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Jim Mason
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 Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 9:36 pm Post subject: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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A WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY
PO Box 1315, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 1PU, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1707 665454
All enquiries: [email]info (AT) abtn (DOT) co.uk[/email]
This can also be viewed, with photos, on http://www.abtn.co.uk
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OAG, THE WORLD'S LEADING SOURCE FOR FLIGHT
INFORMATION http://www.oag.com
9 MAY 2005
BREAKING NEWS is a claim by a small hotel in Ramsgate (England) that
it has become the first hotel in the world to offer free telephone
calls to anywhere in the globe. The Royal Harbour Hotel is a privately
owned boutique property, set in a garden crescent overlooking the
historic Royal Harbour of Ramsgate. All land line telephone calls to
any number in the UK and 34 international countries are free to
residents. It is all made possible through the investment of a modem
WiFi Internet broadband system within the hotel. It?s a breakthrough.
Watch for the major hotel groups to begin offering something similar.
http://www.royalharbourhotel.co.uk
AIR SCOTLAND ? all Greek
BERLIN ? US non-stop
BMI BABY ? more aircraft
BOEING ? tug departing?
BRITISH AIRWAYS ? more fights
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ? anniversary
DETROIT METROPOLITAN WAYNE COUNTY AIRPORT ? Skyteam moves
EMBRAER ? getting smaller
EMIRATES ? new business opportunity
ETIHAD AIRWAYS ? double to Germany
GATWICK TO LUTON ? the trains are coming back
HILTON ? floatplane arrival
JET AIRWAYS ? UK arrival
MONARCH SCHEDULED ? more services
PARIS ? new destination
POZNAM ? British connection
QATAR AIRWAYS ? refreshing move
SLEEPING ? a bit of an airline yawn
SONG ? long number
STEIGENBERGER ? years
ON TOUR: The Emirate of Dubai
INCIDENTALLY: Security Issue
COMMENT: The British Election
ABTN has no intention of getting into deep water by commenting on the
result of the UK and Northern Ireland General Election but we must at
least offer a sigh of relief with the news that Alistair Darling has
retained his post as minister for transport, a position he has held
since May 2002. It has been the norm that as soon as the member of the
cabinet for this most important of sectors has found his feet with the
complex portfolio that includes trains, ?planes and the roads, he is
moved on. Mr Darling piloted the White Paper 'The Future of Air
Transport', published in December 2003 and whilst we are not
necessarily in agreement with all of its recommendations, nevertheless
it was (and still is) a thoughtful document which will hopefully give
guidance to where the air transport industry is going for the next 30
years. His loss as a minister would have been a worry. Whilst not
always the case ?the devil you know is better than the devil you
don?t? in this case it is justified. It would be easy to mention some
current ministers whom one would want to keep an arms length from
transport.
And what should the industry ask Mr Darling to concentrate on with his
new extended life expectancy. There are many complex issues to be
solved in all three sectors. This issue of ABTN reports on the
re-introduction of through trains on the Thameslink through Kings
Cross. What it does not really tell is the calamity that might befall
the whole Eurostar/St Pancras/Kings Cross development if the proposed
integrated Thameslink railway station is not ready, or even under
construction, when Eurostar begins to run from its new terminal in
2007. Does the government, for a reputed mere £70m, want visitors from
the continent connecting on to Thameslink walking along the dregs
Pentonville Road to the grimy Kings Cross Thameslink station, unusable
by the disabled (see also GATWICK TO LUTON below). When/if it happens
will Thameslink close again?
Is this the bright gateway people coming down from the north will want
to use as they transfer to the new 21st century high speed link?
ABTN thinks not. And mentioning Thameslink perhaps he ought to add to
his priorities an overview of the railway station at Britain?s number
two port, Gatwick Airport, a 40 year old reinforced concrete
monstrosity, equally poor as an entranceway to the country. The
minister does not have to go far to see how it should be done. A visit
to Amsterdam Airport could easily be added to his Edinburgh ? London
flight itinerary.
