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 - 29/05/06          AirTalk.org Forum Index -> Aberdeen Airport View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Jim Mason Guest Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 4:11 am    Post subject: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS - 29/05/06 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 29 MAY 2006 This week’s issue of ABTN is brought to you by Paul Norris, journalist and sometime news editor of Travel Weekly. In the meantime the editor continues with his losing battle with BT and is still not back on line with Internet after having been cut off three weeks ago, an error they have admitted. Our advice is use someone else. If you are expecting a reply please bear with him. Once back on line he will attempt to catch up. BREAKING NEWS is that Ferrovial, which leads the consortium aiming to buy BAA, is backing an Office of Fair Trading initiative to examine competition in the UK airports market. The Spanish giant also said it would co-operate in any investigation if it bought BAA, a move designed to ramp up its bid in the face of opposition from the UK airport owner. BAA has previously resisted attempts to examine its stranglehold on key areas of UK aviation, most notably London and Scotland. BAA owns airports which handle 63% of passengers in the UK. This rises dramatically in the London area, where it has 92% of the market, and Scotland, where it has 86%. If the OFT review goes against BAA, there could be a referral to the European Union Competition Commission. BAA is trying to fight off Ferrovial with a £750m cashback for investors if a takeover bid by Spain's Ferrovial fails. Shareholders are set to receive a letter setting out the handout – which may well have been previously set aside for investment in the group’s seven UK airports – and how BAA will combat any renewed bid by the consortium. The company has until today (29 May) to unveil its official defence against Ferrovial's bid, while any takeover has been cleared by the European Commission. It claims it is worth £10bn, compared with the consortium’s £8.75bn bid. As well as the offer from the Spanish construction firm, the company has also rejected an approach from a consortium led by US bank Goldman Sachs. http://www.oft.gov.uk http://www.baa.com ___________________________________________________________________________ AIR NEW ZEALAND – UK investment for second daily AIRBUS – July deadline for A350 project ALITALIA – Volare hopes dashed AMERICAN AIRLINES – facing $1bn in cuts ATATURK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – confusion of fire starters BALTIA AIR LINES – US start-up targets Russia BELARUS – ban on western airlines? CHECK-IN – be on time or face a fine EXCEL AIRWAYS – Irish launch GALILEO INTERNATIONAL – scores with World Cup rooms GLASGOW AIRPORT – revamp hits taxis HOTELS – corporate spin out, authentic review in KINGS CROSS – a hotel of class arrives MUMBAI – privatisation benefits NIGERIA – tackling poor safety record ROOM RATES – on the rise across Europe RYANAIR – adverts rapped, again SOUTH AMERICAN CARRIERS – US softens its stance STAR ALLIANCE – China expansion VARIG – aircraft seized in New York ON TOUR: Berlin, 70 years on INCIDENTALLY: Ryanair’s bare-faced cheek COMMENT: Blood on the tracks It is a fact that train companies fight hard to stop any real competition on their monopoly routes at the expense of customer choice. That GNER has launched a legal challenge against the decision to allow a rival operator to start services on ‘its’ East Coast Main Line is no surprise. Sure the company says it welcomes competition (really!), but wants the same terms as its new rival Grand Central. GC is poised to start service from the north-east to London this winter after winning approval from the Office of Rail Regulation. This operation, along with the Hull Trains service from Humberside, will give real competition on one of the key business travel stretches of track in the UK. But GNER wants a judicial review against the ORR decision, citing unfair competition as GC allegedly pays reduced track charges. A judge will hear the case in July, and let’s hope commonsense prevails. Part of GNER’s case is questioning why GC needs to stop at York, a major interchange already served by 61 trains a day. No prizes for guessing whose trains those are. GNER has enjoyed a clear run up and down the East Coast Main Line from London for ten years. Surely, if rail operators want to regain public trust and sympathy, competition must be widened in the rail network. Almost all major train companies enjoy a virtual monopoly on the long-distance routes, with the result that fares are exorbitant, restrictions rife and choice non-existent. Take First Great Western. It has a monopoly on long-distance