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Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Rival aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing are being asked by British Airways to bid on providing a suitable replacement for the 747 jumbo. The flag-carrier is the owner of the largest fleet of the ageing jets on the planet with 50 planes currently in service and a further five in storage.
Alexander Grant, fleet manager for BA, said that the aircraft currently being considered were the Airbus A350-1000, which is the manufacturer’s largest widebody in the A350 series, the Boeing 787-10 and the 777-9X, also designed by Boeing. Grant told the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading that BA hoped to see positive bids from both manufacturers by the end of the year.
Some of BA’s 747s will be replaced by the Airbus A380 superjumbo. The carrier has 12 of the double-decker giants on order and is expecting to start receiving them in 2013. The airline also has an order for 24 Boeing 787-8s and 787-9s, although there has been no confirmation as to when they will arrive.
According to chief of commercial planes at Boeing, Jim Albaugh, the 787-10 could be carrying fare paying passengers by 2016. Rather than design and manufacture a new 737 model, Boeing has decided on an engine refit. Randy Tinseth, marketing chief for the US manufacturer, said the move meant the company could put more of its thought into the 787-10.
He added that Boeing had been receiving a great deal of interest from potential buyers who are keen to see what the aircraft is capable of.
Tags: airbus, airline, boeing, British Airways, superjumbo
Posted in Finance and Business | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Australian flag carrier Qantas is reportedly trying to trademark the name RedQ as the banner under which its new Asia-based airline will fly. As part of its plans to expand international operations, Qantas intends to set up a fleet of Airbus A320s over the coming few years which will offer a premium-class service to corporate customers flying throughout Asia.
The name RedQ confirms that Qantas wants to target the Chinese market as the colour represents good fortune. The new service will be similar to that which British Airways supplies to financiers flying from London City across the Atlantic to New York. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has said that business-class passengers will have the comfort of superior quality beds which lie completely flat.
He added that the new product would be unlike any other currently being offered to Asian travellers. The British Airways Airbus A318 is exclusively business-class and is decked out with 32 lie-flat beds.
Joyce said that he intends to have economy-class seats on the new airline, but they will be of a better quality than those currently being offered to passengers on the airline’s fleet of A380 superjumbos.
As well as confirming the choice of name for the airline, Qantas is still to announce where in Asia it will be based. The two most likely options are either Singapore or Malaysia. Joyce said that it had been a straightforward process to create a base in Singapore for budget offshoot Jetstar and that there was probably room for a premium service carrier as well.
Tags: airbus, airline, Alan Joyce, British Airways, jetstar, Qantas, RedQ
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
Gerard Depardieu, who was recently removed from a flight for reportedly urinating in the aisle prior to take off, has sent up the incident in a video which has been posted onto the internet. The incident took place on a flight bound for Ireland where the French actor is filming the latest in the Asterix and Obelix film series. He was being accompanied by Edouard Baer, who plays Asterix.
The pair decided to remake the incident dressed as the comic heroes. The short film features Asterix and Obelix settling back on a flight reading newspapers. As the plane makes ready for take off Obelix suddenly shouts out that he is in need of a wild boar.
Although Asterix and one of the flight attendants do their best to calm him down, Obelix is not prepared to be placated and insists that he is given one. A fellow passenger sitting near Obelix is then heard complaining about the Gaul’s behaviour before Obelix leaps out of his seat and disappears from view.
In the actual incident, a fellow passenger claimed that Depardieu demanded to use the aircraft’s toilet facilities just as the plane was preparing to taxi to the runway. The cabin crew denied his request and asked him to remain in his seat until after the plane was in the air.
The Gallic actor refused to comply and reportedly stood in the aisle and urinated into a drinks bottle. The captain decided to taxi back to the terminal where Depardieu was asked to leave the plane.
Tags: Asterix, Edouard Baer, Gerard Depardieu, Obelix, wild boar
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Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
The government’s proposed adjustments to the planning laws have led to criticism from transport groups. Campaigners claim that the development of more business-parks on out of town sites will inevitably lead to more congestion on the roads, especially around rush-hour. The Campaign for Better Transport has produced research which says that the development of a single additional business park at suitable junctions on the M1 motorway would lead to traffic volumes increasing by 16 per cent.
The government has accused the group of greatly exaggerating the figures and of not understanding the reforms which are being proposed. However, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the National Trust have both said that by simplifying the planning laws the door will be left open for developers to march onto the greenbelt.