________________________________________________________________________
AIR SCOTLAND, the trading name of? Greece Airways, is seriously
considering an operation later this year from Glasgow via Stansted to
Baghdad. Whilst plans are speculative, the airline has confirmed the
addition of two Tristar L1011-500 with long haul capabilities and 309
seats. The airline says it is also underway to acquire a further two
smaller aircraft for European routes. Boeing 757 aircraft are used on
current routes. Air Scotland has applied for permission to operate
from Miami and New York twice a week and to Havana and Toronto once a
week. All flights are expected to commence later on this year. Plans
are also underway to increase the frequency of the Glasgow to Paris
and Athens routes, to five times per week from July 2005.
http://www.air-scotland.com
BERLIN is now finally linked to New York by a scheduled air service
(and yes the Hindenburg and other airships flew the route before WWII
but they took considerably more than 8 hours 40 minutes). In what is a
major leap forward, both for the city and Tegel Airport, Delta Air
Lines has introduced a daily non-stop flight to JFK operated by a
Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with the capacity to carry up to 204
passengers in a two-class configuration. Delta has served the German
market for the last 25 years and is the leading US carrier in that
country offering Mumbai. Delta currently operates daily non-stop
flights to Frankfurt from JFK and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport and two daily non-stop flights to its hub at
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world?s busiest
airport. Delta also offers daily non-stop service from Atlanta to both
Munich and Stuttgart. http://www.delta.com
BMI BABY, established in 2002 and Britain?s second largest no frills
airline, is to further expand in the autumn with the delivery of three
additional Boeing 737s increasing the fleet from 16 to 19 aircraft.
During 2005 the budget arm of BMI, which has its own AOC, plans to
carry close to 4m passengers on more than 50 UK and European routes,
from five UK bases. Over the coming months the airline will be working
with its existing airports to identify where the new aircraft will be
based and which routes they will be flying. bmi Baby is now run by
David Bryon who replaced Tony Davis when he departed to join
Singapore-based Tiger Airways. http://www.bmibaby.com
http://www.tigerairways.co.uk
BOEING is investigating new technologies to see if innovative
electrical motor drives can be made practical, in order to move
aircraft on the ground without the use of tugs or the main engines.
Working in conjunction with Chorus Motors Plc the company?s advanced
research and development unit is testing a system that could
significantly improve operational efficiency and reduce overall fuel
consumption. It would also enable pilots to be in complete control of
their aircraft from gate to gate. The results of this research should
be available before the end of the year. http://www.chorusmotors.gi
http://www.boeing.com
BRITISH AIRWAYS confirmed dates for its increase of flights to India,
following a new air services agreement between the UK and Indian
governments. From October 2005 it will operate a double daily service
from Heathrow to Mumbai, a new five a week to Bangalore and six a week
to Chennai. From March 2006, BA expects to operate a double daily
service to Delhi, and daily services to Bangalore and Chennai from
Heathrow. At the same time the airline confirmed it would launch
services to Shanghai from Heathrow on 1 June 2005, with five services
a week to Shanghai Pudong Airport operated by Boeing 777 aircraft.
http://www.ba.com
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES has celebrated 20 years of non-stop Gatwick ?
Houston flights. Since its inaugural on 28 April 1985, the airline has
carried over 3.5m passengers on the route since its inception. The
airline?s first foray into the UK market was the precursor to what is
now a major operation, with the airline launching Gatwick flights to
both New York/Newark and Cleveland and operating to the USA from more
UK airports than any other airline ? Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester,
Edinburgh and Glasgow. In June, Continental will also launch daily
non-stop services to New York/Newark from Belfast and Bristol.
http://www.continental.com
DETROIT METROPOLITAN WAYNE COUNTY AIRPORT will have all its SkyTeam
partners under one roof by the middle of June. With Continental, KLM
and Northwest already established in the McNamara Terminal, Delta has
come across to join them. A fourth SkyTeam carrier, Air France, plans
to add to these carriers at DTW 13 June 2005, in conjunction with an
inaugural service to Detroit. SkyTeam customers have access to a range
of consolidated SkyTeam operations, including gates, check-in kiosks
and counters, and security checkpoints. http://www.continental.com
http://www.klm.com http://www.airfrance.com http://www.nwa.com
EMBRAER, now very well established as one of the world?s leading
aircraft manufacturers, is to develop an entirely new range of
aircraft to complement its EMB135 based Legacy corporate jet. Aimed at
the Very Light and Light categories the two distinct aircraft types
will be aimed at the 6 to 8 people category and for up to 9 people.
