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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
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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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Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Avis Europe has confirmed it has placed an order for 500 Renault electric vehicles about to go into production. Renault recently unveiled the new Renault Fluence and the Renault Kangoo Express, and Avis customers should be able to start driving the vehicles in countries across Europe by the end of 2011. The new vehicles will initially be rolled out in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy Spain and Portugal.
Avis Europe’s chief executive officer, Pascal Bazin, said: “At Avis, we’re committed to providing customers with choice when it comes to mobility and our partnership with Renault is another way in which we are fulfilling this commitment by expanding our fleet to include electric vehicles. The vehicles complement our existing mobility offer, providing an alternative to traditional car hire that will benefit both business and leisure customers who are concerned about their impact on the environment.”
The Fluence, a sedan, and the Kangoo Express, a commercial vehicle, will soon be joined by two more electric vehicles from Renault. Currently the manufacturer plans to introduce a practical 2-seat vehicle for driving in the city, the Renault Twizy; and an everyday run-around hatchback, the Renault ZOE.
Renault’s senior vice president, corporate sales division, Uwe Hochgeschurtz, said: “We are the only European carmaker who is developing a complete range of affordable electric vehicles with our own batteries, our own technologies and our own production system to guarantee a high level of quality and performance.”
He added: “By hiring an electric vehicle through Avis, the public will be able to experience new driving technology and learn about the environmental benefits of electric vehicles.”
Tags: Avis, car hire, electric car, electric vehicle, Fluence, Kangoo Express, Renault, Twizzy, ZOE
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Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
British Airways could face competition on its Libyan route if Bmi launches a proposed daily service to the country. Bmi plans to start running between Heathrow and Tripoli on 1 December. The new service is aimed, in part, at giving oil workers more options. The airline currently transfers oil industry professionals from Aberdeen to Heathrow from where they transfer to other carriers to continue their onward journey.
At the moment Bmi, which is owned by Lufthansa, flies to a number of countries with rich oil reserves. In the Middle East it provides services to Jeddah and Riyadh and in Eastern Europe it flies to Almaty and Moscow.
The new Tripoli service will be an additional destination for the carrier in Africa where it already flies to destinations including Freetown, Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Cairo.
A spokesman for Bmi said the decision to enter the Libyan market was to benefit both business and leisure customers. He added that relations with the North African country were continually improving and UK tour operators were now realising that, because Libya is mostly Sahara Desert, there are growing tourism opportunities in the region.
The spokesman dismissed any concerns that this might be a politically sensitive time to be adding a service from the UK to Tripoli. American politicians are accusing oil giant BP of having a hand in the repatriation of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi. BP is saying it has never discussed al-Megrahi, and especially not when it came to being awarded an exploration contract by Gaddafi’s government worth £570 million.
Tags: bmi, BP, British Airways, Gaddafi, Heathrow, Lockerbie, oil, Sahara
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Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
As a way of illustrating to customers and employees the technology behind electric vehicles, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has taken delivery of its first Nissan LEAF. Over the next few weeks the car hire giant aims to take this test car around the areas where it will soon be widely available to introduce people to the advantages of electric powered cars.
Lee Broughton, director of sustainability at the firm, admits that there is still a great deal of mystery associated with electric cars. He said that by unveiling the Nissan LEAF he hoped people would begin to understand the benefits of electric vehicles and be persuaded to rent them.
As of December, Enterprise hopes to start taking delivery of 500 Nissan LEAFs. The cars will be introduced into fleets where there is already the infrastructure to maintain the vehicles, as well as keep them charged. Initially the cars will be available in seven markets including Nashville, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle.
On a single charge the Nissan LEAF can be expected to travel 100 miles. The cars can be charged at home using a 110-volt outlet; at a public charging station through a 220-volt outlet or at a commercial 480-volt fast charging station.
Broughton said he hoped people would quickly become aware of the advantages of reserving an electric vehicle when they booked through Enterprise. He added that the addition of the Nissan LEAF to the company’s fleet meant newer, cleaner technologies now had a chance to prove themselves.
Tags: car hire, electric cars, electric vehicles, Enterprise, enterprise rent a car, Nissan LEAF
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Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Aer Lingus boss Christoph Mueller has confirmed that talks are intensifying between the Irish carrier and British Airways over a possible tie-up with the Oneworld airline alliance. Mueller also said his airline was talking to KLM about the possibility of joining Skyteam and with United Airlines about joining Star alliance.
Mueller said that all three global blocs would be interested in having Aer Lingus in their portfolios because the carrier essentially brought the whole of Ireland with it. The problem for Mueller is that Aer Lingus already has codeshare agreements with all three airlines which generate roughly equal revenues.
From Heathrow to Ireland Aer Lingus has a codeshare agreement with BA. With KLM it has deals on its Dutch routes and with United it codeshares to and from the US. One of the main issues to be discussed before any agreement is signed will be the fares that are offered to Aer Lingus by its alliance partners.
Mueller said it was all very well getting better connectivity through an alliance, but he wanted guarantees that his customers would also be getting the best prices. He added it was no good being the member of an alliance if rival airlines were going to be able to undercut on ticket prices.
Aer Lingus used to be a member of the Oneworld alliance, but pulled out in 2006 because of disagreements over revenue benefits. Mueller said the airline was now looking to join an alliance because it had stopped trying to undercut Irish budget rivals, Ryanair.
