Author: Shawon Hannan

Cathay Pacific Airways, a Hong Kong based airline operator, will be launching its new business class cabins on some of its long distance flights, and is likely to introduce the cabins on its route between London Heathrow and Hong Kong. The new in-flight business class cabin claims to offer high levels of comfort, adaptability and ease of operation to cater to every whim and requirement of passengers. The seating distance has been increased to 47 inches in order to offer more legroom to passengers, as well as more space around the seat. The airline chief executive officer, John Slosar, said,…

Business travel is set to increase in the autumn, according to research conducted by the Best Western group of hotels. The survey, conducted in a collaboration with Wakefield Research, reported that 39 percent of business travellers surveyed had indicated a rise in their travel budgets in 2012 compared to 2011, while around 10 percent reported a cut in their business travel budget. Although business travellers are not comfortable about spending time away from the family, around 77 percent said that they still felt good about their business trips. Dorothy Dowling, the senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best…

London Gatwick Airport in the UK, has reported a 2.4 percent increase in passenger traffic in September 2012, underlining a solid summer season. The airport has recorded an increase of around 80,300 more passengers during September 2012, compared to the same period last year. Traffic on services to European destinations from the airport increased from that in the same period of the preceding year, with a growth rate 7.1 percent in September. Charter traffic has reduced in the month, compared to same period in 2011, as did passenger traffic on domestic routes. In September, the airport has registered 20 percent…

Flybe, a UK-based airline company, has announced its new schedule for the summer of 2013, with new routes and extended services. The airline is offering a new three times-weekly service from Southampton and a twice-weekly service from Exeter, both in the UK, to Barcelona, in Spain for the 2013 season, as well as one twice-weekly service from Exeter to Nice, in France. The services will be available from March 31, 2013. The other new routes include Birmingham, in the UK, to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands; East Midlands, in the UK, to Amsterdam, Glasgow (Scotland), Jersey, and Paris Charles de Gaulle…

Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 hotel in London, UK, a brand from Hilton Hotels and Resorts, has introduced a complimentary shuttle bus service for its business guests. The hotel, which is located within a mile of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport, is offering the shuttle bus service for business and leisure travellers staying overnight at the hotel. The shuttle bus service, which seats eight passengers in comfort, is operating between the hotel and local business parks at Bedfont Lakes and Stockley Park. The service is scheduled for two morning and two evening departures, and complements the meeting facilities…

New research suggests that taking holidays is more prevalent with young British travellers, in the age group up to 34 years, than it is with older travellers. A recent study conducted by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), a UK-based travel agency association, says that Britain’s younger generation is holidaying more, with those in the age group of 15 to 24 years taking around five breaks in the past 12 months, compared to 4.5 breaks taken by travellers in the age group of 25 to 34 years. People in the UK of 35 years and above have taken around…

Travellers to Brazil’s most popular city, Rio de Janeiro, can now benefit from a free mobile travel guide, Rio Mobi. Rio.Mobi, which was created by mobile web development company, World Mobi Group Ltd, enables travellers visiting the city to access a wealth of useful information, free of charge, at the touch of a button. The up-to-the-minute tool is claimed to be quick to download and easy to use, and provides instant information on Rio’s tourist attractions, sports attractions, accommodation, shopping, restaurants, transport and nightlife. It also has a handy currency converter and translation tool, as well as providing contact information…

Nepal has inaugurated a tourist trail in the country that allows tourists to follow the trekking routes of former Maoist rebels in the country. The department of tourism in Nepal unveiled the new trekking routes that cover the battlegrounds frequented by former rebels who were active during the decade-long insurgency in the mountainous nation. The trek is aptly called Guerrilla Trek, and it offers 14, 19 and 27-day trekking packages. The programme will see hikers traverse the rugged mountains that the nation is known for, and cross rivers lined with fields, caves and villages that are centuries old. The current…

Centro, a UK based organisation operating bus, rail and the Midland Metro Tram transport in the West Midlands area, has welcomed a commitment made by the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his Transport Secretary, to go ahead with the HS2 high-speed rail link. The HS2 high-speed rail link is a link between London, the Midlands and Northern England that is currently in the early stages of construction. The UK transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said in an interview with the Independent newspaper, ‘The easiest thing for any government to do on a project the size of HS2 is to say…

Ryanair, an Ireland-based low cost airline, has withdrawn its offer to acquire London Stansted Airport in the UK. The airline has been advised by BAA Stansted’s owner, Ferrovial, that it will exclude Ryanair from the Stansted sale process. The airline is the largest airline operating out of the airport, with around 70 percent of the current traffic. The airline head of communications, Stephen McNamara, said, ‘We regret Ferrovial’s decision to exclude Ryanair from the Stansted sale process and the failure of the Competition Commission to restrain this anti-competitive and anti-customer behaviour by Ferrovial. While we fully accept that Ferrovial is…