2007 Articles

Nearly half a million use Gatwick over half-term weekend

Gatwick Airport handled nearly half a million passengers between October 19th and 22nd as thousands of families took advantage of the half-term break to go on holiday.

The busiest day of all was Friday October 19th, with around 115,000 passengers travelling from Gatwick.

Traditional holiday hotspots in countries such as Spain and Portugal were the most popular options from the London hub.
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Heathrow, Manchester to get more UAE flights

Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport will see more flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this winter with Etihad Airways.

The national carrier will offer a new service departing Heathrow every morning from October 28th to supplement existing afternoon and evening flights.

Manchester Airport will see a new evening service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
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More travellers head to Singapore in September

The popularity of Singapore as a holiday destination continued to rise in September as the country saw a record number of foreign visitors.

Figures released by the country's tourism board showed that it welcomed 766,000 travellers in September, 7.1 per cent more than the previous year.

This is a new record for the month of September. In the preceding month, however, some 913,000 people travelled to Singapore.
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Dolphins 'generated $24m for New Zealand last year'

The experience of swimming with dolphins and watching the animals in their natural habitat is so popular that it generated NZ$24m (£8.7 million) for the New Zealand economy last year, according to reports.

Ministry of tourism figures sourced by the New Zealand World Wildlife Fund (WWF) showed that around 103,000 people took part in dolphin watching or swimming last year.

The WWF has been pursuing a campaign to protect Hector's dolphins, the species that the south island tourism industry focuses on, and Maui's dolphins.
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A380 'will improve passenger experience'

Air passengers will see improvements in their travel experiences as aircraft like the Airbus A380 enter the market, according to Virgin Atlantic.

A spokesperson for the carrier said that the sheer space available onboard the A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, gives operators more potential to progress with the services they offer their customers.

Singapore Airlines recently took delivery of the first A380, which will enter full scheduled service on October 29th.
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Cape Verde carrier to fly from Stansted

Stansted Airport is to gain a link to the Cape Verde islands with a flag-carrying airline this year.

Cape Verde Airlines, also known as TACV, will begin weekly flights from the London hub to Praia on the island of Santiago from October 29th.

It will operate another weekly service to the main international airport on Sal from the same date.
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Jersey Boys cast confirmed

The cast list has been confirmed for new West End musical Jersey Boys, set to open at the Prince Edward Theatre on March 18th, with previews on February 28th.

Jersey Boys, which is being transplanted from Broadway to the London stage, tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and Ryan Molloy will be filling the role of Frankie.

Molloy has already shown his talents on the boards in Taboo and Jerry Springer the Opera.
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New BA services from Gatwick next year

British Airways has announced that it will be offering two new services to Poland and Turkey from Gatwick Airport next year.

The carrier's network from the London hub will include routes to Poznan and Antalya from next spring, with the connection to Poland operating on a daily basis from March 30th.

Poznan will be one of three Polish locations served by BA from Gatwick, along with Krakow and Warsaw, which is moving from Heathrow Airport.
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EMA launches new service to Pakistan

Nottingham/East Midlands Airport will be entertaining its visitors with music today to mark the launch of a new flight to Pakistan.

UK International Airlines (UKIA) will be offering the service from October 19th and there will be a variety of types of music played into the airport's check-in hall to see off passengers on the inaugural flight.

The use of music is hoped to create a "vibrant and lively" atmosphere for travellers as well as for friends and family bidding farewell to the holidaymakers.
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New route to France from Southampton

Travellers using Southampton Airport will have more access to France from next month with a new service to be provided by Eastern Airways.

The UK regional carrier will fly from the south coast to Angers Loire in what is its first scheduled route to France.

Flights will commence on November 15th and depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
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Self-service options 'becoming more popular'

Self-service options 'becoming more popular'

Self-service facilities that make travellers' airport experiences more straightforward are becoming increasingly popular, according to research.

Technology company Sita surveyed 100 airlines and found that over half now enable their customers to check in online and 89 per cent expect to offer the facility in the next two years.

Over a fifth of the passengers using the carriers in the poll made use of internet check-in options and this ratio is predicted to rise to over a third by the end of 2008.
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