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Thomas Cook shares up as new financial package agreed

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

A new deal with the banks to secure additional financing confirmed by travel operator Thomas Cook has seen the value of its shares lift slightly. Originally, when the firm said it was looking to increase a loan from £100 million to £200 million, shares fell by 75 per cent. The price has now risen by 23 per cent, but is still 88 per cent lower than the value in January.

A fresh deal with banks including HSBC, RBS, Barclays and UniCredit was agreed on Saturday, and will replace the short-term credit agreement which was announced in October. Group CEO, Sam Weihagen, said he wanted to thank the institution for coming to a positive decision in such a short time.

He added that the financial package would be used to make sure that Thomas Cook’s balance sheet was strengthened, and the company made more financially resilient generally.

This year has seen a number of factors impact on Thomas Cook’s earnings. The usually popular holiday destinations of Egypt and Tunisia saw tourist figures dwindle as both countries experienced widespread social and political unrest. The recent rains and flooding across South East Asia have also resulted in travellers choosing not to fly to Thailand.

As with the rest of the travel industry, the high price of oil continues to hamper margins. The firm already has loans of around £900 million, and the latest deal will push this well over the £1 billion mark. The company has been keen to point out that it is still within the terms of its agreements with other lenders.

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London airports disruption over as fog disperses

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Although passengers are being asked to double check with airlines, it looks like the delays and cancellations caused by fog at Heathrow and London City airports are now over. Poor visibility meant that 104 arrivals and 120 departures at the UK’s busiest airport had to be cancelled.

At London City, 18 departures and 13 arrivals had to be cancelled on Monday. A Heathrow Airport spokesman said that the fog was now dissipating and that there were no more flight restrictions being put in place. Around 1,300 aircraft use Heathrow on a daily basis. A City Airport spokesman also confirmed that there were no more problems.

On Sunday, a number of airlines affected by the weather conditions were able to book passengers onto other flights. Some domestic services were replaced by coaches, and some travellers accepted being put up in a hotel until the situation improved.

Some passengers have complained that queues at immigration were taking a long time to clear, and others have said that inefficiency at passport control could give foreign visitors a bad impression. A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said that extra members of staff had been brought into work to help deal with the extra number of passengers.

Eurocontrol, the European agency in charge of flight management, said severe weather was causing problems for airlines and passengers in Zurich, Paris, Oslo, Vienna, Brussels and Amsterdam. In the UK, weather warnings were issued for the South East and East of England, the West and East Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humberside.

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Ryanair handlers offered incentive to spot heavy luggage

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Ryanair passengers are unlikely to get the benefit of the doubt anymore when they check in with hand luggage at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The company which runs bag handling operations for the airline, Servisair, has told staff that they will be rewarded with 50p whenever they spot a piece of hand luggage which is over the 10kg maximum for the flight deck.

However, the payout will only be made to workers who manage to spot at least 10 oversize bags per week. Servisair has defended the move by explaining that it is not meant to be yet another tax on air travellers, but a way of handing out the bonus it is rewarded by Ryanair to its workers.

A spokesman for the company said that airlines such as Ryanair use performance indicators such as baggage delivery times, lost baggage statistics and on-time performance, as well as excess baggage revenue, when looking at service levels, so it is in Servisair’s interest to deliver the best performance possible.

The incentive scheme does not currently apply to handlers at other John Lennon airlines, which include FlyBe, KLM and easyJet. The scheme is unlikely to impress passengers who consider their baggage to be border-line and who probably would have been given the benefit of the doubt before the 50p reward was offered. Being a little over the maximum weight can add around £40 to the price of a flight.

Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for Ryanair, said all passengers are told very clearly what their baggage allowance is when they purchase a seat.

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M5 crash investigation could take weeks

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said that an investigation into the exact cause of last Friday’s pile up on the M5 in Somerset could take weeks. She confirmed that 51 people had been hurt in the crash and that 37 vehicles had been involved. Ms Greening also told MPs that seven people had died.

