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Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Over the past year motorists have seen their fuel bill rise by an average of 11.88p per litre. The cost of filling the average car with petrol is now £5.94 more expensive than this time a year ago and prices could be pushed up even further in the New Year as VAT rises to 20 per cent. Last week petrol receipts hit a new record of 121.76 per litre.
According to motoring strategist at the RAC, Adrian Tink, motorists could quite conceivably find themselves paying 125p for a litre of fuel on 5 January after the VAT increase. He added that the government claims it wants to end the attack on motorists and should begin to do so by cancelling January’s proposed price hike at the pumps.
The AA has slammed the oil companies for driving up the price of petrol simply to increase profits. RMI Petrol chairman, Brian Madderson, said it was not profiteering but a hike in the wholesale cost of fuel which was driving the increase at UK petrol stations. He added that the margins on the forecourts had dropped to just 3p per litre and that this was already driving large numbers of retailers out of business.
Madderson went on to point out that in the last week the wholesale cost of a litre of petrol had gone up by 1.5p per litre and that since November it had risen by 5p.
He said the root of the problem lay with the price of crude oil which has hit a two-year high of £57.65 per barrel.
Tags: AA, crude oil, government, motorists, New Year, petrol, RAC, RMI Petrol, VAT
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Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Singapore Airlines is to start flying an Airbus A380 on its Singapore to Los Angeles route some time in the New Year. The world’s number two in terms of market value said it would commence the superjumbo flights as soon as it received its 12th A380 from the European aircraft manufacturer next year.
The decision has been made despite the problems engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has been having with its Trent 900 engines. Although not used to power all A380s, Singapore flies with the Rolls-Royce jets. A problem with the engine became apparent last month when a Qantas superjumbo flying out of Singapore experienced significant engine failure. It was forced to return to Changi Airport where pilots performed a safe emergency landing.
Subsequent investigations by safety regulators and engineers from both Airbus and Rolls-Royce found that a faulty engine component was to blame for causing the mid-air explosion over Malaysia on 4 November. Rolls has since announced that it will be checking and repairing all of the Trent 900s currently in service.
Standard & Poor analyst, Shukor Yusof, said the decision by Singapore to fly the largest airliner in the world on the transpacific route was a smart one. He added that the 471-seater would be able to capitalise on a rising demand. Singapore currently has a three-class configuration on its A380s.
Qantas is still to get all of its six A380s back into the air. The Australian flag carrier has launched preliminary legal action against Rolls-Royce in order to make sure it receives adequate compensation for the disruption to its services.
Tags: A380, airbus, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, superjumbo, Trent 900
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Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
The government says it is not ready to agree to European Union proposals to share details on British motorists with all member states. On Thursday, proposals to force motorists caught committing a driving offence while abroad to be fined in their home countries are to be discussed by transport ministers from across the Union.
The opening up of motorist databases would allow governments to pursue drivers who have committed an offence in their country across borders. Under the proposals, a driver caught speeding while abroad would first receive a fine from that country’s police force on returning home. If it is not paid, then details would be turned over to the driver’s local police force and they would then pursue the penalty.
All proceeds would be retained by the local force and the level of the fine would be consistent with where the offence was committed. The four main offences to be discussed are: speeding, not stopping at traffic lights, drink driving and not wearing a seatbelt. These offences apparently account for around three-quarters of all road fatalities.
The UK’s minister in charge of road safety, Mike Penning, said he agreed in principal that at tightening up of rules across the EU was a good thing. However, he added that issues such as who is legally responsible for the vehicle when and offence talks place and who is going to foot the bill for the scheme still needed to be made clear.
Representative for the AA, Paul Watters, said he could not see the DVLA being very enthusiastic about taking on more bureaucracy.
Tags: AA, drink driving, DVLA, Mike Penning, motorists, penalty, speeding, transport
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Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
Qantas, Australia’s largest airline, announced that it would gradually bring its grounded Airbus A380s back into service starting at the weekend. One of the superjumbos is due to fly via Singapore to London from Sydney on Saturday. It was just after leaving Singapore in the other direction that a Qantas A380 experienced massive engine failure in one of its Rolls–Royce built Trent 900s on 4 November.
