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Archive for September, 2009

Chauffeur driven car hire available for World Travel Market

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The World Travel Market (WTM) has launched a brand new system that will allow visitors and exhibitors to its ExCel exhibition to move around more quickly and efficiently.  Those attending the event will be able to take advantage of the new chauffeur driven car hire service.

The vehicles will be situation in the London car park, not far from the Exhibition Hall, with the service provided by Carey Chauffeured Services on behalf of WTM Chauffeur Service.

Those wishing to take part in the new scheme are informed to book and pay for their driven car service in advance to avoid unnecessary queuing.  The service will cost about the same as a traditional black London cab prices from ExCel with the services costing £42.62 plus VAT.

Customers who book the WTM chauffeur services will receive the highest level of comfort and luxury, with all chauffeurs smartly dressed and attentive, plus a range of luxury vehicles available including the Mercedes S Class, E Class and the Viano.

Director of Sales at Carey Chauffeur Service Danny Chesworth said that the quality of their service, competitive pricing, and experience would ensure a pleasant end to the day for visitors and exhibitors alike.

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Survey reveals more Brits opt for long-haul holidays

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Long-haul destinations have been experiencing strong increases in currency sales this summer as more Brits travel beyond the eurozone for better value holidays.

Research undertaken by the Post Office this week shows a new trend of Britons increasingly booking holidays to long-haul destinations including Kenya, South Africa, China and Indonesia.

Britons have been travelling to Kenya in growing numbers since the riots that followed the December 2007 elections.

Budget packages to Bali and Thailand have resulted in the sales of the Indonesian Rupiah by 54 percent and the Thai Baht by 26 percent this summer.  One travel company was offering two weeks in Cha-am in Thailand for £539 including return flights.

China has also begun to reap the rewards of its Olympic investment, with Britons purchasing 27 percent more yuan than last year, when hotels saw record rate rises.

The biggest losers have been in Europe, with sales of Hungarian, Czech and Bulgarian currencies falling by up to 33 percent.

Hoteliers in continental Europe have also reported falling occupancy levels as travel operators, including Inghams, have scrapped all of its city break programmes.

The best performers in Europe have been Turkey and Croatia which are benefitting from the high cost of the euro, as British holidaymakers look to holiday at resorts along the Turquoise and Dalmation coasts rather than Balearics, Costas and Canaries.

It is predicted that holiday packages to destinations like Thailand, Egypt and Kenya will be popular for the winter holiday season.

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Car hirers urged to book now for 2010

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

A North Cypriot car hire company is urging tourists to book their car hire now in order to guarantee an available vehicle for the 2010 holiday season.

Pacific Rent-a-Car has predicted a major shortage of vehicles which will make last minute bookings impossible as the company struggles with demand.

The news comes after statistics reveal a 15 percent increase in holidaymakers in Northern Cyprus, compared to a 30 percent drop in travellers to Southern Cyprus.  One of the reasons for this is because of the Turkish Lira which offers a better exchange rate over the Euro, which is the currency of Southern Cyprus.

The recession has hit the car hire industry, as a whole, but particularly in Cyprus, as many firms have gone out of business.  Also, car hire companies have been struggling to obtain bank loans, so many car hire companies have been unable to obtain credit to update or replace their fleet.

Pacific Rent-a-Car is presently offering customers an incentive of a 15 percent discount for early reservations as well as the peace of mind that the car hire is guaranteed, rather than arriving at the airport with no available vehicles.

Many experts are predicting a steep rise in the cost of car hire in 2010, something which has already been seen this year in Spain and Greece.  Holidaymakers planning to take advantage of car hire are strongly advised to book sooner, rather than later in order to avoid paying extortionate pricing or avoid missing out on a car altogether.

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More budget carriers predicted to crash following SkyEurope

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

The collapse of the Slovakian budget carrier SkyEurope may just be the tip of the iceberg as smaller airlines find it difficult to stay afloat amongst one of the worst slumps ever recorded.

Nick Cunningham of Evolution Securities said that at the end of summer or in early autumn, it is likely that more airlines would shut down.

He went on to say that would be extremely difficult due to weak traffic and even weaker yields.

He said that if airlines are not going to be viable, there is no point continuing to run it and it should be shut down.

Last week, Bratislava-based SkyEurope said that a court-appointed trustee had decided that bankruptcy was the only way forward due to the lack of sufficient funding to finance ongoing operations.

The airline had shown signs of trouble for some months prior, not operating on the same scale as major players EasyJet or Ryanair, which have the financial capacity to weather the biggest downturn in travel since the 1930s.

Analysts say that SkyEurope would not be an isolated case and that other carriers were going to find it hard to reach winter.

SkyEurope was formed in 2002 as the market began to recover from the shock of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, but the airline only had limited funding and hoped to cash in on the boom in following years, like many of its rivals.

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Tourism Australia and Emirates launch ad campaign to lure Brits

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

A new combined tourism campaign has been launched by Tourism Australia and Emirates to encourage Britons to consider a holiday to Australia.

The campaign, launched yesterday, includes print, outdoor and regional radio advertising in order to promote Australia as a highly enjoyable holiday experience.

The advertisements will highlight the airlines services to Australia, which depart from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow with a stopover in Dubai.

The advertising will direct customers to a specific website on the campaign where they can seek more information and book flights.

The campaign, costing over £2 million, almost doubles the combined ad investment by Emirates and Tourism Australia last year.

Regional general manager for UK/Europe at Tourism Australia, Rodney Harrex, said that the campaign aims to raise awareness of Emirates’ 63 weekly departures to Australia.

He went on to say that following the success of the last co-operative campaign, they had been working again with Emirates to promote Australia’s tourism credentials and make the destination more accessible holidaymakers.