Based upon in-depth market assessments, Embraer has estimated demand
for approximately 3,000 Very Light and Light Jets over the next
decade. This figure does not include the air taxi market. The Very
Light Jet is expected to enter service in mid-2008 and will be priced
at $2.75m in 2005 economic conditions. The larger, faster Light Jet is
expected to enter service in mid-2009 and be priced at US$ 6.65m in
2005 economic conditions. http://www.embraer.com
EMIRATES, the rapidly expanding Dubai-based airline, is to go into the
hotel business, an area that has been a distinct failure for airlines
in the past, including Pan Am and SAS with their involvement with
Intercontinental and ANA who built up an impressive international
prospectus, only
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John Reid
Guest
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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It is written in message
<MPG.1ce896c19635539798a427 (AT) News (DOT) Individual.NET> that Jim Mason sayeth :
| Quote: | BREAKING NEWS is a claim by a small hotel in Ramsgate (England) that it
has become the first hotel in the world to offer free telephone calls
to anywhere in the globe.
|
About time too, although I doubt that many of the chains will do it, as
they make too much money out of overcharging people to use the phone.
[Or conversely, charging for one day's use of broadband what a home user
would pay in a month or more]
--
John
Mail sent to the reply address will be binned automatically.
Use my name with the domain (@+the rest)
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John Dundas
Guest
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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"John Reid" <news (AT) jazza (DOT) demon.co.uk> wrote
| Quote: | It is written in message
that Jim Mason sayeth :
BREAKING NEWS is a claim by a small hotel in Ramsgate (England) that it
has become the first hotel in the world to offer free telephone calls to
anywhere in the globe.
About time too, although I doubt that many of the chains will do it, as
they make too much money out of overcharging people to use the phone. [Or
conversely, charging for one day's use of broadband what a home user would
pay in a month or more]
--
John
Mail sent to the reply address will be binned automatically.
Use my name with the domain (@+the rest)
|
I agree, hotel charges for telephone calls is totally unreal. The broadband
charges are also high. I am now using GPRS for all of my emails whilst on
the move. It certainly works (as long as you don't want too download large
attachments).
Very handy for checking too see what mail you have then you can decided
which messages you want to download.
regards John
PS looks like I will have a few flights this month including Dublin,
Birmingham and Norwich, with a possible LHR in between.
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John Reid
Guest
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 10:10 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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It is written in message
<d5m1m4$l32$1 (AT) nwrdmz01 (DOT) dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com> that John Dundas
sayeth :
| Quote: | I agree, hotel charges for telephone calls is totally unreal. The
broadband charges are also high. I am now using GPRS for all of my
emails whilst on the move. It certainly works (as long as you don't
want too download large attachments).
|
My original reason for trying always to stay in Holiday Inns, from many
years ago, was their policy of allowing 0800 access for free. Now
something long since gone, although certain hotels have not managed to
adjust their systems yet to charge the £1 fee (after 4 years !). I use
GPRS/3g now, as you do, although I find the 3g coverage to be very
patchy and somewhat difficult to control, as the cells "breathe" when
there are a lot of users, which means you sometimes get a connection
which then disappears. London City in the departure lounge is very prone
to this problem at the moment.
| Quote: | Very handy for checking too see what mail you have then you can decided
which messages you want to download.
regards John
PS looks like I will have a few flights this month including Dublin,
Birmingham and Norwich, with a possible LHR in between.
|
I am still stuck in the LGW or LCY rut at the moment, with the odd LHR
and OUL thrown in for good measure. I must try to be more inventive
about routings.
--
John
Mail sent to the reply address will be binned automatically.
Use my name with the domain (@+the rest)
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John Dundas
Guest
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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"John Reid" <news (AT) jazza (DOT) demon.co.uk> wrote
| Quote: | My original reason for trying always to stay in Holiday Inns, from many
years ago, was their policy of allowing 0800 access for free. Now
something long since gone, although certain hotels have not managed to
adjust their systems yet to charge the £1 fee (after 4 years !). I use
GPRS/3g now, as you do, although I find the 3g coverage to be very patchy
and somewhat difficult to control, as the cells "breathe" when there are a
lot of users, which means you sometimes get a connection which then
disappears. London City in the departure lounge is very prone to this
problem at the moment.
|
Well you have to watch out for hotels using mobile phone jammers. I have
looked at these units over the past few months and from the specification
they will certainly stop anyone using mobile phones. I know of at least one
hotel that has been caught jamming celluar phones in order to force people
to use their phone system.