The government claims that by simplifying its planning policy it will help to encourage economic growth. However, Campaign for Better Transport’s Stephen Joseph pointed out that there was still no proof that adjusting the planning laws would stimulate growth.
He added that the campaign’s research suggested that the economy could actually end up being damaged as office developments begin to spring up along major roads and at the side of motorways. He went on to say that motorists were unlikely to appreciate sitting in the type of jams experienced on bank holiday weekends twice every working day.
Joseph agreed that there needed to be new development but not if it meant there would be more congestion on the roads and across other transport networks.
Tags: bank holiday, Campaign for Better Transport, greenbelt, motorways, National Trust, transport
Posted in Political News | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
A passenger who was travelling with Austrian Airlines at the weekend had to be restrained and physically removed from the cabin after he started to experience air rage. A court has heard how Harald Albrecht, a 32-year-old Austrian librarian, started to become agitated after he drank some wine and took a sleeping pill.
The flight was en route to Vienna from Washington when the incident occurred and the pilot decided it was safest to divert to Shannon airport in Ireland and have Mr Albrecht taken off by the authorities. Having been refused more alcohol, Mr Albrecht apparently started abusing fellow passengers and flight attendants.
Although he allegedly lunged for a female member of the flight crew, he did not make contact. When he was taken off the aircraft Mr Albrecht was described as intoxicated and delusional. However, after he was allowed to sober up he was embarrassed and very remorseful.
Albrecht read from a statement telling the court that he wished to apologise for his behaviour to Austrian Airlines, the passengers on board and the cabin crew. He explained that he was nervous about travelling over the ocean and had taken a tablet, something he would not be doing again. He added that although he could not remember the incident he accepted the statements from witnesses.
Albrecht has no previous convictions, and his lawyer, Jenny Fitzgibbon, asked the judge not to convict her client as it would not be in the interests of his career. The judge agreed and imposed a fine of 400 euros.
Tags: air rage, alcohol, Austrian Airlines, cabin crew, sleeping pill
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
Although the price of oil has fallen over the past few months, petrol prices on Britain’s forecourts remain close to their record high. Brent crude has dropped in price by 18 per cent since early April, but the cost of unleaded has risen by an average of 1.8 per cent over the same period.
The fuel industry has been quick to defend the continued high price by saying that the cost of crude is not the only factor which influences the price at the pumps. Around 60 per cent comes from duty and VAT and marketing costs, delivery charges and profit margins account for a further 10 per cent. The price of a barrel of oil therefore only influences around 30 per cent of the overall price.
The forecourts have been accused of profiteering, but spokesman for RMI Petrol, the body representing UK petrol stations, Brian Madderson, said a full tank of petrol only netted between £1 and £2 in profit. He explained that this was hardly enough to sustain a business which is why many petrol stations rely on ancillary services such as shops, cash machines and car washes.
Madderson also said that a weak pound against the dollar meant that the savings that might have been made through a drop in oil prices were being counteracted.
Some experts believe that customers will see a drop in the cost of fuel over the next month. Both Morrisons and Asda have already reduced the price of a litre by 2 pence.
Tags: Asda, Brent crude, Morissons, oil, petrol, RMI Petrol, VAT
Posted in Finance and Business | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
The final words of the pilots in charge of an Air France jet which went down in the Atlantic have been revealed. The crash occurred in 2009 as the flight was carrying 228 passengers and crew to Paris from Rio de Janeiro. All on board were killed.
The conversation has been recovered from the flight’s voice recorder. It reveals that having flown into a high-altitude electrical storm the pilots lost all control of the Airbus A330. At the controls were 32-year-old Pierre-Cedric Bonin and 37-year-old David Robert. The captain of the flight, Marc Dubois, 58, was taking a scheduled rest when the situation started to deteriorate.
After entering the storm Robert is heard to ask Bonin what they should do. Bonin answers that he no longer has control of the plane and Dubois is recalled to the cockpit. After returning, Dubois is informed by Bonin that he has no idea what is happening. Several stall warnings have already gone off and the pilots attempt to rectify the situation by pulling the nose up. Bonin then says he has no vertical speed and no indications. Dubois says the plane is descending.
