Author: Shawon Hannan
Budget UK, a UK-based car rental company, has announced a new luxury car rental service to be known as Budget Premier. With the introduction of the new service, customers will be able to opt for a luxury vehicle from any of three different categories to suit their specific needs or preferences. All Budget Premier cars will have satellite navigation, automatic transmission and a built in option to add an additional driver at no additional cost. The three ranges that are available from the new service are the Executive range, aimed at relaxation and comfort and including the Audi A5 2.0,…
United States based airlines American Airlines and US Airways have announced today that they have merged to create the world’s biggest airline. The $11bn deal, which was agreed last night and revealed this morning, will operate under the American Airlines name but under the stewardship of Doug Parker, the CEO of US Airways. Tom Horton, the CEO of American Airlines, is expected to serve as chairman of the new company until mid 2014. A possible deal was first considered last August, when American began looking at a suitable merger while under pressure from its creditors. The company has been reorganising…
Tourism Ireland, the organisation responsible for promoting tourism to the Irish Republic, has plans to turn several of the world’s most famous landmarks green for a St Patrick’s Day tourism promotion. Famous global attractions are to be illuminated with emerald green lights on March 17, the day that the Irish nation celebrates its patron saint. On the list to glow green are the Egyptian Pyramids, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Piza, Niagara Falls, the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, South Africa’s Table Mountain, the TV Tower…
A new report has indicated that increases in the costs associated with companies deploying staff on overseas business trips could outstrip prearranged budgets during 2013. Budgets that are already likely to have been tightened could be made to burst at the seams if overseas trips are deemed imperative, according to predictions by the US-based Global Business Travel Association (GBTA.L). The Association’s prediction is that hotel rooms and airfares in most classes are set to increase in price by around 8 percent this year. It says that the average international economy ticket purchased in the USA will cost $1,217, while the…
South West Trains, a train operating company that is owned by Stagecoach Group in the United Kingdom, has had more stations on its routes gain secure station status. An additional 24 of the company’s stations have been reaccredited for the scheme by the British Transport Police, in association with the Department for Transport, taking its total number of accredited stations to 103. To qualify, a station must show that it has taken measures to improve its security, and give reassurance to passengers and employees that it is consistently making efforts to deter crime and antisocial behaviour. The newly accredited stations…
The boost to UK tourism last year from the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is set to continue into this coming summer with the staging of the Coronation Festival in London. The festival, which is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, is scheduled to take place in the gardens of Buckingham Palace over four days in July. Central to the event will be the coming together of over 200 companies that hold Royal Warrants of Appointment, for the first time on this scale. Royal Warrants are only granted to companies that have supplied goods or services…
London Heathrow Airport in the UK is planning to invest in upgrades to its facilities that could ultimately impact on passengers’ ticket prices. According to a Reuters report, the airport’s operator, Heathrow Ltd, which was known until recently as BAA, announced today that it is seeking permission from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to increase its charges to airlines to use the airport between the years 2014 and 2019. This is to help fund a £3bn, five-year investment plan that includes next year’s opening of the airport’s new Terminal 2, upgraded check-in and baggage facilities, and the development of…
The best of England’s beaches are the subject of the latest promotion by VisitEngland, the board responsible for boosting English tourism. The opportunity for taking short breaks at some of England’s most scenic beach locations is the focus of the new, multi-channel marketing campaign, which is aimed primarily at domestic tourism. VisitEngland is currently in a run of six promotional campaigns to be launched by March, of which the current beach project is the third. Four themes will be promoted during the programme, which is funded in part by the government’s Regional Growth Fund, and they are countryside, coast, heritage…
Thomson Airways might be forced to introduce contingency plans if the scheduled launch of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner service has to be delayed due to technical issues. The airline had intended to commence its Dreamliner service in May this year, but technical checks that are currently being carried out on the aircraft in Japan and the USA have led to the 50 Dreamliner’s that are currently in service around the globe being grounded because of safety issues. Thomson has yet to be given a delivery date by Boeing for its first Dreamliner, which is just one of 800 orders that…
Once again this winter, US snowstorms have brought chaos to travel plans across large areas of the country’s east coast. UK passengers make up a sizeable proportion of the thousands that are stranded in the US after massive snowstorms forced the grounding of all transatlantic flights scheduled for the area. Heathrow Airport has cancelled 10 inbound flights from the badly affected areas of New York and Boston, along with an outbound flight to Washington. Airlines, including Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Delta and United have all been forced to cancel flights over the weekend. Passengers were advised to check…