I think the holiday inn/express are £5 for two hours? Not very good at all,
but if you have a lot to do then you dont have much of a choice, but its
still better than paying the hotel.
The GPRS/3g is getting better. We are currently moving over a system in
Dubai from a radio network to full GPRS, so far 700 vehicles have been
installed with another 2000 to be completed over the next few months. Cant
wait to visit the site so that we can learn more about the system, we are
currently using the radio system in the UK.
| Quote: | I am still stuck in the LGW or LCY rut at the moment, with the odd LHR
and OUL thrown in for good measure. I must try to be more inventive about
routings.
--
John
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You should try the new LPL<>GLA route is really good. Looks like I will be
spending a lot of time down that way when I return from my holidays in July.
On another front, only need another 200 points for my BA Silver Executive,
will have to plan things very carefully as I need the 200 pts before the 8th
of October but I dont want to get them too quickly as I have only found out
that if I become Silver now, then my renewal date will change to a year from
the day that I upgraded to Silver, rather daft and annoying. Anyway, only 10
more flights and I am sure that I will squeeze them in.
Off to Dublin this week but having problems booking with Air Lingus, will
have to contact them tomorrow and see if there is any late night flights
back on Thursday or I will have to stay at the HORRIBLE Holiday Inn in
Dublin City (what I do for points).
I now only have 90k left of my Priority Club points, my wife has spent the
rest on our holiday, which now includes a three day trip to the Holiday Inn
at Disney World Paris...........arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......
regards John
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John Reid
Guest
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 8:34 am Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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It is written in message
<d5m3m3$4gl$1 (AT) nwrdmz03 (DOT) dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com> that John Dundas
sayeth :
| Quote: | Well you have to watch out for hotels using mobile phone jammers. I
have looked at these units over the past few months and from the
specification they will certainly stop anyone using mobile phones. I
know of at least one hotel that has been caught jamming celluar phones
in order to force people to use their phone system.
|
Are these legitimate to use in the UK? I thought they might be forbidden
under one of the wireless telegraphy acts (love that name!), and you
could report the hotel to the Home Office enforcers for using them. I
would be interested to know if anyone has done it yet - I would love to
be the first. I sometimes carry a small wireless router with me, and I
have had some problems in some hotels with using it. I have always
assumed because of channel conflicts, but I guess it could be jamming.
| Quote: | I think the holiday inn/express are £5 for two hours? Not very good at
all, but if you have a lot to do then you dont have much of a choice,
but its still better than paying the hotel.
|
They seem to vary between about £2 and £15 for an hour to a day. It is
inconsistent at the moment, I assume because the market is so new. If
you subscribe to T Mobile's wi-fi offering they do give you much better
rates and quite a few hotels I have been in are "roaming" available.
| Quote: | The GPRS/3g is getting better. We are currently moving over a system in
Dubai from a radio network to full GPRS, so far 700 vehicles have been
installed with another 2000 to be completed over the next few months.
Cant wait to visit the site so that we can learn more about the system,
we are currently using the radio system in the UK.
|
I would agree that GPRS has been pretty good for a long time now across
the whole of Europe and wherever there is mobile coverage. 3g is still a
bit too patchy for me, and it does have some annoying coverage problems
(like - logon and then fall back to GPRS because the cell is overloaded
and not tell you about it!)
| Quote: |
You should try the new LPL<>GLA route is really good. Looks like I will
be spending a lot of time down that way when I return from my holidays
in July.
|
I will give it a go shortly. Hopefully it will make some of my day trips
to Merseyside just that, instead of the day and a half they take now.
--
John
Mail sent to the reply address will be binned automatically.
