AirTalk.org Aviation discussions newsgroups   Archives   FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS 22/05/06          AirTalk.org Forum Index -> Aberdeen Airport View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Jim Mason Guest Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:40 am    Post subject: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS 22/05/06 AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS A WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY PO Box 1315, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 1PU, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1707 665454 All enquiries: info (AT) abtn (DOT) co.uk In conjunction with The Times business travel on line http://www.timesonline.co.uk/businesstravel 22 MAY 2006 BREAKING NEWS is that this morning (Monday 22 May) Belfast City Airport will be officially renamed “George Best Belfast City Airport â€� by the Best family including father Dickie and son Calum Best. Later in the day “The George Bestâ€�, a FlyBe Bombardier Q400, will bring Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill plus other colleagues from his Manchester United days to special dinner celebrating Northern Ireland’s greatest ever footballer on what would be his 60th birthday. http://www.flybe.com AIR NEW ZEALAND – new route possibilities AIRBUS – steals the thunder AIRPORT SLOTS – cause of contention BARCLAYCARD BUSINESS – research BOMBARDIER – new bases BRITISH AIRWAYS – full years results CITY CENTRE CHECK-INS – international too CRUISE FIGURES – big growth DVT – final conclusion EUROSTAR – record run EXETER AIRPORT – record figures GLASGOW AIRPORT – older than you think LONDON CITY AIRPORT – visitor MARTIN BROUGHTON – raises his profile MOSCOW – five star hotel NOVA SCOTIA – more air services OAG AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – awards OPEN SKIES – progress or not TENERIFE – it’s warmer than Scotland (and Liverpool) VIRGIN ATLANTIC – 10 years of progress ON TOUR: Shakespeare Country and the Cotswolds INCIDENTALLY: Getting Out Of the UK COMMENT: BT – GETTING NO BETTER Long-term readers of ABTN may recall about six years ago of machinations by this publication and British Telecon. Move on into a new century and things have got no better. The problems then involved moving ADSL access from one property within a telephone exchange area to another. BT said that they could not complete the move within ten working days, and they were right. What was essentially a simple switch over took over two weeks. Spring forward to May 2006 and this time the task is even easier. Change from one BT account to another. In other words using the line that is active, with the equipment which is approved, just alter the service provided and the invoicing. “Delighted to do so,â€� said the salesman. “It will be seamless.â€� Don’t you believe it. The invoicing no problem. After all at the top BT is run by faceless accountants who are very good at sorting out the money scenario. But the technical side. A total disaster! Yes the old service was stopped on the due day but someone at British Telecom had clearly failed to start up the new connection. Nothing. No warning. Just a polite automatic note telling of ‘no connection’ and suggesting a call to the once Government owned service help desk. Now that is the next joke. Or it would be if it was not so serious. Have you tried to get hold a human being in BT. One that speaks clear English and can actually help and is not speaking off an approved script. Five calls, over one hour on the phone and no progress. “Phone the chairman’s office?â€� That’s a good idea. And the number is in the BT book. One gets through. Except it is not the chairman’s office but the Warrington branch. Very helpful. Well up to a point. And for sure the chairman has never been near the place. In fact toothless. Yes they can confirm the problem was BT’s fault in that no order was properly raised for the revised service, and yes a new order, for that is what it is, will take ten days. “You must be joking. ABTN needs its email service now not in ten days time. We get well over 100 email messages every day and have 23,000 registered readers waiting to read Monday’s edition. Plus a web site to loadâ€�. “Very sorry but there is nothing I can do. Five days is possible.â€� “Well can you speak to someone? What is the name of the chairman? Clearly as we don’t have internet we cannot look up his nameâ€�. “Someone will call you back!â€� We are still waiting! PS A recent WHICH report placed BT 20th in a satisfaction list. Much too high! ___________________________________________________________________ AIR NEW ZEALAND has changed its order for four Boeing 787 series 8 aircraft into that for four series 9. Whilst not a major breakthrough the slightly larger aircraft, again with Rolls-Royce engines, will enable the carrier to offer non-stop services from its major hub at Auckland to Beijing, Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Vancouver. The Trent 1000-powered 787-9 will enter into service in December 2010. ANZ will have all its eight upgraded B747-400 aircraft in service by August 2006, all its new B777-200ER aircraft operational by early 2007 and will introduce the 787-9 during 2010/2011. The airline retains the option for delivery of four additional 787 