Air France is claiming that its pilots did nothing wrong and that they were confused by the various readings being given in the cockpit. Airbus maintains that everything was working as it should.
In the last moments one of the pilots is heard to ask if the plane is still descending. A warning for the pilots to pull up sounds as Captain Dubois repeats the order. Bonin says he is trying just before the aircraft hits the sea.
Tags: air france, airbus, cockpit, pilots, stall warnings, voice recorder
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
When Virgin Galactic flies its first commercial service into space it will have a Wiltshire man at the controls. David Mackay from Salisbury is the project’s chief pilot and is hoping that his lifelong dream to become an astronaut may be no more than a couple of years away.
The 53-year-old described how as a boy he had seen the Apollo moon landings and was determined that he too would, one day, go into space. He said he had found out that many astronauts were chosen because they had first been test pilots, so he signed up with the RAF.
It was while a captain with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic that he was chosen, along with three others, to become test pilots on the Virgin Galactic project. Mr Mackay has been based in the Mojave Desert in California at Virgin’s Spaceport where he has been testing WhiteKnightTwo, the jet-powered aircraft designed to carry SpaceShipTwo to its launch altitude.
Mr Mackay said that there was still a great deal of test flying to go before the first fee paying passengers can be taken into sub-orbit, but that by the time the project is given the green-light he will be the most experienced pilot and therefore the obvious choice to take charge of the first mission.
He described how the rocket ship transporting passengers will accelerate to 2,500mph to leave the earth’s atmosphere and that, for around a minute, passengers will certainly feel the g-force. They will then be able to leave their seats and literally float around the cabin.
Tags: Apollo, RAF, Sir Richard Branson, SpaceShipTwo, virgin atlantic, Virgin Galactic, WhiteKnightTwo
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Budget carrier Ryanair has announced that the rising cost of aviation fuel will mean an average increase in fares of 12 per cent. The airline said that the fare hike will take place between now and March next year. Rising oil costs have also meant that the carrier has decided to cut back on the number of flights it will be offering this winter.
The announcements come as Ryanair reported quarterly pre-tax profits to June of £138 million. The figure is up 50 per cent on the same period in 2010. Passenger numbers were also up 18 per cent to 18 million compared to last year.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s boss, said the increase in traffic figures had been distorted by last year’s disruption to airline traffic caused by the volcanic ash cloud which drifted over to Europe from Iceland. He added that the higher revenues would be mostly offset by the price of fuel which is up 49 per cent.
Howard Miller, deputy chief executive at Ryanair, said the company would be passing the increase in operating costs onto its passengers by introducing a small increase in ticket prices. He added that fares are still cheaper than in 2007.
Ryanair’s post-tax profit forecast for the end of the fiscal year remains at around 400 million euros. Rival low-cost airline easyJet said it had recorded a rise in passenger numbers for the quarter of 17.3 per cent. The carrier also said its strategy of targeting more corporate customers was going well.
Tags: ash cloud, budget carrier, easyjet, fuel, low-cost airline, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair, ticket prices
Posted in Finance and Business | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Car manufacturer BMW intends to spread its Munich based car-sharing programme to cities throughout Europe including the UK. The scheme is a partnership between BMW and car rental firm Sixt. BMW has supplied 300 vehicles, which are positioned in various locations throughout Munich, and Sixt takes care of logistics and the customer database.
Members of the initiative are given keyless access to the vehicles which they can locate via a smartphone application. After typing in a PIN, the car is activated and the driver is free to take it around the city for around 25p per minute. All charges are made to the customer’s credit card.
The vehicles are tracked using satellite technology and a refuelling team makes sure that the cars have full tanks of petrol. Tony Douglas, from BMW’s mobility services, said the initiative had been working well and the scheme would now be introduced to Berlin. He added that BMW was also currently discussing making the service available to customers in other major European cities including Manchester, Birmingham and London.
BMW has also announced that it will be investing in UK-based website ParkatmyHouse.com. The site allows drivers to get in contact with homeowners who have registered their private parking spaces, garages and driveways as places where motorists can securely drop off their vehicles for a fee.
BMW has a fund set aside for investment in mobility services which includes My City Way, a New York based scheme, which uses traffic cameras to work out the ideal route around the city for drivers.
Tags: bmw, car rental, car sharing, mobility services, My City Way, ParkatmyHouse.com, Sixt
Posted in Car Rental News | Comments Off