Use my name with the domain (@+the rest)
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John Dundas
Guest
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 5:41 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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"John Reid" <news (AT) jazza (DOT) demon.co.uk> wrote
| Quote: | It is written in message
d5m3m3$4gl$1 (AT) nwrdmz03 (DOT) dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com> that John Dundas
sayeth :
Well you have to watch out for hotels using mobile phone jammers. I have
looked at these units over the past few months and from the specification
they will certainly stop anyone using mobile phones. I know of at least
one hotel that has been caught jamming celluar phones in order to force
people to use their phone system.
Are these legitimate to use in the UK?
|
No they are illegal to use.
| Quote: | I thought they might be forbidden under one of the wireless telegraphy
acts (love that name!), and you could report the hotel to the Home Office
enforcers for using them.
|
Yes they are forbidden and its not the Home Office anymore but Ofcom (since
29 Dec 2003).
I
| Quote: | would be interested to know if anyone has done it yet - I would love to be
the first. I sometimes carry a small wireless router with me, and I have
had some problems in some hotels with using it. I have always assumed
because of channel conflicts, but I guess it could be jamming.
|
They have been reported. http://makeashorterlink.com/?V26555978
| Quote: |
I would agree that GPRS has been pretty good for a long time now across
the whole of Europe and wherever there is mobile coverage. 3g is still a
bit too patchy for me, and it does have some annoying coverage problems
(like - logon and then fall back to GPRS because the cell is overloaded
and not tell you about it!)
|
Yep but it will improve thru time. The main problem is that on the normal
networks you are not allowed roaming between the networks but the networks
do have a roaming policy with 3g operators.
| Quote: |
You should try the new LPL<>GLA route is really good. Looks like I will be
spending a lot of time down that way when I return from my holidays in
July.
I will give it a go shortly. Hopefully it will make some of my day trips
to Merseyside just that, instead of the day and a half they take now.
--
John
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I hope so too.
regards John
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John Reid
Guest
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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It is written in message
<d5o7bd$h6a$1 (AT) nwrdmz01 (DOT) dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com> that John Dundas
sayeth :
Interesting story, and from my own archives <blush>, I should have
answered my own question. I wonder if Ofcom have ever enforced against
one of these devices. Must look it up in the archive. :-)
--
John
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John Dundas
Guest
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bill
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 6:12 am Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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In article <d5m3m3$4gl$1 (AT) nwrdmz03 (DOT) dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, "John
Dundas" <j.m.dundas(takethisout)@btinternet.com> says...
| Quote: |
Off to Dublin this week but having problems booking with Air Lingus, will
have to contact them tomorrow and see if there is any late night flights
back on Thursday or I will have to stay at the HORRIBLE Holiday Inn in
Dublin City (what I do for points).
|
Try the HI at the airport, it's a bit better. Plus there is a lovely new
Crowne Plaza about 3 miles from the airport.They havea shuttle bus. Both
much better than the city centre option.
| Quote: |
I now only have 90k left of my Priority Club points, my wife has spent the
rest on our holiday, which now includes a three day trip to the Holiday Inn
at Disney World Paris...........arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......
regards John
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That's what they are for!
--
Bill
administrator, alt.airports.uk.edinburgh
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Guster
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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I stayed at the HI on Bothwell St on saturday night.
I must stay it's the smallest hotel room I've stayed in for a long
time.
Added to that the carpet in our room was worn, the furnuture was
ancient, the bed was small and we had to wait 20 minutes to check out.
Never again!!
Gusty
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Jim Mason
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: AIR & BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS |
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In article <hle1811qebmgnnit7qjp0uhk8js6k7h5b2 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, fox1
@NOSPAMedinburghairport.org.uk says...
| Quote: | On 10 May 2005 05:35:18 -0700, "Guster"
[email]davidspence_trader (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email]> wrote:
I stayed at the HI on Bothwell St on saturday night.
I must stay it's the smallest hotel room I've stayed in for a long
time.
Added to that the carpet in our room was worn, the furnuture was
ancient, the bed was small and we had to wait 20 minutes to check out.
Never again!!
Gusty
The perils of cross posting! I take it there isn't a Bothwell Street
in or around Luton.?
You guys in free.uk.airports-luton must be wondering if your airport
has moved some 300-odd miles North?
|
They must be wondering who let you out of your cage again.
Jim
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