Author: Shawon Hannan

British Airways (BA) is expected to resume flights to Jakarta before the end of 2013. BA last served Jakarta before the economic downturn a few years ago. Indonesia’s air transport director, Djoko Murjatmodjo, reportedly told the Jakarta Post recently that six new foreign carriers would soon begin services to the country. BA is reportedly one of the carriers and is expected to make an official announcement shortly. The UK’s national airline recently rescheduled its London to Singapore terminator flights, BA11 and BA12, to allow a longer layover in the City State. The eight hours that the aircraft remains on the…

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is set to reduce its London route seats by this winter. The news comes after SIA announced in June last year that, that after a 14-year wait, it had secured slots for a fourth daily service from London Heathrow. Like the other three services, the carrier’s fourth daily flight, which was to be operated by a B777-300ER, was expected to upgrade to A380 aircraft. However, according to flight displays on singaporeair.com, SIA will be reducing London route seats effective from October 27. Last winter, SIA operated the route with three A380 flights and one B777-300ER service. For…

Thomas Cook, a UK-based online/offline travel company, has agreed to sell six of its Midland-based high street stores to Anglia Co-operative Travel, an independent travel agent that operates predominantly in East Anglia, UK. The branches that Anglia Co-op has acquired are in High Street, Erdington, Birmingham; Walsall Road, Great Barr, Birmingham; Alexandra Road, Corby, Northamptonshire; London Road, Alvaston, Derby; Dog and Gun Lane, Whetstone, Leicestershire; and Brook Street, Raunds, Northamptonshire. The acquisition means that Anglia Co-op has increased the number of its branches from 15 to 21, and the 22 staff that are currently employed at the branches will have…

A group of UK travel industry insiders is claiming that the high Value Added Tax (VAT) rate in the country is detrimental to the industry, making it difficult to compete with European neighbours. Led by the British Hospitality Association (BHA), a large number of organisations that are dependent on UK tourism, including hotels, attractions and associations, have joined forces to campaign for a sizeable reduction in VAT. Britain’s 20 percent VAT rate compares unfavourably with many other European countries, including France, Ireland and Italy, none of which charge more than 50 percent of Britain’s rate. The group argues that the…

The UK’s recent heat wave has resulted in the arrival of large numbers of jellyfish around some parts of the coast that are popular with holidaymakers. Warm waters around parts of Devon, Cornwall and the northwest might look appealing to holidaymakers, but they risk a higher than normal possibility of being stung by the floating legions of Medusozoa that are currently besieging the shores. The Lion’s Mane jellyfish packs the most potent sting of the common species that have been spotted in British waters, and they can grow to be several feet wide. Visitors to the coastal areas of north…

Expedia.co.uk, an online travel agent, has said that it has witnessed a significant increase in bookings for some of the UK’s top beach destinations, as Britons headed to the coast to avoid the city heat generated by the recent heat wave. Bournemouth tops the list of UK beach escapes, with a significant 119 percent increase in bookings for the last 28 days compared to the same period last year. Eastbourne is in second position with a 100 percent increase, and Devon seaside retreat, Torquay, is at number four, with an 81 percent increase in bookings. Expedia has also recently released…

London Heathrow airport has released its first ever food guide as summer holiday traffic gains momentum. The guide, named ‘Food on Fly,’ provides a comprehensive overview of the dining options at the UK’s only hub airport. The issue includes reviews of the 73 bars, cafes and restaurants at Heathrow, featuring the top five, and listing the eateries by terminal. There are also top tips available regarding the type of foods to eat or avoid before flying, a run-down of Heathrow’s 15-minute menu policy, and forewords by TV food experts, Gregg Wallace and John Torode. The food guide has been created…

The UK’s Monarch Airlines is looking to introduce ski routes to Friedrichshafen airport in southern Germany for the coming winter. Monarch Airlines is a UK-based scheduled leisure airline operating from six bases in the UK – Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Luton, where it is based. The airline operates flights to holiday destinations principally around the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands – including Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Madeira, Portugal, Spain and Turkey – and to ski destinations during the winter. The newly introduced, six times weekly flights will run from Gatwick and Manchester…

UK’s InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has said that international investment company, Pro Invest Group, has established a $150 million fund to develop a portfolio of 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels across Australia. Pro Invest will set up a hotel operating company to initially build and operate 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels. The hotel chain will have a total of nearly 2,150 rooms, spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. IHG will enter into franchise agreements for each of the hotels, and the first hotel will open at Macquarie Park in North Ryde, Sydney in the autumn of 2014. The company…

British Airways (BA), the UK’s national carrier, has launched a digital platform that is intended to help holidaymakers to choose their ideal holiday destination, through a visual and social online tool. The new digital platform, named Picture Your Holiday, was designed by BBH London and created by Monterosa, a mobile agency recently acquired by BBH. The move comes after EasyJet created its own holiday CRM tool last October, which it called Inspire Me. Inspire Me uses a scroll bar to display varying budgets, airports and holiday themes for European customers. The platform features a visual mood board that offers customers…