aircraft and has purchase rights for a further 30 B777s and ten 787s. http://www.airnz.co.nz AIRBUS (and not its client carriers) stole the headlines last Thursday with the first landing of an A380 at Heathrow, something that will become a common sight as the first decade of the new century begins to come to a close. Heathrow will become the major hub for the aircraft with Singapore Airlines the first carrier to introduce the aircraft expected in December 2007 at T3. http://www.airbus.com AIRPORT SLOTS are always a cause of contention. ABTN has obtained figures which show that British Airways 40% domination of Heathrow is far less than by other carriers at major gateways. Lufthansa has 59.3% of availability at Frankfurt and Air France 57.5% at Charles de Gaulle. KLM dominates Amsterdam with 52.9% whilst on the other side of the Atlantic “you aint seen nothing yetâ€�. At Cincinnati, Delta is by far and away the airport’s main business with 87.2% of what is available and at Newark Continental comes in with 66.1%. Northwest dominates Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis with the slot situation in the mid-70% and as you might well expect American Airlines is the major carrier at Dallas-Fort Worth with 80% of the available slots. http://www.acl-uk.org BARCLAYCARD BUSINESS latest research has revealed that British Airways remains the favoured airline for business travellers for the fifth year running. Nearly half of the survey respondents (48%) say they like BA because of the choice of route and airport location, whilst 42% cite affection and trust for the brand. easyJet comes next stealing second place from Virgin Atlantic for the first time and also showing that the reasons for choosing a particular airline vary considerably between service providers. Over half (58%) of those who favour Virgin Atlantic do so because they like the brand while, unsurprisingly, easyJet customers are primarily attracted by low fares (85%). British Airways, with its massive network, remains the undisputed champion amongst employees of larger companies, increasing its share of this market to 54% in 2005/06, way ahead of its nearest competitor, Virgin Atlantic (7%). This, the tenth annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey, questioned 2,500 respondents (CEOs, company directors, managers and executives), about all aspects of business travel from airlines and hotels to online bookings. http://www.barclaycardbusiness.co.uk BOMBARDIER has officially named Farnborough Airport, home to the international air show of that name, as its European regional sales headquarters. Dubai gets the same title for the Middle East. Skyjet International, the business jet charter programme operator, part of the Canadian conglomerate, will share the facility. Bombardier manufactures the Challenger and Learjet ranges of business jets. Last year it produced 186 aircraft, a 45% increase on the 128 delivered in 2004. Bombardier says that with the increased hassle at major airports executive jets are coming more and more into their own, even for the North Atlantic crossings. http://www.aero.bombardier.com BRITISH AIRWAYS announced last Friday a pre-tax profit of £620m in the year to 31 March 2006 (2005: £513m profit). The pre-tax profit for the fourth quarter was £91m (against a £6m loss for the same period last year). Net debt at £1.6bn fell by £1.3bn during the year, a £5bn reduction since its December 2001 peak. Willie Walsh, chief executive, noted that the airline’s short haul business is now in profit for the first time in ten years. He said that there was more to do. On the subject of staff pensions he commented that he was pleased with the on going dialogue BA was having with staff, trustees and trade unions on this vital issue. “Self-service check-in, both online and at airport kiosks, has been very well received by our customers. We continue to enhance and develop new products and this summer will upgrade our inflight entertainment and introduce our new Club World flat bed.â€� In announcing the results BA said that market conditions remain broadly unchanged and noted the rise in fuel costs, but not the passenger surcharges. The Board has recommended that no final dividend be paid. http://www.ba.com CITY CENTRE CHECK-INS are gaining in popularity, with the exception of BA who dumped Paddington. Following mention of the new Dubai facility for Abu Dhabi in last week’s ABTN we are reminded that it is not the only facility provided in a foreign country. With the closure of the Brussels – Charles de Gaulle flights (well, all except one morning special) Air France have come up with a regular Thalys schedule that provides for a check-in at Brussels Midi and a dedicated coach for air travellers. Journey time to CDG is just 70 minutes. http://www.airfrance.co.uk CRUISE FIGURES continue to boom with 1.25m Brits expected to take an ocean cruise this year and 1.5m enjoying ocean cruise holidays by 2008, according to statistics by the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA). In its 32-page Annual Cruise Review booklet the PSA clearly documents a whole series of facts and trends including statistics from the European Cruise Council showing that 2.14m continental Europeans also took waterborne holidays. Connection to the ships has been to date normally by charter aircraft