He added that it was critical for Australia to be active in the tourism industry given the current economic climate.

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‘Greycationers’ saving the local tourism industry

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

A new term has been coined for baby boomers who are helping the domestic British tourism industry boom despite the current recession.

The average 50-plus baby boomer is shunning the boring Old age pensioner image and heading off on adventurous holidays, and possibly behind the latest figures as to why domestic and short haul travel has been better off than long-haul so far this year.

The children of the sixties seem to be increasingly taking local holidays and participating in a variety of different activities.

Tour operators report that health pursuits and sports, spas, swimming and cycling were all popular as are holidays organised around cultural events such as concerts and museum visits.

Domestic holidays are the popular in Briton at the moment as boomers seek to shun the escorted coach tours in favour of independent road trips.

Saga Holidays announced that their UK holiday sales were doing incredibly well, especially their special interest holidays.

A spokesperson for the company said that the group were changing the way they travel, preferring trekking holidays, music trips and even the launch of a marathon holiday, where travellers can push themselves to complete 26 miles.

A recent survey has showed that 45 percent of those 50 plus wanted to feel physically and mentally refreshed by the holiday, with one in six seeking an adventure-like holiday.

A spokeswoman for TUI travel said that the importance of this group and seniors will continue to grow as they have a steady disposable income and are somewhat recession proof.

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Survey reveals Britons work-travel habits

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

The Department of Transport has released figures from its annual National Travel Survey that reveal that commuting accounted for all journeys across all forms of transport in the UK last year.

The survey showed that distance for both type of travel tend to be longer than the average trip, commuting accounted for 19 percent of the total distance travelled per person last year, with a further 9 percent on business travel.  That compares with 20 percent for visiting friends and the same figure for leisure and other activities.

The Department of Transport statistics showed that the number of commuting trips had decreased by a total of 10 percent since 1997 but the average length of these trips rose by 5 percent.

According to the survey, 57.7 percent of Britons commute to work by car, 10 2 percent walk, 9.6 percent are car passengers and 8.3 percent use public transport.   However 70 percent of all not commuting journeys were made by car.

The statistics also showed that the average company car travelled over twice as far as the average private car.  For company cars, 72 percent of miles accrued were due to commuting or business mileage, compared to just 38 percent for private cars.

The results show that companies are tightening their belt when it comes to the purchase of company cars, as the number of business vehicles on the road slipped from 7 percent to 5 percent in the last year.

The data comes from 8000 households who completed both an interview and a seven-day travel diary.

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Europcar tells of strange items left behind

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

A recent survey by Europcar has revealed that customers leave behind some pretty strange things, including furry handcuffs, a wheelchair, half a pint of lager, a false leg and a CD guide to speed seduction.

But it is expected that the occasional item would be left behind, given the size of Europcar which leases thousands of cars each day.

The survey revealed that the most common items found in returned rental vehicles were usually keys and mobile phones, but some of the rarer finds include a bagpiper’s black ostrich feather hat, a mannequin and even 4 dozen light bulbs.

Along with the bizarre missing items are the strange excuses customers come up with when faced with the prospect of paying for the damage on a hired car.   Some of the excuses are legitimate but downright unlucky, others border on absurdity.

One man had claimed that a horse leaned on the back of the car causing damage, whilst another said that a lion had attacked and damaged his bumper whilst visiting the Longleat Safari Park.  Another case includes a man who drove into the back of a woman’s rental car in Derbyshire, who said that he dropped his ice-cream, which led to the accident.

A spokesperson for Europcar says that there is never a dull day in the world of car rentals, and have gone to great lengths to return lost and missing items left behind in rental cars.

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Chinese airlines delay Boeing orders

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Chinese airlines are currently in talks with Boeing to delay the delivery of the new 787 Dreamliner, a senior Boeing executive said on Monday, as carriers continue to implement cost-cutting measures amidst the downturn in air travel.

The downturn in the airline industry has had a dramatic effect on the Chinese airline industry, with the top three airlines recording a combined $4 billion loss in 2008, forcing them to cut back on expenditures.

Meanwhile, aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been struggling with a range of problems that have dogged the launch of the Dreamliner, as well as a two-month strike at its Seattle plant last year.

David Wang, president of Boeing’s China operations said that based on their delays, aircraft could be ready by the end of the year, however the airlines are not in a position to receive the aircraft.

China Southern Airlines has ordered nearly 60 Boeing 787 jets, saying that the Dreamliner is expected to make its first flight later this year with the first delivery of the jet to take place at the end of 2010.

Meanwhile the Chinese government has offered handouts to aid the airlines to fight the downturn in global travel and encouraged them to delay or scrap aircraft orders.

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Delta flying empty planes to Heathrow

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

US carrier Delta airlines has been attacked by environmental campaigners for flying empty aircraft across the Atlantic in to be disinfected.

The airline has admitted running ‘ghost’ flights from the US to London Heathrow in order to meet Australian quarantine regulations.  Australian regulations require inbound aircraft to be sprayed with insecticide to ward off diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, but Delta is not allowed to carry out the treatment in the US.

A spokeswoman for Delta said that materials were used for the process are approved and available in the US but regulations state that the treatments must be carried out at locations outside the US.

Environmental group, Campaign for Better Transport said the round trip taken by the Boeing 777 jet summed up the attitude of the airline industry towards global warming.

The group said that it symbolised their cavalier approach to the environment.

Delta plans to stop the Heathrow flights at the end of the month and switch to an airport in China.

The airline industry has been under great pressure to cut back its greenhouse gas emissions.  Ghost services are relatively common with BMI frequently operating empty flights from Cardiff to Heathrow in order to maintain its landing slots.

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