routes out of London Paddington to Wales and the West Country. And the same applies to South West Trains out of London Waterloo. Virgin enjoys a similar monopoly on its cross-country routes, while around London the network is generally run by one operator. There is some cross over for part of the journey, but for long haul train travel in the UK, the choice is usually one rail company and its prices. MPs have reignited the debate over the privatised rail companies and their drive for profits at the expense of consumer choice, cheap fares and transparency. It is good to have that discussion. The transport committee said tickets were unnecessarily complicated, walk-on fares were too high and rail companies were “not giving value for moneyâ€�. Hard to argue with that. Bearing in mind the private rail companies receive taxpayers’ cash in huge subsidies, MPs are right to question their ‘profit before service’ approach. Rail companies will argue they do offer cheap fares, but only if you book way in advance and travel on a Tuesday lunchtime. And even then the goalposts are moved at peak holiday times or the cheap tickets are simply taken off sale. They hold commuters and passengers to ransom if they must travel at short notice or at convenient times. Train companies should learn from the airlines, which incidentally regularly offer cheaper fares than the railway on the same UK routes. It really is something when it is cheaper to fly than get the train. BA once had a virtual monopoly from this country and complained bitterly when the likes of Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair or easyJet came in and offered better deals or simply choice. But now look at BA, it is profitable and doing much better than most of its European or global rivals. Competition has done our one-time flag carrier some good and it should help the rail operators become more efficient too. Until the rail industry really does embrace competition on long-distance routes, consumers will be hit with huge fares and no choice. Although it had to struggle at first Virgin Trains has got better and better in terms of fares and what it offers. It is in competition with the airlines! How long will the Association of Train Operating Companies have to keep wheeling out director general George Muir to defend fare rises and lack of competition? ___________________________________________________________________ AIR NEW ZEALAND is training 140 extra cabin crew in preparation for its additional daily London service, via Hong Kong, to Auckland, which will be introduced in October. The flight, which doubles capacity from the UK to New Zealand, will be the first from a Star Alliance carrier to Hong Kong from London. A three-class Boeing 747-400 will operate the service, offering 46-bed seats in Business Premier. The new flight also effectively gives the airline a round-the-world operation, as it also flies Down Under via the US. http://www.airnewzealand.com AIRBUS’ plans for the A350 long haul aircraft will be much clearer in time for the start of the Farnborough Air Show in July. Transport ministers of the four countries involved with Airbus will decide before 17 July on any loans for the A350. Ministers are currently discussing the project and will meet imminently to consider a major re-vamp of the project. This follows calls for changes from potential customers who say that the aircraft is not competitive with Boeing’s all new 787. Qatar Airways is apparently poised to re-think a £5.3bn deal to buy 60 A350s from Airbus. http://www.airbus.com ALITALIA’s E38m bid for collapsed Volare has been thrown out by an Italian court. Rival Air One has instead been given the go-ahead to purchase the airline, which has prized slots at Milan's Linate Airport. Alitalia, which wanted Volare to boost its domestic business, has estimated it would lose E125m in revenues by 2008 if Volare went to Air One. Volare collapsed last year. http://www.alitalia.com AMERICAN AIRLINES is facing $1bn in cuts over the next year to stay viable, according to chief executive Gerard Arprey. He told shareholders that the key to profitability is to be on the lookout for cost-cutting measures and to aggressively change business plans when needed. American lost $92m in its first quarter. No details were given of how the cost-cutting would be implemented, but better fuel efficiency will be one of the keys. http://www.aa.com ATATURK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT officials in Istanbul are playing down claims that Kurdish freedom fighters started the blaze which destroyed the cargo area last week. Commercial flights were delayed as firefighting aircraft dropped water on the fire, which officials say was started by an electrical fault. The airport, which handles 60,000 daily passengers, was only opened in 2000 and serves