Following the explosion, the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing, but there were no casualties. Qantas immediately grounded all six of its superjumbos pending an investigation into what went wrong.
Speaking at a press conference, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce announced that the airline had discovered the reason for the problem and believed it was now safe to get the A380s back into service. The airline added that the decision had been made after a thorough program of inspections by Rolls-Royce engineers. Rolls announced earlier that the oil leak in the Qantas engine and the subsequent fire and pressure loss in the turbines was due to a single engine component.
The flag-carrier pointed out that it would not be using its A380s on routes which might require maximum thrust from the engines. Qantas said the measure would remain in place until changes were made to the engines and more experience of flying with the Trent 900s was gained.
Qantas plans to take delivery of two more A380 aircraft from Airbus by the end of this year, with two more being delivered in the early part of the New Year.
Tags: A380, airbus, airline, Qantas, Rolls Royce, Trent 900
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Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
A technical fault which caused smoke to fill the cockpit of a Qantas Boeing 747-400 has caused it to return to Sydney just an hour into its journey to Argentina. The airline claims it was a minor electrical fault which caused the problem. Having put on oxygen masks, the pilot and crew safely brought the plane down at 1.22pm. All 199 passengers on the flight are safe.
Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth said the pilot, cabin crew and technical crew had all acted in an extremely professional manner. She added that the problem was to do with a faulty electrical component and there was no need to ground the aircraft. The incident has been reported to the Air Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
Over the last 10 days Qantas has experienced no fewer than five mid-air emergencies. Qantas chief executive, Alan Joyce, will be desperate to make sure the incidents are played down as passengers consider other carriers.
The troubles began on 4 November when an Airbus A380 heading for Sydney was forced to turn back to Singapore after an engine exploded. The incident caused Qantas immediately to ground its fleet of six superjumbos as Rolls-Royce looked into what had caused its engine to fail.
Two days later another Qantas jet returned to Singapore with an over heated engine. Just hours later, a Qantas flight returned to London because an emergency light showed problems with the aircraft’s hydraulics. Last Friday, vibrations in an engine caused a 767 to return to Perth.
Tags: airbus, airline, Alan Joyce, boeing, Qantas
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Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has said that it will probably be at least another three days before any of the airline’s A380 superjumbos would be allowed back into service following the discovery of oil leaks in three engines. The problems in the turbine sections of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900s were discovered after a serious malfunction caused an explosion on a Qantas flight shortly after it departed from Singapore.
Rolls-Royce has said it is still too early to determine the exact cause of the problem. The explosion resulted in debris being scattered over the nearby island of Batam. Although much of that debris has since been recovered, Qantas has appealed to residents to alert the authorities if they find a piece of the engine’s turbine.
The engine part could provide vital clues as to what went wrong on flight QF32 last week. Joyce said investigations were now centring on the oil leaks and Rolls-Royce experts are looking into the matter.
Passengers on board QF32 described hearing a loud bang shortly after leaving Changi Airport and some described flames coming from one of the engines. A small hole was also punched into one of the wings. The aircraft was able to return to Changi and land safely. There were no reported injuries to any of the passengers.
In the meantime, Singapore Airlines has said that successful safety checks have meant it will continue to operate its fleet of 11 superjumbos. The airline added that it would continue to monitor the situation and was complying with guidelines issued by Rolls-Royce.
Tags: A380, airbus, Alan Joyce, changi Airport, Qantas, QF32, Rolls Royce, Singapore Airlines
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Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Tour operator Thomas Cook has come under fire from representatives of European hotels for announcing it will be reducing invoices for August and September by five per cent. The group claims it is necessary to make a reduction on payments because it has been a difficult year for the industry in the UK.
The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourism said it has complained to the competition authorities and is looking into the possibility of legal action. It added that it will concentrate on getting the money back and pointed out that if Thomas Cook was allowed to break its contracts a dangerous precedent would be set
European trade body Hotrec has also condemned Thomas Cook for breach of contract with its hotel partners. As well as being unfair, Hotrec has accused the travel agent of bullying hoteliers into reducing their invoices by threatening to remove future business.
Thomas Cook is saying that even though business in the UK has been affected by factors such as the World Cup, the volcanic ash cloud, a general election and spending cuts; it has still been able to deliver good capacity to popular resorts in countries such as Spain and Portugal. It added that to do this it need to reduce package prices and that it was now looking for support for those reduced prices through a small reduction in invoices.