and scheduled services but with the increase of budget services to airports near the Mediterranean ports more and more cruise companies are now offering cruise only, transferring travel responsibility to the client. Visit Britain has also benefited from the cruise boom with a dedicated project manager, Peter Conway, not only promoting the UK but also advising ports on marketing their services to the cruise companies. http://www.discover-cruises.co.uk DVT is not a danger to air travellers according to two influential studies, backing up the views of Dr Ian Perry ON THE SOAPBOX in the ABTN issue 3 April 2006. Researchers simulating conditions of reduced cabin pressure and reduced oxygen levels such as may be encountered during an 8-hour aeroplane flight, found no increase in the activation of the blood clotting system among healthy individuals, according to a study in the 17 May issue of JAMA (Journal of the American Association). In the UK a study by the University of Leicester’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and University of Aberdeen’s School of Medicine has come to the same conclusion. Also involved was the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine at Henlow in Bedfordshire and the Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam. This study was funded by the UK Department for Transport, the UK Department of Health and the European Commission. http://www.jamamedia.org EUROSTAR train “The Da Vinci Codeâ€� set a new world record for the longest non-stop international train journey last week travelling from London’s Waterloo station to Cannes for the film festival in 7 hours 25 miles, 880 miles at an average speed of just under 120 mph. Top speed was 186 mph and on board were some of the stars of the film including Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. The film was released worldwide on Friday 19 May. http://www.sonypictures.com EXETER AIRPORT has published figures which show its dramatic growth and how it has completely overtaken Plymouth as Devon’s major airport. Fifteen years ago each airport could only account for not much over 100,000 passengers in a single year. Exeter has recorded 873,869 passengers over the last 12 months whilst Plymouth has stayed more or less static. Edinburgh has proved to be the most popular destination with a twice-daily FlyBe service using AVRO RJs. The airport is presently up for sale. http://www.exeter-airport.co.uk GLASGOW AIRPORT, also once known as Paisley, has celebrated 40 years, with the unveiling of a brand new multi-million pound airside Skylounge. Included in the international pier development is both a holiday area for families and a prestige business room. Opened by the Queen in 1966 in its first year the airport moved 1.5m passengers. Over the last 12 months it was 9m. It’s not all good news. BA no longer flies to New York, this loss now covered by Continental who have a daily all year round Boeing 757 service to Newark New Jersey, augmented by another flight on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. http://www.baa.com LONDON CITY AIRPORT welcomed the first ever visit by an Airbus on Saturday 13 May, in this case an A318. In March the authorities granted the A318 a steep approach certification enabling compatibility tests to take place. This is an important part of the programme aimed at enabling the aircraft to undertake commercial flights at the airport. Substantially bigger with a maximum of 132 seats and with a much longer range, than the aircraft currently using London City the A318 represents the future of LCY, an aircraft available new unlike the AVRO/BAe 146 series aircraft that currently predominate, but are out of production. Offering getting on for twice the range of existing aircraft serving the airport, the A318 will allow commercial operators to offer new markets such as Rome, Madrid and Eastern Europe. The A318 Elite corporate jet version could operate even further afield. Problems still have to be overcome regarding full certification and apron space but in the meantime the airport is now, like Exeter, up for sale. A piece of perfect Irish timing. http://www.londoncityairport.com/index.php?mode=news&action=showStory&sId960 MARTIN BROUGHTON, chairman of British Airways, continues to fly the flag for the airline. In a document published by the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) previewing the forthcoming EU/US Summit, attended by US president George Bush and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, Mr Broughton has called for the US and European governments to recognise the dangers and resist any protectionist pressures that might damage this $3 trillion trade. In the foreword, Broughton and Citigroup chairman and CEO Charles Prince said: “The transatlantic economic relationship remains the most integrated and significant relationship in the world, accounting for over half of GDP and one third of global trade. Protectionism threatens future of transatlantic tradeâ€�. TABD is a group of 30 chairmen and chief executives of some the world’s biggest companies.. http://www.ba.com MOSCOW is to gain a Ritz Carlton hotel with an opening hopefully by the end of the year. The 332 guestrooms, 11-storey property is within walking distance of the Kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral, Lenin’s