as the country’s major aviation hub. Investigations and rebuilding are ongoing, but commercial flights operate as normal. http://www.ataturkairport.com BALTIA AIR LINES is set to launch flights from New York JFK to St Petersburg in Russia. Using a Boeing 747, the start-up hopes to break the monopoly enjoyed by Delta Air Lines, which is the only other US carrier offering service to Russia. Baltia is traded on Nasdaq and in Frankfurt. After JFK – St. Petersburg, other New York routes will include Moscow, Riga, Kiev and Minsk. Baltia Air Lines' mission is to be the number one airline between the US and eastern Europe. http://www.baltia.com BELARUS, the former Soviet country between Poland and Russia, is threatening to ban overflights by western airlines. President Alexander Lukashenko said he might ban the flights in response to sanctions against Belarus in connection with his disputed re-election. He suggested airlines could go over neighbouring Baltic states or the Ukraine to the south. The United States and European Union have barred Lukashenko in response to claims of rigging in his March re-election. CHECK-IN rules have been highlighted by a judge in Bradford. He dismissed a prosecution brought by a family against Jet2.com after not making their flight due to arriving late at check-in. They had already missed a train from Yorkshire causing the delay. The judge ruled that the family had not allowed enough time to check-in for the flight. The family were forced to pay court costs and the airline’s costs of £300. http://www.jet2.com EXCEL AIRWAYS is launching in Ireland to offer long haul and short haul charter flights to major European, north African and US holiday destinations. The operation is being run by Bill Smith and Carol Anne O'Neill, who were both senior executives at Irish holiday group FalconHolidays/JWT. Services start in May 2007 with routes including Florida, mainland Spain, the Balearics, Canary Islands, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. The company says it expects to carry in excess of 65,000 passengers in the first year. http://www.xl.com GALILEO INTERNATIONAL is offering comprehensive hotel accommodation during the Germany 2006 World Cup using sister company Gullivers Travel Associates. GTA has secured rooms in all cities where matches are being played, allowing fans to book via their Galileo-equipped travel agency. As well as host cities, agents also have access to a large number of rooms in nearby centres close to stadiums where the teams are playing. http://www.galileo.com GLASGOW AIRPORT has told private taxi owners and customers arriving by car that they can no longer pull up outside the terminal building. From June, the designation of the inner and outer lanes outside the airport will be redesignated to only give buses and licensed cabs the right to drop off closest to the terminal. Private cars and private taxis will only be allowed to drop-off passengers at the outer lane. And the airport will be using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology together with drop-down barriers to ensure the new rules are adhered to. More than 1,400 vehicles access the forecourt every hour during peak periods and the airport says the changes are for safety reasons. http://www.glasgowairport.com HOTELS have been warned to expect an increasing number of guests relying on word-of-mouth, personal websites and real-life experiences, before booking their room. Slick marketing and brand value is being ignored as travellers turn to the web for authentic reviews rather than relying on what hoteliers tell them. The headache for the chains was highlighted at the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association’s conference and underlines the move to independent booking, based on word-of-mouth rather than any brand loyalty. http://www.hedna.org KINGS CROSS is once again to be the home of one of London’s finest hotels. The former Midland Grand at St Pancras Station (and the St Pancras Chambers in more recent times) is to re-open as the Renaissance St Pancras Hotel in early 2009 after a £100m makeover. The Grade 1 English Heritage-listed Victorian building adjoins the new Eurostar terminal. The top floors will consist of 67 residential apartments ranging in price from £450,000 to £3m for a penthouse suite. The property includes a ballroom and conference services offering 52 rooms in the main Gothic structure and 193 in a brand new extension at the rear. Full business facilities are being incorporated. http://www.marriott.com MUMBAI, easily the most popular Indian international gateway from the UK, served by Air India, bmi, British Airways, Jet Airways and Virgin Atlantic, is quickly benefiting from its recent privatisation. There is now an airside shuttle between the international and domestic terminals which