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…
Thomas Cook Group plc, a UK-based travel company, may be in more financial difficulty following reports that France-based credit insurance company, Euler Hermes, has withdrawn credit insurance cover for the company’s third-party suppliers. While Euler Hermes maintains insurance cover to some of Thomas Cook suppliers, it has written to several suppliers to inform them of its intention to cease their indemnity. In a statement, Euler Hermes has cleared its position by saying, ‘(it) continues to write significant levels of cover for Thomas Cook and other major operators within the travel industry. It is never in a credit insurer’s interests to…
The takeover of BMI buy the parent company of British Airways (IAG) will lead to a possible 1,200 job losses, the company announced today. The takeover was approved by the European Commission in March 2012 after the Commission looked into the integration of the two airlines operations at Heathrow Airport. Most of the job losses will be at BMI’s head office at Castle Donington in Derbyshire. However, British Airways were keen to stress that up to 1,500 jobs have been saved by the takeover, including 1,100 cabin crew, pilots and engineers and up to 400 passenger service personnel at Heathrow’s…
Flybe, a UK-based airline company, has announced that its results have remained on par with company expectations, ahead of the release of its financial results for fiscal 2011, which will be released in June 2012. In a trading update the company announced that a number of its initiatives have been implemented recently to increase revenue earnings per seat, reduce costs, and match its seating capacities with the current demands. One such initiative was completed on March 8 this year when the company entered into a contract flying agreement with Brussels Airlines, offering two Bombardier Q400 aircraft on lease. Flybe UK,…
TripAdvisor, an online travel community offering user-generated travel information, has announced its list of top five classic luxury hotels in London, UK. The hotels are ranked on traveller reviews, and have been winners of the 2012 Travellers’ Choice Hotel awards, which were initiated by the company. 1) The Dorchester, a classical luxury hotel located in Mayfair, London, tops the list. A hotel from the Dorchester Collection, a UK-based hotel management company, it has 250 room and 49 suites, and boasts a clientele that has included celebrities, royalty, and political leaders. 2) Claridge’s is also located in Mayfair, and its frontage…
Dubai visitors will be able to take part in a gruelling yet rewarding Vertical Marathon event at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers on April 13th 2012. This taxing charity run will see up to 200 participants racing each other to the top of the towering 52-floor building, a route that takes in 265 metres and a massive 1,334 stairs. The 2012 edition marks the tenth anniversary of the marathon, which is organised annually by Talise Fitness to support the humanitarian work conducted by Medecins Sans Frontieres. More than one million dirhams (£170,400) has been raised by the event to date, thus…