She added that the investigation would involve careful examination of the vehicles, as well as a large number of witness statements. Among those who died were two drivers who worked for the same haulage company. Another colleague was injured. Pam and Tony Adams, a couple in their 70s were also killed as they were driving home to south Wales.

The investigation into what caused one of the largest pile ups on a UK road in recent memory is focussing on the fact that there may have been a significant amount of smoke wafting over the carriageway from a nearby firework display.

The display had been organised by Taunton Rugby Club which said it was currently assisting the police with enquires. Anthony Bangham, of the Avon and Somerset Police, confirmed that the investigation was focusing on the fireworks display, and that officers would be interviewing those who attended.

He added that driving conditions in the area were already difficult on Friday night because of fog. However, they could have been made significantly worse if smoke was billowing over the motorway. West Somerset coroner, Michael Rose, said he will begin inquests into the deaths of the victims on Thursday.

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Rail operators hope to avoid winter travel disruption

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Train operators are hoping to avoid the disruption which was caused to passengers during last winter’s severe weather. Network Rail and ScotRail plan to keep the busiest routes open, and cross border links running. Scotrail has announced a £2 million package which includes employing high pressure hoses to remove ice and snow from beneath trains, and heated polythene tunnels which will be employed to defrost engines and carriages.

The rail operators’ are also hoping to avoid the communication problems experienced last year by distributing smartphones to employees on board the trains. This will mean that delays and timetable updates can immediately be relayed to customers.

Scotrail has also promised that there will be improvements made to the way in which passengers at stations, or waiting on platforms, are fed information. The company warned that severe weather would result in inevitable disruption, and that is why they intend to concentrate on the busiest services.

A series of road shows will be held across Scotland so that passengers can see for themselves the improvements which are being made. Keith Brown, Transport Minister, said preparing for winter weather was the key to preventing severe disruption, and that he welcomed Scotrail’s commitment to service resilience and providing better information to passengers.

According to the firm, the underside of a train can collect up to three tonnes of snow and ice when the temperatures fall below zero. This can cause significant damage as blocks of ice fall onto the track and bounce back into the undercarriage.

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RMT slams TfL for dangerous proposals in leaked paper

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

The country’s largest transport union has condemned a leaked paper, drawn up by Transport for London, which suggests new technology could replace staff on the London Underground. The RMT claims that ideas such as closing ticket offices at stations and introducing driverless trains across the network are irresponsible and dangerous.

The authors of the document make the point that the introduction of such measures could reduce the workforce on the Tube by 1,500. The outlined plans include shutting all but 30 of the ticket offices in favour of introducing more ‘wave and pay’ machines. The 30 remaining offices would then be turned into information centres.

The RMT is appalled at proposals to make all the trains on the network fully automated. It pointed out that a remote controlled train was not much use to passengers stranded in a tunnel. Union boss, Bob Crow, also said that reducing staff at stations would create a paradise for vandals and muggers.

However, TfL has been quick to point out that the document was only being used to create discussion. Managing director of the London Underground, Mike Brown, said that nothing had been agreed to by the mayor, TfL or the Tube’s board. He added that LU was still very much committed to keeping stations fully staffed at all times.

The paper suggests that, by the end of the decade, all trains on the network will be controlled remotely. However, experts believe this may be an unrealistic target because of the amount of testing which would be involved.

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Man dies after falling from Eurostar train

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Eurostar passengers were delayed for several hours after a man fell from a train shortly before it would have entered the Channel Tunnel in Kent. According to a British Transport Police spokesman, the man is believed to be a 22-year-old Albanian who had crossed into the UK from Brussels. Having been denied entry, he was apparently returning to the continent of his own volition.

The incident occurred just after 17:00 as the train was travelling through Cheriton. The police said they had managed to recover the body and transport it to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital. The train on which the man was travelling was removed from service just after 22:00 so that the line could go back into service.