dramatically cuts down transfer times making it the preferred connecting point to and from regional points. Jet Airways luggage check-in is straight after customs, a boom for passengers linking on to other flights. BA has a new check-in area for its First Class and Club World passengers away from the very busy terminal (which incidentally bans non-flying visitors). In the domestic terminal a major new very modern landside facility will open imminently. Jet benefits most with its own dedicated check in area and also a large and well provided executive lounge the other side of security. Jet has also completed its first full service maintenance hangar, all 21st century including a large classroom element hidden away in the roof structure. http://www.mumbaiairport.com NIGERIA, infamous for poor aviation safety, has taken steps to tighten up its airline industry by raising the capital needed to operate in the country. The move follows two crashes last year which killed 223 people. Domestic, regional and international carriers will need to show they have capital between $4m to $16m to gain agreements with the Nigerian government to fly. The new amounts are up to 100 times more than previously demanded. ROOM RATES are going up in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Average rates, according to online reservation company Active Hotels, were up 5% to reach E96 (£66) in the first quarter of 2006, compared to 2005. Germany and the Netherlands were highest at 9%, France increased by 8% and Spain and Italy 7%. UK room rates remained level with a growth rate of 0.4%. Italy has the highest average room rate at E118, followed by the Netherlands at E100 (£69) and the UK at E98 (£6. Germany is at E95 (£66), Spain at E89 (£61) and France on E77 (£53). US hotels have also reported their best ever year in 2005. http://www.activehotels.com RYANAIR has again been criticised by advertising watchdogs over claims made in its adverts. A national press campaign stating "3 million £0 tickets just pay your taxes & charges!" was deemed misleading as it did not include Fridays or certain times. The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint, despite the carrier saying it had made clear that travel for major sporting events and holiday periods were exempt. Ryanair was told to make all exemptions clearer in the future. http://www.asa.org.uk SOUTH AMERICAN CARRIERS are becoming freed up in their desire to fly to the US after Washington softened its stance on two countries which were previously restricted on services. Ecuador has now been rated as category 1 for safety instead of category 2, which made it hard for the country’s airlines to fly to US cities. The decision follows a similar move over Venezuelan airlines. A Category 2 status meant those countries had to lease aircraft off category 1 nations to fly to the US. http://www.faa.gov STAR ALLIANCE has formally invited Air China to join its club. The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation, and the airline will now be the subject of checks and procedures to ensure its place in the alliance. The global network has also extended an invitation to Shanghai Airlines to join. This dual-hub approach will allow the alliance to offer a unique network from Beijing and Shanghai. Once Air China and Shanghai Airlines become full members of the alliance, the Star Alliance network will grow to 20 members, offering more than 16,500 daily fights to 912 destinations in 160 countries. http://www.staralliance.com VARIG has confirmed one of its Boeing 777s has been seized by lessors in JFK in New York due to non-payment. The airline said representatives of the leasing firm seized the plane after presenting themselves to airport authorities as the owner of the aircraft. The Brazilian carrier has run up millions of dollars of debt and sought bankruptcy protection last year. Most foreign embassies in Brazil are recommending to their nationals not to use Varig. http://www.varig.com FORTHCOMING EVENTS THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO READERS: Travel Distribution Summit Europe at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, 5-6 June. Organised by EyeforTravel, the event brings airlines, hoteliers, technology companies and others to discuss burning issues surrounding ticketing, bookings, systems and information. http://www.eyefortravel.com/tds2006/conference And from a leisure point of view next weekend Saturday and Sunday, 3 & 4 June sees once again The Air Fair at Biggin Hill, this year dedicated to the memory Ray Hanna, display pilot par excellence, whose first appearance at the Kent flying extravaganza was in 1965 putting on a fantastic show in a Red Arrows Folland Gnat. Visitors will actually be able to fly in a Douglas Dakota, and also other vintage aircraft. Our advice is to go early. You