Mausoleum and the Bolshoi Theatre. It will feature the largest guestrooms in the city measuring 452 square feet/42 square metres, plus 76 suites, including The Ritz-Carlton Suite. The Ritz-Carlton Club Level will be located on the top two floors of the hotel offering impressive views of Red Square and will provide an exceptional level of privacy and exclusive services for guests. Club Level guests will enjoy complimentary round-the-clock food presentations and dedicated butler/concierge services. All guestrooms will be furnished with signature Ritz-Carlton bedding, and high-speed internet access. Two restaurants are planned as is a business centre and leisure area including a glass-covered swimming pool. http://www.ritzcarlton.com NOVA SCOTIA, the subject of last week’s ON TOUR, has gained a new air service. From this week, until 5 October, Air Transat will be operating a weekly non-stop flight from Gatwick using a two-class Airbus A310, with 20 seats in club and 239 in economy. Outbound Wednesday from Halifax with the return leaving Gatwick on a Thursday morning with a flight time of not much more than five hours. Zoom has a similar service on a Wednesday out of Gatwick with a Boeing 767. http://www.airtransat.com http://www.flyzoom.com OAG AIRLINE OF THE YEAR is Cathay Pacific. At a glittering ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London last Thursday doyen of travel writers Alan Whicker not only presented the Hong Kong airline with the ultimate award but also the 2006 Best Transpacific Airline and Best Airline based in Asia. British Airways took home two awards: Best Airline Based in Western Europe and Best Transatlantic Airline. CSA Czech Airlines won Best Airline Based in Central/Eastern Europe for the 3rd year running. American Airlines was named Airline of Choice for Travellers with a Disability, a new award introduced this year. JetBlue won Best Low Cost/No Frills Airline for the first time, beating easyJet, Southwest Airlines and Virgin Blue. Eddie Bell, chairman of OAG, surprised Alan Whicker by presenting him with the Lifetime Achievement Award, praising his remarkable career spanning almost 60 years. The Outstanding Service Award went to Maria Benson, manager with Continental Airlines "We Care" programme, for her dedication and inspiring leadership during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Emirates retained the title Best Airline based in Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent, and Dubai International was voted Best Airport in Europe, Middle East & Africa but lost out to Singapore Changi for the Best Airport. http://www.oag.com OPEN SKIES across the Atlantic seem as far away as ever following the breakdown of talks in Brussels, the stumbling block as ever the (partial) foreign ownership of US domestic carriers. In the United States itself Continental Airlines president Jeff Smisek has been vigorously campaigning against Virgin America claiming it is de facto part of the Branson empire. However Continental are none too happy at being excluded from Heathrow. It does seem that the airline wants it both ways. With the US now reconsidering its policy the EU will not receive a firm proposal until later this year the earliest an agreement coming into force not likely until the summer 2007 traffic season. http://www.aea.be TENERIFE seems to be much in favour with flyglobespan, the airline division of the Edinburgh-based travel group, who already serve the Spanish Atlantic island with daily flights from both Glasgow and Stansted. Also going daily is a new service from Liverpool’s John Lennon International Airport to Tenerife in November. This is flyglobespan’s second move into the north west of England. They recently announced the November launch of a three-days-a-week service from Manchester to Cape Town – a first for that airport. http://www.flyglobespan.com VIRGIN ATLANTIC, never an airline to miss a publicity opportunity, has celebrated 10 years of operations from Manchester. Since its first flight in May 1996 to Orlando it has carried over 1.6m passengers. Later this year it will add a weekly service to St Lucia. In 2005 Barbados was added but the backbone of the operation is the daily (except Sunday) Boeing 747 service to Florida offering the full Virgin Upper Class Suite product. http://www.virgin-atlantic.com FORTHCOMING EVENTS THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO READERS: A thanksgiving service to celebrate the life of Sir Freddie Laker will be held 1400 Thursday 8 June in central London. Guests are each requested to wear a touch of red. Attendance is by invitation only and requests should be made to his daughter Elaine Seear. e.seear (AT) virgin (DOT) net ___________________________________________________________________ ON TOUR: Shakespeare Country and the Cotswolds Your editor recently took a short break in Shakespeare country and the Cotswolds. Rolling hills, fine woodlands, small towns and tiny villages. Sheep farming is still very much big business. There is no doubt that England, and that includes the other home countries, have a host of wonderful places to visit either for a short weekend (or a weekday) break or for a more protracted tour. The weather may not be guaranteed but you can usually dodge between the showers. Once off the main roads, the driving is easy and the