading car hire company and Switzerland’s national carrier have has proved time and time again to be a winning combination.

The partnership was first established in 2003 and is ideal for those who regularly fly and hire cars as SWISS passengers benefit from preferred rates and a free upgrade when renting a vehicle online with Europcar, which is in place until the middle of October this year. Another great things about the partnership is that booking is particularly easy and SWISS Miles & More members automatically receive 500 
air miles when they book quality car hire with Europcar.

Also until October 15 Europcar customers have the chance to double their air miles when booking a car four days or more online on SWISS.com in the “luxury” category and above. Another advantage for SWISS passengers is that they can make use of an exclusive Europcar service in Switzerland; professional valet parking at the airport. Passengers can simply park their car at reserved spaces in front of the Zurich, Geneva and Basel
airport terminals and hand in their car keys at the Europcar
counter. When passengers return from their journey they will find their car ready and waiting at the same reserved space and, if desired, refueled and cleaned.

This
is by far the fastest and most convenient way to park at the airport in
Switzerland and with so many great deals existing between Europcar and Swiss International Air Lines, it can only be hoped that this partnership will continue for many years to come

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Quick thinking saves lives on Stuttgart flight

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Yesterday at Stuttgart airport in Germany an aeroplane was forced to make an emergency landing after experiencing problems with its landing gear.

Although there was a total of 73 passengers and five crew members on board the Contact Air flight, according to Germany’s Social Democrat (SPD) leader Franz Muentefering, the quick thinking and professionalism of the crew members ensured that no lives were lost, although one passenger did manage to sprain their ankle after using the emergency slide.

According to footage captured by an airport bystander the Fokker 100 jet landed on a protective layer of foam sprayed on the runway by ground crew which caused flames to appear from the undercarriage.

In a subsequent interview Franz Muentefering told the British press that: “It was a very serious situation. We circled for a long time, attempted the approach and then had to make an emergency landing.”

Once the plane the passengers were evacuated using the emergency slides and a stewardess was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Air traffic was barred from Stuttgart airport for several hours and the runway was also closed for some time to ensure the safety of all successive flights.

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Time for a little shut eye

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Forget seeing the sights and meeting new people, it seems that travellers these days are more concerned about getting a decent sleep.

In a revolutionary new survey by StudyLogic, the thing that travellers crave most is a good night’s sleep. To complete the survey the research team interviewed 12,500 frequent travellers in 12 countries including China, Thailand, the United States and the United Arab Emirates from June 15 to July 15 this year.

The survey revealed that 53% of travellers would choose sleeping pills over chocolate and 56% took some sort of relaxant, sleep or stress medication when travelling overnight to destinations such as Phuket, Beijing and Tokyo The survey also showed that 60% of travellers in Asia said that were willing to pay more for a hotel with a decent bed, and one in five people were willing to pay £60 or more per night, which is quite high considering that it is possible to find accommodation in many parts of South East Asia for less than £5 per night.

The survey went on to say that: “With our 24/7 lifestyles, a good night’s sleep is more important than ever, though unfortunately more than half (58%) believe that today’s technology and constant connectivity impairs sleep. And our beloved Blackberrys make for dreadful sleep companions.”

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