Thomas Cook went on to point out that many of the hoteliers it had already been in contact with had been extremely cooperative.
Tags: ash cloud, hoteliers, hotels, hotrec, legal action, thomas cook, World Cup
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Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
A tourist complaining that it was a bit of a shock to see fish swimming in the sea is just one of a long list of bizarre complaints received by travel companies from their customers. Another complained of the lack of kangaroos hopping around the streets of Sydney and one woman was incensed to find a Gucci bag she had picked up for $20 in China was not in fact the real deal.
One traveller said he had never been warned that mosquitoes could bite and another complained that after seeing an aroused male elephant he had not been able to enjoy the rest of his honeymoon because of inadequacy issues.
A traveller to Greece was horrified to find that the beach he visited had stones on it and others complained that the beaches that had spent time on had had rather too much sand. A Brit eating at a restaurant in an Australian hotel was disappointed with the flavour and texture of his soup until staff explained he had been slurping down the gravy.
An engaged couple have blamed a hotel for an unexpected pregnancy. The woman said she had asked for twin beds for her and her fiancé, but had become pregnant after the room they stayed in was found to be a double.
As well as odd complaints, holidaymakers are just as adept at making bizarre requests it seems. One hotel guest asked if staff could stop it from raining and another asked if he could move rooms because the air conditioning was so noisy. An electric toothbrush in the customer’s luggage was in fact the source of the noise.
Tags: beach, honeymoon, luggage, tourist, travel companies, traveller
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Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Europcar is gearing up for the international launch of Daimler’s car2go in the spring of next year. A fleet of 300 two-seater smart cars is due to hit the streets of central Hamburg by March 2011. The new mobility concept will allow those who have joined the scheme to simply turn up, get into one of the cars and drive off whenever and to wherever they choose.
Europcar, which has the majority stake in the scheme, has already announced that the fee for an hour’s rental of one of the new vehicles will be capped at €14.90; although the cars are also available for rental by the minute at €0.29.
The car2go was recently premiered at the Motor Show in Paris. It incorporates innovative features such as a solar-power roof capable of charging the vehicle’s battery, looking after the electrics and making sure the interior temperature is always controlled. There is also an advanced car-sharing telematics system.
Mayor of Hamburg, Christoph Ahlhaus, said he was excited that Hamburg had been chosen for the international launch of the new scheme. He added that the people of the city were traditionally open to innovative ideas, and he was sure the idea would be a success.
Anja Hajduk, Hamburg’s senator for urban development and the environment, said she was pleased the scheme was arriving in the city pointing out that a reduction of the amount of traffic on the streets would be welcomed by those fed up of sitting in traffic jams; unable to find a parking space or who lived by busy roads.
Tags: car2go, Daimler, Europcar, Hamburg, parking, rental, smart cars, traffic
Posted in Car Rental News | Comments Off
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
The families of those who died when Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic between Rio de Janeiro and Paris in 2009 will not have to wait for the conclusion of official investigations to make compensation claims. A court in southern France has ruled that there is already enough evidence to bring the charge of manslaughter, without the intent to kill.
In making its ruling the commission said compensation of 10,000 euro’s each would be awarded to the father and brother of Clara Amado, an airhostess who perished in the crash. This is a precedent for a French court as investigations into what exactly caused the incident, on the night of 31 May last year, are still ongoing.
Investigators have said problems with the Airbus 330-200’s airspeed indicators may have been partly to blame. Because these problems had been recognised on previous fights, the court said the crash was the result of criminal error. Compensation with be paid to Amando’s relatives from the fund set up for victims of terrorism and other offences.
The loss of flight 447 is Air France’s worst ever crash. All 228 crew and passengers died. Because the debris was spread over such a wide area of the Atlantic it is now unlikely that the flight’s black-box recorders will ever be recovered. Stormy weather may also have been partly to blame for the incident.
Shortly before AF447 was lost from radar screens a series of automatic error messages was transmitted from the aircraft’s onboard flight computer.
Tags: air france, airspeed indicators, compensation, criminal error, flight, flight 447, manslaughter, terrorism
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