Author: News Team
Michael O’Leary, the head of Ireland-based budget airline, Ryanair, has long had a reputation for saying what is on his mind, whoever it might offend, but his latest tirade, aimed at a complaining passenger, will have come as a shock even to those that are used to his straight talking. The complaint concerned Ryanair’s policy of charging customers a penalty if they arrive for their flight without having taken a copy of their boarding pass. In the case of the complainant, Mrs Suzy Mcleod, that oversight amounted to a total cost of £236 for her, her parents and her two…
London Gatwick Airport, in the UK, has announced that a new bloc Hotel property is to open at the airport in summer of 2013. The airport has entered into a development contract with bloc hotels to open a new 244-room property within its perimeters at the South Terminal. This is the second bloc hotel to open in the UK, with the first having previously opened in Birmingham. The former Norfolk House office building has been selected for conversion into the hotel. Emma Rees, the airport head of real estate, said, ‘Given passengers’ demand for greater hotel choice, this new development…
Flights into London Heathrow airport are being stacked, or made to circle for long periods before landing, according to the findings of a report. NATS, a UK based company that provides air traffic services and solutions, has reported that in 2010, around 120,425 of 224,497 incoming flights at Heathrow airport were held in a stack, compared to 16,541 out of 120,250 incoming flights at London Gatwick Airport, and 3,786 of 77,570 incoming flights at London Stansted Airport, during the same period. According to NATS, such stacking delays not only create operational difficulties, but also cause escalating environmental damage. At London…
Easyjet, a UK-based budget airline, is ready to launch its allocated seating on all routes of its network from November 2012, having completed a successful trial of the seating arrangement on chosen routes. The allocated seating includes a priority boarding system against a payment of a minimum of £3 per person, enabling passengers that purchase Speedy Boarding to board the aircraft first, followed by passengers requiring special assistance and families. All other passengers will board the aircraft after these groups. The allocated seating is available for three price ranges, £12 for extra leg room in front row and exit seats,…
Based on a report stating that the availability of private jets would be scarce in the coming holidays, Paramount Business Jets is encouraging customers to book their jets early to avoid a last-minute rush during the holidays. The report said that more people who can afford it would opt for private jets for their travel during the holidays. The rush for private jets is to peak during the months of November and December, and up to the second week of January. It is expected that during this time about 90 percent of all private jet fliers in the US would…
Oman has reported an increase in the number of tourists, especially from Switzerland. Official figures in Oman said that the number of Swiss travellers had increased in 2012. Tourist inflows from Switzerland have increased by 118 percent compared to June 2011, which is a record figure. Maitha Al Mahrouqi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism in Oman, said that the Swiss market was very important to Oman, and added that the importance of tourists from Switzerland had increased this year. She said that Swiss tourists were fond of the beaches, beach resorts spas and hotels in Oman, making Oman their…
Jet2.com, a UK-based low-cost airline operating out of Leeds Bradford Airport, is offering extra flights for the UEFA Champions League, for fans of Scottish football club, Celtic. The airline is organising an extra direct flight from Glasgow Airport to Barcelona, in Spain, for Celtic fans, following Celtic being drawn against FC Barcelona. The special flight to Barcelona Airport will depart from Glasgow on October 23, 2012 at 07:30 hours. The league match is being held in Barcelona at 19:45 hours. The return flight departs on October 24, 2012, in the afternoon, allowing passengers some sightseeing time in the Spanish city.…
UK travellers are facing a price rise at some of the most popular international destinations, according to a recent study conducted by Hotels.com, an online travel company. While Monte Carlo, in Monaco, remains the most expensive place to stay in terms of accommodation, Phnom Penh in Cambodia is stated to be the cheapest In the first half of 2012, the Hotel Price Index (HPI) shows a 19 percent increase to a rate of £197 a night for average room prices in Monte Carlo, compared to the same time in 2011. Rio de Janeiro comes second, at £182 per night, followed…
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), a UK-based association of travel agents, has issued a warning regarding the practices of unlicensed travel companies to UK travellers journying to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. Around 25,000 pilgrims will be heading for Saudi Arabia from the UK for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place between October 24 and 29, 2012. The unregistered travel companies are known to book sub-standard accommodation, or worse, fraudulent bookings with cheap hotels, leading to unsuspecting travellers having to spend more money on arrival. Under UK law, only a travel company with a valid ATOL license may…
Nepal has registered a notable growth in tourists visiting the country in 2012, despite the poor economic conditions that are still hampering much of the world. Around 377,043 tourists flew into Nepal in the first eight months of 2012, 16.3 percent more than the figure recorded for the same period a year ago, according to figures released by Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport. Last month alone saw an increase of 2.5 percent, with 44,571 travellers visiting the country. A healthy growth of 21.7 percent has been reported in arrivals from the South Asian region during the first eight months…