scenery often outstanding. “On a Friday travelling north from London can be difficult but a late morning sprint up the M40, a lack of lorries and heavy traffic and a motorway that winds its way past High Wycombe, through the Stokenchurch cutting, and on to Banbury, an ancient town with its cross from Edward 1st time and an excellent eatery in the Thai Orchid. Thirty miles further on is Stratford itself with the Alveston Manor for a night’s stop. This ancient (well some of it is ancient) four-star hotel sits on the other side of the Avon from the town, combining oak-beamed rooms with pleasant modern accommodation and a superb leisure complex including an 18-metre indoor swimming pool. It is just a short walk into Stratford with its pedestrianised streets and varied shops, very much geared up for the tourist trade. Americans do not seem to come these days in numbers but there are many visitors from the Far East, about one-third of all tourists from abroad. You can take a stroll joining one of the daily walks (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 1100, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 1400 – £5), where a local guide will interest and entertain you with stories from Shakespeare’s time and the many ancient buildings and historical events over the last 500 years. Brand new, and after all Stratford was always forward looking and one of the first places to go into the tourist business back in the 18th century, is a wireless hot spot experiment called “Stratford Unpluggedâ€�. Tourists who hire a personal digital assistant for the day access an interactive map of the town giving up to the minute information and background details. Everything on a normal tourist site. The Royal Shakespeare Company is currently staging the biggest festival in its history, inviting theatre companies from across the world and around the UK to a unique celebration of the Bard’s complete works, all 37 plays. In July the Courtyard Theatre opens, a temporary construction replacing the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from April 2007 onwards, that distinguished building closing for a major redevelopment. From Stratford to Bourton on the Water is a delightful 25 miles, 40-minute drive along minor A roads past Moulton-in-the-Marsh. Bourton has often been described as the “Venice of the Cotswoldsâ€� on the strength of its six picturesque bridges across the River Windrush. This is a Cotswold tourist venue “par excellenceâ€�, with a proper village green surrounded by shops, tearooms, public houses and restaurants. Well worth visiting is The Cotswold Perfumery, a small family business that has been manufacturing fine fragrances for over 40 years. A short tour shows you how the perfumes are produced and a one-day course on making your own brand is proving very popular at £99. For the children there is the Bourton model railway exhibition and the Fun Days Play Barn, whilst the model village and Cotswold Motoring Museum is for the whole family. Retracing our steps through Stow-on-the-Wold, next stop ten miles and 20 minutes away, is Blockley and its old water mill. This is the site of a fabulous private garden developed by the Dare family, half the property is used for bed and breakfast accommodation and the two and a half acre garden is home to all manner of plants, borders and fruit. You do need to be fairly nimble to get around the tiered garden although some 50% is wheelchair accessible it is claimed. The landscaping is simply glorious. Then, time for a tea and strawberries and cream served by the enthusiastic owners only to keen to help and explain. You might even get a personal tour. In this part of England, public houses with fine eating is now the norm and the Bell at Willersey proved to be an architectural Cotswold stone built drinking place, in the most beautiful of villages, complete with pond and thatched cottages. Back into the car and onto Snowshill Manor, National Trust since 1951 and again a superb setting. A beautiful Cotswold country house dating back to the 16th century containing Charles Paget Wade’s extraordinary and eccentric collection of craftsmanship and design, including musical instruments, clocks, toys, bicycles and Japanese armour. His family made money in the West Indies in the 19th century and he spent his whole life just collecting. His will stipulates “No Signageâ€� and sometimes it is just a guessing game to know what and where from. An easy run back to Stratford and an evening performance of Julius Caesar, all blood and gore with the conquering Octavius (Augustus) very young. The Royal Shakespeare Company always puts on a quality production. The final day took us on a nice quiet early morning Sunday drive from Stratford down the A3400 to Woodstock and one of the grand palaces of England, Blenheim, the home of the Dukes of Marlborough since the early part of the 18th century. In August 1704 John Churchill, recently made Duke of Marlborough, won one of the great battles in European history, Blenheim in south Germany, his adversary Louis XIV. Defeat on that occasion would have meant French domination of Europe and history would have been different. Blenheim was conceived by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1705 and completed in 1722, although like all great estates, it has never stood still with the