Author: Shawon Hannan
A German airline is offering astronomers and comet fans the opportunity of seeing a comet from the sky. With the Pan-STARRS comet set to have a close encounter with our planet in 2013, the stage is set for enterprising business managers to offer novel means to view the transiting phenomenon. This year, comet enthusiasts will be given a special treat the chance to view the comet from the comfort of an aeroplane. The comet is expected to be at its brightest on March 16, this year, and already, stargazers are packing their equipment in preparation to visit destinations that will…
Celebrity Cruises, a cruise ship company with its headquarters in Miami, Florida, has today released details of its UK-based itinerary for 2014. Bookings for the cruise company’s new schedule can be made from the 21st of this month, and include new itineraries for Spain, the Canary Islands and the Norwegian Fjords. Celebrity has two ships that are UK-based, the Celebrity Eclipse that operates out of Southampton, and the Celebrity Infinity that operates out of Harwich. Included in Infinity’s itinerary are the European Immersive Wine Cruises for vineyard devotees, 14-night trips to Iceland and the Norwegian Fjords, and 11- and 14-night…
A survey that investigated the level of job satisfaction among workers in the tourism and travel industry has revealed that UK workers are among the least satisfied. The survey, which was carried out by Progressive Personnel, a worldwide travel recruitment agency with its UK headquarters in London, reported that 71 percent of UK staff in the travel industry consider themselves to be underpaid, while nearly 80 percent are keen to change jobs. Almost a third of those questioned saw their future outside the travel and tourism industry, compared to a figure of just 18 percent worldwide. Staff in the UK…
New, improved visa rules for visitors to India look like they will exclude British travellers. While travellers from a number of European countries including France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Russia are expected to benefit from being able to buy a visa on arrival in India rather than having to apply for one in advance, UK visitors are still likely to be subject to the existing system, according to a report in the Daily Mail. The nation’s exclusion from the simplified and more convenient process is thought to be a retaliatory move by the Indian government for the UK’s tightening of…
The new chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, a UK-based air carrier, has imposed an immediate pay freeze at the company in reaction to the expectation of large annual losses, according to a report in the Sunday Times. An internal memo that has been seen by the newspaper shows that recently appointed executive, Craig Kreeger, has reacted swiftly to the airline’s expected record annual losses of £135 million. With reference to Virgin Atlantic’s financial performance, the memo reportedly said that it is ‘well behind where we anticipated.’ The predicted loss will follow a deficit of £80.2 million that the company reported…
A plan to double the capacity at London’s Heathrow Airport has been masterminded by a former British Airways Concorde pilot, according to a report in the Financial Times. Although still contentious, the idea put forward by former pilot, William ‘Jock’ Lowe, is more likely to be politically favourable than other methods of overcoming Heathrow’s capacity problems that have been put forward, as it involves lengthening existing runways rather than constructing new ones. Even so, the virtual doubling of the present Northern and Southern runways from 3,900 metres and 3,700 metres respectively, to 7,500 metres each, would involve alterations to the…
Finnair, a Finland-based air carrier and member of the Oneworld alliance, is to join its alliance partners in their transatlantic joint business. Three other members of the alliance, British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines, formed the transatlantic joint business in October 2010, and Finnair’s introduction to the agreement is expected to provide transatlantic passengers in Europe and North America with a greater selection of flights as well as an improved number of connections. Between them, the four airlines will operate 102 round trips per day between 42 destinations in North America and EU countries, plus Norway and Switzerland. This will…
Four of the UK’s biggest airlines have reacted angrily to a report on aviation taxes that shows that those levied by Britain are among the highest in the world. The report, which was carried out by the World Economic Forum, showed that Britain ranked 139 out of 140 on the taxation list, putting it into the same strata as Chad and Senegal. The UK’s major airlines have long been campaigning against the level of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the country, and this comparative report has only fuelled their anger. Willie Walsh, CEO of the IAG, Carolyn McCall, CEO of…
Hotels.com has launched its biannual Hotel Price Index (HPI), which compares hotel room prices paid in 2012 with those paid in 2011. The latest report shows that prices went up in the period for UK travellers overall, despite 47 of the 115 countries covered by the report showing a price decrease, and prices remaining unchanged in six others. So, 63 countries registered price increases, and prices are likely to rise still further in 2013 as a range of negative economic conditions, recently compounded by the UK’s credit rating being downgraded, impact to weaken the pound. A number of European cities…
British Airways, a UK-based air carrier, is to extend the amount of in-flight entertainment on offer to its passengers. The company, a subsidiary of International Airlines Group, is to provide customers on more of its long-haul services with the opportunity of watching more television and film based content from the moment that they take their seat on the airplane until the moment that they disembark. BA’s extended in-flight entertainment program is now being added to services to Almaty, Amman, Baku, Beirut, Cairo and Tel Aviv. The move is an extension of the boarding to disembarkation total entertainment package that the…