Tags: aer lingus, BA, British Airways, codeshare, klm, Oneworld, Ryanair, SkyTeam, Star Alliance, United Airlines
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Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
British Airways boss, Willie Walsh, has announced that the airline will be actively looking to merge with or take-over other airlines following the completion of a tie-up deal with Iberia. Although he hasn’t named any of the other airlines, he has said that a short-list of 12 has been drawn up.
Not all of the names will be pursued, according to Walsh, but the list will give the newly formed International Airlines Group something to focus on. The list has been whittled down from 40 potential carriers and reportedly focuses on airlines based in India and China.
Although Mr Walsh admitted that there had been a number of discussions about which airlines BA would like to bring under the International Airlines banner, as of yet, none had actually been approached. According to those with knowledge of the situation, Mr Walsh is not interested in minority investments in any airlines, just full mergers or acquisitions.
Walsh has made no secret of the fact that he believes the way ahead for the airline industry is through consolidation. The BA chief made his announcement in Mumbai where he was also announcing a new code share agreement with Kingfisher Airlines.
BA has had a particularly tough time recently because of ongoing problems with unions and cabin crew. What started out as an argument over cost-cutting measures has escalated into a fight over travel perks and sackings. So far this year there have been 22 days of strikes. Recent meetings between the airline and union officials have failed to result in any compromise.
Tags: airlines, BA, British Airways, cabin crew, Iberia, International Airlines Group, kingfisher airlines, strikes, willie walsh
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
As of October, Cardiff will be the latest UK city to welcome City Car Club to its streets. According to Cardiff council the £120,000 scheme will help to greatly reduce the congestion being caused by privately owned vehicles. Initially, 10 low-carbon vehicles will be introduced into parking spaces around the city centre. These vehicles will then be made available to members of the scheme for rental by the hour.
Signing up for membership is done via the City Car Club website. Members will then receive a card capable of unlocking any of the car club vehicles. By entering a pin number to an on-board key-pad drivers will get access to the car’s keys. After using the car drivers are required to return it to its original parking space.
Coun Delme Bowen, Cardiff’s transport chief, claims that just one car club vehicle is enough to replace 20 privately owned vehicles in the city. He added that he hoped the new short term rental cars would not only free up parking spaces and reduce traffic jams but also encourage families to rethink their need for a second, or maybe even a first, vehicle.
Coun Bowen went on to say that those who took part in car club schemes were more likely to use public transport for other journeys.
City Car Club’s managing director, James Finalyson, said he was extremely excited about being allowed the opportunity to run Cardiff’s first car club. He added that City Car was the most experienced club in the UK, with operations already established in Bath, Bristol, London and Edinburgh.
Tags: car club, Cardiff, City Car Club, congestion, rental cars, traffic jams
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Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
British drivers are being warned that if they are planning to take their cars out of the country when they go on holiday they need to be aware of more than simply what side of the road they are required to drive on. A recent Sainsbury’s Car Insurance survey suggests that many motorists are not fully aware of the differing driving laws which are in place in the countries they intend to visit.
Of those responding to the poll, 15 per cent were not planning to take a warning triangle with them to set up in the road in the event of a breakdown. Not carrying or erecting a warning triangle is illegal in the Netherlands, Spain and France.
A third of Britons also admitted that they intended to drive on French roads without having a reflective jacket with them. This is also breaking French road laws which state that all drivers must wear one in the event of a breakdown.
Sainsbury’s Car Insurance also found that many motorists were not aware that using electronic devices to detect the radar emitted by speed traps was illegal in a number of European countries including Switzerland and Belgium.
Manager of car insurance at Sainsbury’s, Ben Tyte, said it was extremely important that drivers taking their vehicles overseas brush up on local driving laws. He said that it was especially important for those crossing borders whilst in Europe because the laws changed from country to country. Carrying the correct insurance policy is another top tip.
Tags: breakdown, drivers, driving laws, motorists, reflective jacket, Sainsbury's Car Insurance, speed trap, warning triangle
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Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
One of Europe’s most popular car hire firms has decided to offer its customers the chance to cancel their rental reservations free of charge if they find themselves affected by a possible strike by airport workers. Unite, the airport workers’ union, last week said that members would be rejecting a 1 per cent pay rise offered by BAA.
If a strike goes ahead, potentially as early as next week, Sixt customers at Heathrow, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen could find themselves no longer requiring a rental vehicle. Sixt said it realised that a strike by airport workers was totally out of the control of its customers.
Sixt therefore wants to offer the security of being able to book a vehicle in the knowledge that the booking can be cancelled at any time if that customer is affected by industrial action.
The news that a strike may go ahead will be a further blow to travellers who have already experienced a year of disruption. First there was the travel chaos caused by some of the worst winter weather in decades. Then came the ash cloud over Europe which cost airlines and estimated £1.2 billion; and then there was 22 days worth of disruption because of strikes by British Airways’ cabin crew.
The ballot not to accept BAA’s offer was won by a 3 to 1 margin and Unite is now urging members to strike. If a walkout goes ahead it would mean that many essential airport workers would not be at their posts including security guards and fire fighters.
Tags: airport, ash cloud, baa, cabin crew, car hire, Sixt, strike, Unite
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