Author: Shawon Hannan

TUI Travel, a UK-based travel company, has announced an upbeat forecast for the UK travel market this year. The company, which has recorded a decrease in its operating loss of £16m, to £93m in its first quarter results for the period ended December 31, 2012, has reported significant continuous growth in the UK. It has achieved a 4 percent increase in its cumulative market share for the summer of 2013, and a 2 percent gain in the January booking period, resulting in a 7 percent increase on the same period last year. Peter Long, the chief executive officer at TUI…

Turkish Airlines, a Turkey-based airline company, has announced that it has ordered a new batch of aircraft from Airbus, an aircraft manufacturer. The airline intends to acquire five new A330 passenger aircraft, in addition to the 104 Airbus aircraft that it already has in operation. The new aircraft will be operated on medium and long haul routes from the airline’s hub in Istanbul, Turkey. Temel Kotil, the chief executive of Turkish Airlines, said, ‘As one of the fastest growing airlines, our strategy of growth needs to be fully supported by efficient, reliable and profitable aircraft. This new order for A330s…

Finnair, a Finland-based airline, has announced additional flights to continental Europe for the Easter holidays. The airline is offering extra flights from March 22 to April 2, 2013, to several European destinations. Around 30 extra flights are planned to meet the heavy demand for city breaks. Most of the additional flights are scheduled for destinations in Spain, with eight flights to Malaga, seven to Barcelona and four to Madrid. The airline is also offering five additional flights to Amsterdam during the period, as well as extra connections to Nice, Krakow, Ljubljana and Dubrovnik. The airline is planning to operate its…

Cathay Pacific Airways, a Hong Kong based airline operator, will be expanding the service between its Hong Kong hub and London Heathrow to add a new return flight. The airline is adding its fifth daily return flight from Hong Kong from June 27, 2013, as part of its commitment to offer its passengers more choice in long-haul flights. The new London Heathrow flight will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The airline chief executive officer, John Slosar, said, ‘We are offering our customers the best of all worlds: first, products that are second to none, including our new long-haul…

Flybe, a UK-based airline company, is entering into an agreement with Ryanair, an Ireland-based low cost airline, to set up a new airline in Ireland. The agreement forms part of Ryanair’s concession package for its protracted takeover of Irish airline, Aer Lingus. The company intends to acquire the Flybe Ireland brand for €1 million, and Ryanair would inject around €100m into the new entity as part of the agreement. If the deal is successful, Ryanair will also be transferring 43 of its European routes to the new airline. Flybe chief executive officer, Jim French, said, ‘Flybe would be delighted to…

Concur, a company that provides on-demand employee spend management services, has reported that around 10 percent of British employees have cheated on their business related travel expenses. A study of around 1,200 workers, conducted by UK based research company, You Gov, found that around 11 percent had inflated their expense claims in the last year. The study also says that around 28 percent of those working in large private sector organisations are likely to consider it acceptable to exaggerate expenses, compared to 13 percent with a similar ethos in the public sector. The company’s UK managing director, David Vine, said,…

International Airlines Group (IAG), the UK-based parent company of Iberia and British Airways, has criticised the UK government policy for increasing airport capacity in the southeast of the UK. The company chief executive officer, Willie Walsh, said at the opening session of the Business travel Show 2013, in London, ‘My own view is that we are not going anywhere with this. British Airways has planned its business on the basis that there will be no third runway at Heathrow. In 50 years time I expect that BA will still be operating from a two-runway airport at Heathrow. I have heard…

United Airlines, a US based airline, has announced an expansion of its service between London Heathrow Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston, US. The airline will be offering a third daily flight from March 31, 2013, with a Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The airline is offering the new flight with six United Global First seats, 26 fully flat Business First seats, and 151 seats in economy, including 67 Economy Plus seats. The additional flight, UA971, will be departing London at 1335 local time, arriving in Houston at 1810 local time the same day. The return flight, UA970, will depart…

Half-term is fast approaching and for a lot of UK families, this means a holiday is on the horizon. Skiing is one of the most popular things to do on a half-term break, but with so much choice it can be hard to know exactly where would make the best family holiday. Here are a few of the top ski resorts for half-term: St Anton in Austria If you’re looking for a snowy paradise, St Anton could be the place for you. It boasts of being ‘a modern holiday resort that has retained its traditional appeal’. This means that it…

Thomas Cook, the travel company, has announced a newly restructured airline for its passengers. The company is planning to merge three of its airlines, Condor, the company airline brand in Germany, Thomas Cook Airlines UK, and Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, as a single airline brand. The merger will be effective from March 1, 2013. Christoph Debus, group head of air travel, and Ralf Teckentrup, the chief executive officer of Condor, will chair the new airline management board. Debus, the new chairman of the airline company, said, ‘As we strive to meet the needs of our customers by offering greater flexibility,…