Author: Lee Fletcher
CityJet, an Ireland-based airline, is offering its own music channel to its passengers, in collaboration with MBM Records. The OnAir music channel is offering a mix of tracks from modern European and US indie and pop artists, such as Bag Raiders, Jens Lekman, Bon Iver, Future Islands, and Arsenal. Visitors to its website, www.cityjet.com/music, and Facebook page can also listen to the music channel. In addition the airline is offering a new CityJet play list that will be played on all flights while passengers are boarding and disembarking. The new CityJet music and media page has been designed to provide…
Crossrail, a new railway network, will also include a major development at Paddington, London, according to Crossrail Ltd, the company developing the railway project. The 320,000 sq ft development is located at the intersection of Bishop’s Bridge Road and the Grand Union Canal, and will include 15 storeys of office space, as well as retail outlets. The building at Paddington will include entry to Crossrail, National Rail and Hammersmith & City line services. Ian Lindsay, a director at Crossrail Land and Property, said, ‘This major new commercial development will play an important role in the continued transformation of Paddington. Crossrail…
Starwood Hotels has said that it is planning to open the largest ever Sheraton hotel in Macau. The company said that the launch of the new hotel has been scheduled for September this year. The launch will see a 3,863-room property taking a position within the Sands Cotai Central complex in Macau. The hotel, christened Sheraton Macau Hotel Cotai Central, will also become the largest hotel in Macau, a Chinese special administrative region. It will be part of the Sands Cotai Central resort complex and will continue to expand its services. The new hotel will provide a host of new…
Frankfurt airport has built a special facility for travellers wishing to smoke. The airport will soon open its first fully ventilated smoking lounge, to cater to the needs of about 12 million smokers who pass through the airport each year. Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Dubai International Airport have developed the facility, with the construction following a similar initiative by JTI in Dubai Airport. JTI has also launched similar lounges in Munich, Zurich, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur and Geneva airports. While launching the services, David Francis, general manager, Worldwide Duty Free vice president at JTI, said, ‘The Smoking Lounge concept was…
The Nuance Group has made a major overhaul of its services available at Zurich Airport. The company said that it has made a series of new investments in its retail portfolio at Zurich Airport. It has added a string of new speciality stores such as Atelier, Tommy Hilfiger, La Prairie and Swatch. It has also expanded its Walk Through Duty Free concept, which it says was a huge draw with customers. TRBusiness.com said that the Walk Through Duty Free area, which has already been open for some time, has now been extended to offer new product categories such as perfume…
UK Hotel operations are among the most profitable in Europe, and hotel companies are feeling optimistic regarding the industry’s buoyancy, according to TripAdvisor, a company that provides an online travel community for collating user-generated travel information. The latest update of the TripAdvisor Industry Index survey has revealed that economic optimism is prevalent in the UK hospitality industry, with 27 percent of around 2,500 respondents from the UK prepared to state their faith in economic growth. This can be compared to the TripAdvisor Industry Index survey statistics released in December 2011, when only around 19 percent of the respondents had stated…
The Guild of Travel Management Companies, a UK-based professional association of travel companies, has announced that business travel spending in the UK is increasing at a faster pace than the UK economy. In its second quarterly transaction survey for 2012, the association has reported that air travel, rail travel, car hire and ancillary services have registered growth in comparison with the same quarter last year, while hotels have maintained a similar level of activity to that in the same period last year. John Williams, the general manager at GTMC, said, ‘The static figure for hotel transactions may reflect anomalies due…
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), a UK government department, has alleged that three of UK’s biggest travel names, Booking.com, Expedia, and InterContinental Hotels Group, have infringed on competition law by restricting the online booking of hotel rooms. The OFT has issued a Statement of Objections charging Booking.com and Expedia for breaking the law by entering into an agreement with IHG to offer discounted prices of room-only accommodation. The agency, which had conducted an investigation in September 2010 following a complaint by a small online travel company, feels that such agreements are anti-competition, restrict the entry and expansion of smaller…
Hilton Aberdeen Treetops, a Hilton Hotels and Resorts brand property in Aberdeen, Scotland, has announced a refurbishment programme, although the hotel remains operational. The hotel is undergoing a GBP425,000 refurbishment programme, to be completed by autumn 2012, which includes the remodelling of 30 bedrooms, including eight deluxe plus business bedrooms, and the lounge area. The project will supplement a GBP75,000 upgrade of kitchen and catering equipment at the hotel. Stewart Lorimer, the area general manager for Hilton Hotels and Resorts in North of Scotland, said, ‘This is just the latest in an ongoing programme of upgrades we have undergone at…
PrivateFly.com, an online search engine for private jet charter that is based in the UK, has reported that it plans to expand into France, Germany and Central Europe, inspired by its robust UK business. PrivateFly booking service has around 7,000 charter aircraft registered worldwide in its portfolio, and has recently reported a steady UK sales growth for the financial year ending in May 2012. The company has since re-launched its UK website, with the addition of an iPad app, to increase its portfolio of existing mobile applications. The company chief executive officer and founder, Adam Twidell, said, ‘We already have…