Author: News Team
The European Commission (EC), the executive body for the European Union, has released a statement defending its decision to approve the sale of British Midland International (bmi), an airline owned by Germany-based Lufthansa, to British International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways. Earlier Virgin Atlantic, an airline subsidiary of UK-based Virgin Group, had announced its intention to appeal against the sale of bmi, although the sales process will not be affected by this appeal. Virgin Atlantic has claimed that the EC has approved the sale too quickly, and the 14 airport slots that BA are giving up…
Megabus, a city-to-city express bus service operating in the UK, has commenced new routes across the UK and to other European destinations. The company is offering new routes from London, to Paris and Boulogne in France, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The trips are priced at rates commencing from as little as £1 per person, and there is a £0.50 booking fee on fares. In these times of financial austerity, coach travel could offer one avenue for affordable spring and summer European vacations, and the launch of new routes by tour operators is designed to enhance the…
This summer, holiday parks in UK are offering attractive glamour camping options, to boost their spring and summer offerings. The glamour camping holiday options include tents that are already pitched at holiday parks, with guests able to take their pick of accommodation types for their stay, from traditional but very large three-bedroom tents, to lavish themed Safari Tents, Mongolian styled Yurts, and ultramodern Geodomes. Modern tent accommodation is often inclusive of proper beds and other furnishings; electrical connections; and kitchen facilities that include cooking appliances as well as crockery. The parks also offer convenient shower blocks for guests’ use as…
Conde Nast Traveler, a US-based travel magazine that is famous for its exclusive hotel listings, has announced its 2012 annual May Hot List, offering its opinion on what are the hottest new hotels, spas, and restaurants for this year, with around 13 properties from the UK featuring on the list. The magazine editors have visited 49 countries and anonymously rated new hotels, spas, and restaurants, on a range of criteria including food quality, service, ambience and amenities. The list includes seven new hotels in the UK. The 45-room ’45 Park Lane’, a part of the Dorchester Collection in London, makes…
A new UK-based website, www.hotelsunder100.co.uk, is offering stays at independent hotels for room rates commencing under £100 per night. The website offers a portfolio of privately owned, boutique hotels across the world, each offering new vacation experiences. It is claimed that travel experts have individually reviewed the listed hotels, and the listings include a special, ‘What We Say’ section highlighting the levels of service experienced by those experts. Currently the hotels are located in India, Sri Lanka and Zambia, but the company intends to expand its listings beyond these areas in future. The listed hotels are privately owned, some are…
London Gatwick Airport, considered to be London’s second airport after Heathrow, will be operating close to normal on April 17, 2012, following an emergency landing incident involving a Virgin Atlantic aircraft on Monday, April 16, 2012. On Monday, a Virgin Atlantic aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport, following which the runway had to be closed to operations for several hours, as the aircraft’s passengers were evacuated and taken to safety. The aircraft was flying with its full capacity of 299 passengers and 13 crewmembers on board, and used its emergency chutes to evacuate all passengers to safety on…
Weymouth, the seaside town in Dorset, UK, has recently seen an increase in holiday cottage bookings from foreign visitors for the summer of 2012, fuelled by interest in the upcoming Olympic Games, commencing this July. Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour in Dorset are hosting the sailing competitions for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The area has natural vantage points for watching the events, even for visitors who are not able to acquire tickets to the Games’ waterside viewing areas. The region will be hosting around 13 events during the Olympics, and has previous experience of hosting many other international…
A UK-based online travel company, lastminute.com, has reported in a survey that UK travellers are increasingly moving towards last minute travel deals. The online survey results report that while 83 percent of UK travellers decide on their vacations up to a year ahead, some are increasingly leaving part of the booking until the final month. Last minute vacationers are often able to benefit from a sizable discount on their travel bookings and hotel accommodation. Around 25 percent of those surveyed have admitted to booking at least a part of their holiday, including hotels or flights, less than a month before…
Accor SA (EPA:AC), a France-based hotel company, has committed itself to sustainable tourism with the launch of its new sustainability programme, Planet 21. The new programme provides strategies to convert each of the company-owned hotels into environmentally sustainable properties. In a briefing held at its Novotel Tower Bridge hotel in London, the Accor group’s executive vice-president for sustainable development, Sophie Flak, said, ‘Energy is the second layer of costs after employees. It’s a huge cost, EUR350 million per year, and we need to focus on reducing consumption of energy because costs won’t go down, particularly with taxes going up in…
The Louvre Museum, in Paris, France, is partnering with Nintendo, the Japan-based electronics company, to offer its visitors a new viewing experience at the museum. The world’s most visited art museum and former main residence of the French monarchy is offering a new set of computer consoles – in place of handheld audio devices – to its visitors for a more entertaining art viewing experience. Made by Nintendo, these portable handsets offer a small screen and around 35 hours of audio content in 700 different commentaries, including art lectures and interviews with museum curators. The devices will be offering additional…