Although the man is yet to be officially identified, the UK Border Agency said that its staff were not deporting him. According to Richard Ashworth, a Conservative MEP who was travelling to Brussels on the train, there was a delay of around three hours following the incident, after it was announced that the service would be going back to Ashford.

Mr Ashworth said that passengers understood that a migrant denied entry to the UK had managed to get off the train while it was moving. He added that he couldn’t understand how the man had managed to do this.

He went on to say that passengers got off the train at Ashford and were asked to wait for the next London bound service. The train apparently got back into Waterloo at around 22.30.

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‘Heathwick’ plans greeted with a mixed reaction

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

The latest plans to increase the capacity of airports in the south east have been given tentative support by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The idea is to create a virtual hub by joining Heathrow and Gatwick airports with a high speed railway link. The scheme is being called Heathwick.

Mr Johnson said that Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, was correct to suggest the idea and that it now needed to be explored. However, he added that he still felt capacity could best be increased by building a new airport out in the Thames Estuary, a plan which has been dubbed Boris Island.

Although the owners of Gatwick have described the plans as an interesting concept, Heathrow’s owners have questioned its viability. BAA said the scheme would not increase runway space and faced massive technical, financial and political challenges.

International Airlines Group boss, Willie Walsh, also appears doubtful. He said that the idea was not the most efficient way of dealing with the problem adding that he was not sure how much it would cost or how long it would take to build. Mr Walsh went on to say that the government’s decision not to create a new runway at Heathrow would be something it might come to regret.

Budget carriers Ryanair and easyJet are concerned that the creation of a hub will force low cost carriers’ out of Gatwick, something they both said they would fight. Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said he did not believe a link would exist during his lifetime.

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British Airways introduces executive passenger safety course

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

British Airways is offering members of its Executive Club a safety training course which could help them, as well as fellow passengers, survive in the event of a crash. The four-hour long session covers a range of procedures from properly releasing a seatbelt to locating a life jacket. The training lesson ends with a simulated evacuation of the cabin.

The flag carrier has introduced the course after BP said it would like its employees to have better training in how to deal with an emergency. The oil company said that it sent workers around the globe, and that sometimes they had to travel on airlines which did not have very rigorous safety standards.

Manager in charge of the course, Andy Clubb, said the training meant that passengers felt more confident when flying and also made them safer. He explained that contrary to public belief, most airline accidents are survivable and most deaths occur in the panic which ensues after a crash.

Mr Clubb went on to say that as well as being better able to look after themselves, passengers who have had the proper training would also be able to look after fellow travellers if an emergency occurred. He said that just seeing someone confident about what they are doing helps other passengers to react in a positive way.

There has not been a fatal airline accident involving a British carrier since 1989. The incident involved a passenger jet owned by British Midland and occurred near Kegworth in Leicestershire where 47 people lost their lives.

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Virgin approaches regulators over BMI slot sale to BA

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Virgin Atlantic is enrolling the help of the European Commission and the UK’s Office of Fair Trading after British Airways said it had successfully managed to purchase six take off and landing spots from Lufthansa owned BMI. The sale means that BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group, now controls 45 per cent of the capacity at one of Europe’s busiest hubs.

According to a statement by Virgin, Sir Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic, is worried that BA is targeting BMI for its best bits which will leave an unattractive and unworkable airline up for sale. Sir Richard has been interested in BMI for some time and claims that interest was renewed when Lufthansa said it was looking at ways of disposing of the loss maker.

Virgin has also said that it did not consider going against its main rival for the Heathrow slots because it understood they were not for sale but for lease. BA claims to have purchased them outright.

According to Lufthansa, it is still looking for ways of getting rid of BMI. A spokesman said that the sale of the Heathrow slots has done nothing to dent the value of the airline or to reduce network quality because they were never a part of the carrier’s core activities.

BMI still owns a number of slots at Heathrow, although Lufthansa has declined to comment on whether it is in discussions to break them up further. British Airways maintains that its dominance at Heathrow is in line with flag carriers’ at major airports in other countries.

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