Author: Shawon Hannan

Sky Work Airlines, a Swiss airline, is offering an increased number of flights from London City to Bern, Switzerland. The airline is increasing its flights on the route to three times daily, from its earlier twice daily schedule. The services are open for advance booking, at the airline website, and will be part of the airline’s winter flight schedule, commencing from October 28, 2012. The one-way fares for summer commence from £199 per person. The winter schedule also includes the debut of twice-weekly flights to the Croatian capital of Zagreb, from Berne. The airline chief executive officer, Tomislav Lang, in…

The Luxury Collection of Hotels & Resorts, a luxurious hotel brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, will be opening ten hotels and resorts in cities and resort destinations globally within the next year. The brand will be opening new hotels shortly in Shanghai and Sanya in China, Jaipur and Chennai in India, the Blue Mountains in Australia, Koh Samui, in Thailand, and Jakarta, Indonesia. The Luxury Collection of hotels will be offering the brand’s signature Luxury Collection Concierge services, opulent amenities, and local cultural experiences to its guests. The brand is currently offering around 80 hotels and resorts in…

London Gatwick Airport has reported positive growth in passenger numbers in may 2012, compared to figures for the same month last year. Around three million passengers flew through the airport in May 2012, a rise of 2 percent from May 2011, in spite of shift in school holidays due to the Jubilee celebrations in June 2012. The airport is reporting better average load factors in May 2012 than in preceding years, with planes flying at 79.5 percent load capacity, which is 2.1 percent more than that in May 2011. However, air transport movements at the airport have reduced by 1.2…

Courtyard by Marriott, a Marriott International brand of hotels, has announced plans to open a new hotel in Bucharest, Romania. The brand is currently continuing its expansion in Eastern Europe, with its plans to open the new hotel in Bucharest, following on from the opening of its other new property in the city, the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. The 147-room Courtyard by Marriott Bucharest will be operated by the brand under a management agreement with Gica Popescu Hotels SRL, and it will be opening in early 2014. Bucharest is Romania’s largest city and its capital, and it is also…

The Society of London Theatre, an association of producers, theatre owners and managers of commercial and aided theatres in central London, has announced that it is hosting this year’s London Kids Week in the month of August. For the entire month, the theatres in London’s West End are offering numerous complimentary tickets for children, as well as complimentary theatre workshops and backstage tours. London’s Kids Week offers children around 38 London shows to choose from, in addition to around 1,500 workshop places. The programmes are designed to encourage awareness in young people, below 16 years of age, of theatre and…

London and New York remain the favourite destinations for travellers that prefer bed and breakfast accommodation, according to a recent survey by BedandBreakfast.com, a company that provides information on bed and breakfast properties worldwide. The company has reported that the top two destination finding favour with travellers this summer are London and New York. The Summer Travel Trends survey has also indicated that 67 percent of travellers have plans to return to a previously visited destination, while around 54 percent of the respondents have plans to stay at affordable bed and breakfast inns this summer. Traditionally bed and breakfast inns,…

The Bloomsbury Palace Hotel, a property operated by UK-based Crown Group of Hotels, (KG Hotels), has recently reopened after completing a refurbishment project. The property, previously known as The Langland Hotel, is offering 35 en-suite guestrooms that are claimed to be of a very high standard. The hotel is located close to the major shopping areas of London and many of the capital’s museums and art galleries. The guestrooms have been redesigned and benefit from newly installed air conditioning, as well as modern fittings within a Georgian setting. The hotel rooms available are Single, Double, Twin and Family rooms, with…

South African Airways (SAA), a South Africa-based airline, has terminated its service to London, from Cape Town, in South Africa. The airline is offering flights to London only from its Johannesburg hub, effective from August 16, 2012. The airline has recently reorganised its long-haul routes for the more efficient management of aircraft, and will be expanding its twice-daily services between Johannesburg and London Heathrow airport by 13 percent, by using larger aircraft on the route. Theunis Potgieter, the airline general manager commercial, said, ‘SAA is redeploying its capacity to routes experiencing expanding demand as part of our larger strategy for…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an industry-wide association of 240 airlines operating around 84 percent of global air traffic, has called on governments worldwide to partner with the aviation industry in helping the industry to sustain its economic advantages. The association is currently hosting its 68th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Beijing, China. In its current session, IATA has reported that in 2011, the aviation industry has flown around 2.8 billion passengers, and 48 million tons of cargo. The aviation industry has also transported goods worth $5.3 trillion by air, representing around 35 percent of all goods traded…

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), a UK-based independent safety and economic regulator for railways, has reported that the current ticketing policies of UK train operators are creating confusion for travellers. The association has recently conducted a survey of around 1,600 rail passengers across Great Britain, to highlight that passengers find it difficult to understand the various pricing policies of rail tickets, including inexplicit terminology like ‘peak hours’, ‘off-peak hours’, and ‘Advanced’ ticket purchases, and also the validity of tickets. Over 1,500 people were questioned on trains, online and as part of focus groups about their experiences of choosing and…