2008 Articles

Gone With The Wind opens in West End

One of the world's greatest love stories has been adapted for the West End stage and is set to wow audiences from across the country.

Gone With The Wind, which opened at the New London Theatre on Saturday, will star actress Jill Paice as Scarlett O'Hara and Darius Danesh as the irresistible Rhett Butler.

Directed by Trevor Nunn, the musical is set in 1860s Atlanta during the Civil War where Scarlett finds her world turned upside down by conflict and love.
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First Open Skies flights jet off

Travel history was made yesterday when the Open Skies agreement came in to force across Europe and the US.

The new rules will allow any airline in Europe and the US to travel on any route between the two - which is likely to see passengers have much more choice when it comes to transatlantic flights.

Yesterday, a Continental Airlines flight from New York was the first plane in the UK to touch down at London Heathrow under the new agreement.
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Heathrow 'most important transatlantic hub'

Air France-KLM's general manager in the UK has described Heathrow Airport as the world's most important hub for transatlantic services.

Christine Ourmieres made her comments on BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of the launch of the open skies agreement on March 30th.

This accord will liberalise the airspace between the US and EU countries, allowing carriers such as Air France to base new services at Heathrow.
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New airline ready to take off from EMA

A number of people taking flights from Nottingham/East Midlands Airport (EMA) on March 30th will be travelling with the all-new Thomas Cook Airlines.

Thomas Cook's new carrier will offer its first service this weekend to Monastir in Tunisia.

Two aircraft will be based at the Nottingham hub and the tour operator will use them to fly to 28 destinations in the summer and 15 winter locations.
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Plans approved for mobile use on planes

Communications watchdog Ofcom has given its backing to plans to enable airlines to offer mobile phone use on planes.

Mobiles are currently banned on aircraft and the only way for passengers to speak to people on the ground is by using airlines' own communication networks.

However, new plans could allow travellers to connect their phones to an onboard base station, which could be used when the plane reaches a minimum altitude of 3,000 metres.
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Gatwick to lift bag limit

Gatwick Airport has announced that, from March 31st, its passengers will be able to carry more than one bag through security.

The hub will join a number of other airports in taking advantage of the government's relaxation of the luggage limit, which was announced on January 7th this year.

Gatwick did not immediately lift the restriction as it needed time to install new x-ray and archway technology in central search areas, developments that have now been completed.
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T5 welcomes first passengers

Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport has welcomed its first passengers today (March 27th), with a British Airways flight from Hong Kong bringing 283 travellers into the state-of-the-art facility at 04:50 in the morning.

Around 150 people were on board when the first service to depart from Terminal 5 headed for Paris Charles de Gaulle at 06:20.

On its first day of operations, the new £4.3 billion terminal is set to host 380 British Airways flights – 30 long-haul services and 350 short-haul and domestic connections – and handle more than 40,000 customers.
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Air travel 'will not compromise UK emissions targets'

An aviation expert has challenged the suggestion that an expanding air travel industry will prevent the UK from achieving its targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

Neil Pakey, chairman of the Airport Operators' Association (AOA) disagreed with campaigners that accuse the aviation industry of compromising attempts to meet environmental targets.

He also argued that the sector has adopted a number of approaches to mitigate its impact on the environment.
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Eastern Airways 'most punctual at Newcastle, Birmingham'

Regional carrier Eastern Airways has been named the most punctual scheduled airline departing from Newcastle Airport and Birmingham Airport, it has been announced.

Online aviation analysts Flightontime.info, using data from the Civil Aviation Authority, named Eastern Airways the most punctual operator at Newcastle for the second year running ahead of airlines including British Airways, Ryanair, flybe and easyJet.

Some 92 per cent of the regional carrier's flights from Birmingham left within 15 minutes of their scheduled time and 90 per cent of its services at Newcastle were similarly prompt.
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EMA to harness wind power

Nottingham/East Midlands Airport (EMA) is set to do its bit for sustainable energy generation by installing four wind turbines on site.

The airport announced that the North-West Leicestershire District Council had granted it permission to erect the 31.5-metre turbines, which are set to be up and running by the end of the year.

Each turbine is expected to produce up to 225 kilowatts of power, which is enough to sustain 503 houses per year and could lead to an annual saving of 850 tonnes of carbon.
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BA unveils new Gatwick services

British Airways has announced a number of new services that it will be offering from Gatwick Airport this summer, many of which will be of interest to leisure travellers.

The first phase of the launch of BA's summer schedule will take place on March 30th, with new services from Gatwick to Alicante, Faro, Gibraltar, Malaga, Malta, Palma, Poznan and Tunis.

Genoa will be the next European destination to see flights from Gatwick on April 4th, before Antalya welcomes visitors on April 10th, followed by Ibiza on June 1st and Paphos on July 1st.
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