2008 Articles

Passengers will wait for sales

In the current economic climate tourists are increasingly waiting for sales and special offers before booking flights, claims an industry insider.

With levels of spare cash reduced by inflation and the rising cost of credit, many airlines are seeking out business by offering their customers better deals.

According to James Fremantle, industry affairs manager for the Air Transport Users Council: "There's a lot of empty seats and they [airlines] need to fill their seats up.

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Flights to Gambia from Bristol Airport

Passengers flying from Bristol Airport will have a greater choice of destinations this winter with an increased number of services to Gambia, it has been reported.

Specialist tour operator the Gambia Experience will commence its winter schedule in November, offering twice weekly services from the airport to the small west African republic.

A statement on Bristol Airport's website also confirms that the company will offer increased capacity, as well as a greater focus on luxury packages and options.

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Heathrow Airport to serve tea and biscuits

Passengers arriving at Terminal 5 in Heathrow Airport next month may get the unexpected surprise of being offered a free cup of tea and a biscuit.

The provision will be part of a campaign started by Waitrose managing director Mark Price to ensure that people arriving in Britain have positive thoughts rather than worries about bad weather and financial problems.

Mr Price persuaded airport operator BAA to trial the initiative for a week in November, during which time the people arriving at Terminal 5 will be offered some 5,000 cups of tea a day, the Telegraph reports.

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Troubled airline could be saved

Italian carrier Alitalia has been given a lifeline after it emerged it could be taken over, according to reports.

The BBC has reported that the CAI consortium has reached an agreement with the last union which blocked proposed cost-cutting measures in the initial bid.

While the unions have not yet agreed to the terms of the £800 million takeover, CAI is said to have won their approval.

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FHR announces partnership with airports

FHR has announced that it has established on-site airport parking facilities at a number of UK gateways.

Luton Airport, Liverpool Airport, Robin Hood Doncaster/Sheffield Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport will now all benefit from FHR-operated on-airport car parks.

Graham Greenaway, FHR spokesman, said: "FHR are committed to offering our customers availability at reliable car parks at all major UK airports so they travel safe in the knowledge that their car will be taken care of whilst they are away."

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Purple Parking takes over Q-Park at Heathrow Airport

It has been confirmed that Purple Parking will take over Q-Park's control of Heathrow Airport parking, according to reports.

Purple Parking announced it will take over the operation of Q-Park's airport parking at the London gateway with immediate effect.

In a joint statement, Adam Bidder, managing director of Q-Park GB, and Mark Hinge, managing director of Purple Parking, said the takeover would lead to the continuation of a quality service of airport parking at Heathrow Airport.

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Birmingham Airport hit by computer glitch

The malfunction of the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) computer last week caused knock-on effects at Birmingham Airport over the weekend, it has been reported.

Around ten flights experienced minor delays following the problem, which occurred just before 16:00 BST on Thursday afternoon.

Immediately after the fault in the computer system British Airways (BA) was forced to cancel flights at Heathrow Airport, before grounding an additional number of short-haul flights on Saturday.

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Tories oppose Heathrow Airport expansion

The Conservative party has announced that it will not support the creation of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, according to reports.

At their conference in Birmingham, the party revealed proposals for a new high-speed rail link between London and several cities in the north of England to replace the planned third runway.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the scheme is aimed at reducing 66,000 flights from the Heathrow Airport every year by encouraging passengers to take the train instead.

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Ryanair launches mobile technology from Britain's airports

Ryanair will begin trialling a scheme to allow passengers flying from UK hubs such as Birmingham Airport to use their mobiles and other portable devices in-flight, according to reports.

The budget carrier will include the technology on 14 of its 166 planes, reports the Times, with miniature masts allowing customers to make and receive calls and text messages.

Ryanair has said it will expand the technology across its entire fleet if the trial is successful but has not yet released details of which routes will include the new service.

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Credit crunch bites Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport could be affected by the current state of uncertainty in the banking sector in the city, it has been reported.

A report in the Scotsman newspaper indicates that the recent merger of HBOS and LloydsTSB raises the possibility of the departure of HBOS's headquarters from the Scottish capital.

This could result in a dramatic decrease in the numbers of business passengers and may lead to a reduction in services at the airport.

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Ryanair grounds flights at Stansted Airport

Budget carrier Ryanair will ground 12 of it planes due to fly out of Stansted Airport this winter, it has been reported.

According to the Times, the airline is to make the move because of rising fuel costs and airport fees.

The grounded aircraft will amount to around a third of its fleet currently used at Stansted Airport.


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