present Duke (now in his 80s), ensuring that the property stays financially stable and attractive for visitors. Aston Martin chose Blenheim for its annual owners’ get together, an excuse to show the proto-type four door saloon, bound to be a star at the forthcoming Motor Show at Excel in London. Blenheim was also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill in 1874 and it was his wish to be laid to rest at Bladon churchyard just outside the estate. He died in 1965. It is a World Heritage site, set in 2001 acres of parkland, originally landscaped by “Capabilityâ€� Brown. Sweeping lawns and formal gardens surrounds the palace, the staterooms graced with priceless portraits, exquisite porcelain and magnificent tapestries. A permanent Winston Churchill exhibition gives you an insight to a man considered by many to be the greatest Englishman of the 20th century. At certain times even the private apartments are accessible. From the terraces take a walking tour around the grounds, through the Italian garden, the rose garden and the secret garden with its secluded winding paths, bridges, streams and water features. A stroll past the cascade waterfall and you are into a wooded landscaped walk and past the lake and boathouse. Blenheim Palace employs 12 permanent gardeners and has the upkeep of seven acres of roof. You can go on a day visit or fit in with one of the many special events that will take place this summer, including concerts by Westlife, James Blunt and Robin Gibb and of course the world famous Blenheim International Horse Trials. There is a cafeteria and restaurant or you can dine in the lovely village of Woodstock. The round trip was around 260 miles from South Mimms or you can take a inclusive package coach tour for up to £325 staying two nights in a four star-hotel and including seats at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. http://www.thaigroup.co.uk http://www.shakespeare-country.co.uk http://www.rsc.org.uk http://www.alvestonmanor.co.uk http://www.cotswolds.com http://www.cotswold-perfumery.co.uk http://www.milldenegarden.co.uk http://www.the-bell-willersey.com http://www.blenheimpalace.com INCIDENTALLY: Getting Out Of the UK Did you hear the story of the journalist who managed to defeat the migration department of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, or as it is now called in a trendy logo “UK Passport Serviceâ€�? Our writer’s standard (32 page) size passport was full and you can’t get a new 48-page version although one is listed in their brochure. The Indian authorities would not update a previous visa and needed a perfect page to comply with their regulations. So it was up to the Passport Office, near Victoria Station, for what is called “The Premium Serviceâ€�. By appointment only at a cost of £96.50. They don’t allow you in until the approved time either and it was raining. Through security and an interview number allotted. And certainly within 20 minutes a call to the interrogation desk. “I am very sorry sir but the image is no good!â€� “Why?â€� “Your mouth is slightly open and there is a reflection in your glasses. Please see form PLE/04 02.06â€� (which had not been seen but is in the latest information pack). “OK I will go to the photo machine in the lobby and have a retake with my glasses off.â€� “Very sorry sir but you will need to call our reservations and make a new bookingâ€�. So out to the lobby 50 feet away, a session in the photo machine and then a quick call. “Happy to help you sir and we can see you in Belfast tomorrow.â€� “But I am off to India on Friday and the Visa still has to be raised. I am in your Victoria office.â€� “Possibly Peterborough on Thursday.â€� “The Visa still has to be raised!â€� Defeat. No sir. Not for your cunning journalist. The solution was easy. Present yourself at Victoria’s front door, apologise for being late, and follow the procedure. Mouth closed. Glasses off. Everything in order. “Please come back in four hours sir the new passport will be available.â€� And four hours later, 2030 on a wet and miserable Victoria evening, it was ready. A defeat for bureaucracy and victory for common sense. Just. UK Passport Services closes at nine. PS. We asked for comment from the Foreign Office press department. We are still waiting -- Remove `spamtrapped` to reply off-list http://jim-mason.fotopic.net/c162491.html Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         AirTalk.org Forum Index -> Aberdeen Airport All times are GMT Page 1 of 1   Jump to: Select a forum Aviation----------------alt.aviationAviation safety EnhancementPlanes, gliders and flying in AustraliaAviation et pilotage (Français)rec.aviationAviation (Aerobatics)Hot air, gas balloons and airshipsHang-gliding, paragliding, foot-launched flightAircraft Design & BuildingInstrument Flight RulesAviation (Classifieds)Military AircraftNaval AviationAviation (Miscellaneous Topics)Owning AirplanesAviators (General Discussions)Aviation related productsAircraft RestorationHelicopters and rotary wing aircraftsFlight SimulationSailplanesAviation (Students)Light aircraftFlying related activities in the UK Airports----------------alt.airportsEdinburgh Airport Glasgow Airport Humberside Airport Luton Airport Aberdeen Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2006 phpBB Group SEO toolkit © 2004-2006 webmedic.