Author: Shawon Hannan

Unions for Iberia, the Spain based airline owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), have called off six days of planned strikes. The unions of the striking workers called off a six-day strike before Christmas after meeting with the airline management, and on advice of the mediation and arbitration service. The company has issued a statement saying, ‘No agreement was reached at the meeting, despite Iberia’s undertaking to be flexible in considering the proposals advanced by the unions. However, though the opportunity to move forward was missed, the meeting could be another step towards future negotiations. Iberia hopes that in the…

London Heathrow Airport has launched two new shopping services for Christmas. The offers include an online shopping experience, named ‘Heathrow Boutique’, for passengers to browse and book purchases before they arrive at the airport, currently live at www.heathrow.com/boutique. The other shopping experience on offer is a home delivery, named ‘Heathrow delivered’ for passengers who would like to have their purchases delivered complimentary to any UK mainland residential address. A recent study has revealed that around 41% of passengers at London Heathrow airport travel through the airport to visit friends and families during Christmas, and hence, the airport is often a…

Heading to a paradise island in Thailand has got to be most people’s idea of the perfect holiday – we know it’s definitely on our wish list. The question is, which island should you visit? Koh Samui and Phuket are two of the most popular, so we’ve decided to take a look at each of these to try to work out which is best for who. Fingers crossed, this’ll help you decide between them! Laidback atmosphere We don’t know about you, but when we think of jetting off to white-sand, palm-fringed beaches, we also imagine a totally laidback atmosphere. Both…

British travellers are increasingly opting for holidays packages designed by themselves, rather than by travel agents. Recent research by HomeAway, a UK-based online vacation rentals company¸ reported that holiday rental sites have registered a steady increase in booking queries worldwide, with the maximum increase reported from Germany (71%), Holland (44%) and Croatia (24%) since last year. A study by Radius Global Market Research pegs the holiday rentals market in the UK at around £4.7bn, while Europe (UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) had collectively a holiday rental market valued at £20.7bn in 2012. Andy Cockburn, the regional director of HomeAway…

London Heathrow Airport will be housing STAR Alliance and Aer Lingus flights at its new Terminal 2, when it opens in 2014. The airport has announced that the new terminal will also be housing domestic flights for Virgin Atlantic. The new terminal is expected to bring London Heathrow Airport in line with the best passenger facilities in Europe, after being refurbished at an expense of £11 billion. Around 20 million passengers are likely to use the new terminal building, which will also include a main terminal building, a satellite building and aircraft parking stands. John Holland-Kaye, the airport development director,…

Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel brand from UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group, has announced the opening of a new hotel in the UK. The new Hotel Indigo London Kensington-Earl’s Court is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and offers more than 100 guest rooms overlooking archetypal English gardens. The hotel is located within a short distance from London’s famous tourist attractions, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, the Natural History and Science Museums and royal residence Kensington Palace, as well as Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Every Hotel Indigo in Europe includes a…

Virgin Atlantic, an airline subsidiary of UK-based Virgin Group, has entered into a joint venture with US based Delta Air Lines, for an expanded trans-Atlantic network. As part of the agreement Delta will be investing £223 million in Virgin Atlantic to acquire a 49% equity stock in the airline, currently held by Singapore airlines. The majority stake in the airline will be retained by Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson. Steve Ridgway, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said, ‘Consumers will reap the rewards of this partnership between two great airline brands on services from the UK to the USA,…

Iberia, the Spain based airline owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), will be cutting down its routes, as part of a transformation plan to stay focused on its profitable operations. The airline will be terminating its services to Athens, Istanbul and Cairo from mid-January, 2013; and long-haul services to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Havana in Cuba, from April 1, 2012. In a statement, the airline chief executive officer, Rafael Sanchez-Lozano, said, ‘Iberia has announced a Transformation Plan intended chiefly to restore profitability, ensure our future, and to transform us into an airline that is prepared to meet…

Transport for London (TfL), a UK-based government agency responsible for transport system in Greater London, is offering free New Year’s Eve travel to party goers, in a second year of collaboration with alcohol manufacturing company, Diageo. The agency has issued its online annual Festive Travel Guide for London residents and visitors travelling within the city during the Christmas holiday period, offering detailed information on Tube, buses, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Tramlink, London Overground, Emirates Air Line, Riverboat services, Barclays Cycle Hire and the Congestion Charge. The agency has also announced complimentary travel between 23:45hrs on December 31, 2012, and 04:30hrs…

British Airways (BA), a premier UK airline, has recently introduced an app for its customers using a device on the brand new Windows 8 platform. The new airline app, the first one in Europe for Windows 8, will allow customers move from one feature to other, access destination reviews, view local news for the destinations, search locations through interactive maps, as well as search and book airline flights at www.ba.com. The app has been designed keeping in mind the unique features of Windows 8, including search and share functionality that allows users to access and share content across the social…