Author: Shawon Hannan
Passengers using London Bridge station will experience changes from later this month due to the first major stage of redevelopment work. Southern services that use platforms 8 to 16 will be affected by platform closure from the latter part of the May bank holiday, as work starts on platforms 14 to 16. No Southern train services will call at the station between Saturday May 25 and Monday May 27, while some will be diverted to Victoria. Three platforms at the station – 14, 15 and 16 – will be taken out of use from May 28 until spring of 2014…
Ibis, a worldwide economy hotel brand and member of the Accor Group, has launched a fixed rate summer offer for the three key European travel destinations of Spain, Portugal and Italy. Regardless of the format used to book accommodation at any Ibis hotel in any of the three participating countries, the price will be fixed at €45 (£38). The promotion, believed to be the first of its kind for any hotel group, is available to book immediately and will run until May 31. It allows for bookings of one or two people between the offer dates of June 1 and…
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has said that consular officials are constantly left bemused by the strange requests for assistance that they receive from British travellers overseas. The Daily Mail has reported that while British Embassies are there to perform an important service for those travellers that are in serious difficulty with such problems as lost travel documents or having been the victim of a crime, it is the expectation of a section of the travelling community that consular services and advice are almost boundless. Among the more bizarre requests that have been received from travellers overseas in…
Virgin Atlantic, a UK-based airline, has partly blamed the 2012 London Olympic Games for its latest reported losses. Sir Richard Branson’s company has reported a loss of £93 million for the last financial year, adding to the £80 million deficit that it reported for the previous year. The airline’s new chief executive, Craig Kreeger, said that a dent in business travel that was partly due to the effect of the Olympic games had impacted on the figures, although he was optimistic for the future, forecasting a return to profitability for the company within two years. Kreeger said, ‘Last year saw…
Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates national airline, has become the first company to launch a mapping tool that is intended to help business people in particular to plan more efficient trips. The ‘Etihad Mapped-out’ tool was developed in association with professional network, LinkedIn, and claims to make it easier to message new contacts, arrange meetings and be more productive while traveling. It does this by utilising the Linkedin network for users to search their connections by geographical location and display them on a map for an overview of the traveller’s proximity to their global network of contacts as they…
Boeing’s battle against the problems that have afflicted its 787 Dreamliner aircraft has taken another step forward today with the arrival of the first scheduled flight into London Heathrow airport since the plane was grounded, worldwide, in January. Doha-based carrier Qatar Airways has virtually repeated its achievement of being the first air carrier to bring the Dreamliner to Heathrow when it was first launched back in December, by being the first to fly it back into the UK’s busiest airport now that safety concerns have been addressed. The aircraft suffered its international grounding approximately five months ago, following reports by…
Easyjet, a low-cost airline with its head office at Luton Airport in the UK, is to offer fast track security clearance to its flexi fare passengers. Building on the original flexi fare concept, the new free benefit is designed to attract more business passengers to fly with easyjet, and is intended to provide them with a smooth and relaxed transition through the airport for ticket prices that start from £79.00 one way. The new service will be available at 27 of the 50 airports that currently comprise the airline’s business network, but it is scheduled for expansion. The participating airports…
VisitEngland, the body responsible for promoting tourism in the nation, has announced the launch of an online guide to advise businesses that are directly involved in receiving tourists, on strategies for marketing and promoting the facilities that they have for disabled visitors. Called Speak Up!, the guide is particularly focussed on helping businesses to promote their disabled access, and provides information and advice on a broad range of marketing possibilities, including promotional literature and social media exposure. The guide’s ultimate aim is to help these frontline businesses obtain their share of the market for catering for disabled clients, which is…
A study has shown that nearly half of those people who collect air miles fail to redeem them. The survey, sponsored by Collinson Latitude, a company involved in incremental revenue, canvassed the opinions of 1,005 UK residents at the end of 2012. It discovered that 40 percent of travellers who collected air miles had never attempted to use them. The survey also discovered that more than half of its respondents, 60 percent, were disillusioned by the time it takes to acquire enough of the travel vouchers to be of any value. This dissatisfaction is likely to be the main contributory…
Easyjet, a low-cost airline based at Luton Airport in the UK, has announced that it is to launch a course to help those affected by the fear of flying in an aeroplane, sometimes known as aerophobia. The company’s Fearless Flyer course is intended to help sufferers of the condition to overcome their fear, and Lawrence Leyton, the host of the ‘Fear of Flying’ programme on Channel 4, will lead the venture. His presence is likely to be a key attraction for those who enrol on the course, due to his televised success in helping other aerophobics. The course is being…