can even book on-line. http://www.bigginhillairfair.co.uk PETER ILAND, an aviation veteran of many years, has sadly passed away. The BWIA director of sales and marketing for the UK and Europe worked for the airline for 18 years and was a popular and well-known character on the air travel scene. Peter was also involved with Sir Freddie Laker when he attempted to restart operations from the UK in the 1990s and also worked for Pan Am. ___________________________________________________________________________ ON TOUR: Berlin The last time the eyes of the sporting world were on Berlin was 70 years ago. And it still ranks as one of the most eye-catching moments in history, as Jesse Owens won his gold and Hitler squirmed during the 1936 Olympics. Fast forward 70 years and the eyes of the world are yet again on the German capital as it prepares for the football World Cup. The city hosts a number of matches, and has been given pride of place by welcoming world champions Brazil for their first game, 13 June, against Croatia, and staging the final on 9 July. England, hopefully, will make their only appearance at the Olympiastadion in the final. The Olympic stadium has undergone a £165m renovation to make the 76,000-capacity facility ready for this year’s tournament and is a far cry from when Hitler used it for propaganda for his Germany. But it is not just the stadium which has been improved, the city, which has been neglected by tourists, now boasts fine restaurants, bars, cafes and attractions for visitors. With budget airlines and regular carriers putting the city back on schedules since it was reinstated as the capital seven years ago, Berlin is easy and cheap to get to. And most of the major hotel chains are now there. Top attractions, apart from the football, include Checkpoint Charlie, the Norman Foster-designed Reichstag parliament building, Brandenburg Gate, sections of the Berlin Wall, and the memorial to Jewish victims of the Nazi era. Gendarmenmarkt is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, surrounded by the Deutscher Dom, the Französischer Dom and the Konzerthaus. It is ideal for quick coffee or a longer linger over lunch. There are a huge number of galleries, museums and other cultural attractions for visitors, including sites dedicated to art, film, photography and fashion. The city prides itself on its forward-looking culture and the modern is tied in with old Berlin. Shopping is king on the Unter den Linden, Friedrichstrasse and Kurfürstendamm, while fine restaurants are all over the city offering traditional German fare, like the ubiquitous meatball, and international dishes. Travelling around the city is easy and considerably cheaper than London. The U-Bahn underground, S-Bahn suburban services and trams whisk sightseers around the city for around £4 a day. Deals on tickets and passes are available. For football fans, the city is turning itself over to fun, festivals and, of course, famous German beer. The Fan-festival takes place from 7 June to 9 July on the Strasse des 17 Juni between the Brandenburg Gate and Sieggesäule in the heart of the city. Huge screens will show matches and fans will be catered for by Berliners. So, if you find yourself in Berlin in the next month and don’t fancy the football, there are hundreds of places to escape to if only for a few hours. http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de To check out Berlin’s role in the World Cup go to http://www.fifaworldcup.com INCIDENTALLY: Tales from Poland In fact a plea to LOT. It is worth the sight of Michael O’Leary walking through the streets of Warsaw naked for the cost a few pennies of fuel tax? The Polish national airline had claimed that managers at rival Ryanair would "drop their trousers" for extra publicity. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary now says he'll venture along without clothes through the city if LOT removes the fuel surcharge on its tickets by the end of this month. "I will walk down Marszalkowska street naked," claims O'Leary on the airline’s web site. It is all part of a continuing spat. Ryanair aims to carry 1.6m passengers this year in and out of the former communist state and says it could expand its operations to move 10m by 2011 – if the government loosens competition in the sector. -- Remove `spamtrapped` to reply off-list http://jim-mason.fotopic.net/c162491.html Back to top colin. Guest Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 6:58 am    Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS - 29/05/06 "Jim Mason" <jim.mason (AT) spamtrappedukonline (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message news:MPG.1ee43e679a1c44a5989903 (AT) news (DOT) individual.net... AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS CROSS POSTED! 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