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Archive for September, 2009

Travel agent’s hit by direct discounting

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Travel agents are facing the brunt of the downturn in the tourism industry due to operators offering direct discounts to the public.

Travel agency owner Susan Watt shut down her shop two days ago, claiming that it was impossible to compete with cruise lines and operators selling direct to the public.

She said that issues were obtaining tickets for customers and cash flow was a problem and it was difficult to operate when the operators were undercutting net prices.

The cruise industry was particularly highlighted by Watt’s complaints, saying that customers were booking their cruises elsewhere and purchasing train tickets from her travel agency.

She said that there wasn’t much point in selling a £3000 cruise for only a £5 profit.

Watt plans to enter the travel industry again at some point and hopes that other travel agents don’t get forced into the same situation; however it seems inevitable that others will.

Other travel agents to close their doors include Kippax in Leeds, Cambulslang Travel in Glasgow, and Newbury cruise specialists Windsor & Neate, which all ceased trading since the downturn in the travel industry hit.

Retail claims coming from the failure of any of the agencies will be handled by Cega, the ABTA’s claim partner.

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Europcar goes green with Fiat

Friday, September 4th, 2009

UK Car hire giant Europcar has reached a deal with car manufacturer Fiat that will mean the company will significantly lower its carbon footprint.  The hire car company will now offer ‘greener’ cars from Fiat such as the Punto, Brava, Idea and the super mini, the Fiat 500.

Fiat aims to provide ‘green’ cars with low carbon emission, and all of the latest models have been designed with that in mind.  The new Fiat 500 model has a road tax of only £35 per year, a reflection on the of the little effect it has on the environment and can be driven around the congestion free zone in London free of charge because of its low carbon emissions.

Europcar has played a major role in the creation of ‘green’ car hire, as last year the car rental firm was awarded the Green Charter to recognise the efforts to lower its carbon emissions.

In addition to the new deal with Fiat, Europcar has also implemented a new feature on their website which allows customers to compare vehicle’s carbon emissions and fuel efficiency, to keep customers informed on their decision of rental vehicle.

Europcar’s move towards more environmentally friendly car hire has been quite innovative, given the attention currently paid to carbon footprints, as well as the new fleet which will most likely entice customers to choose Europcar for their car hire needs.

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Troubled Qantas jet diverted to Perth

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

A Qantas 747-400 that experienced explosive cabin decompression last year has been grounded again yesterday due to a fuel leak.

The jumbo was carrying 290 passengers from London to Sydney was a couple of hours from the West Australian coast when the leak was noticed.

A spokesman for the airline confirmed the outer engine situation on the right wing was shut down as a precautionary measure after vapour was seen streaming from the wing following a stopover in Singapore.

Qantas said that the safety of passengers on board or the aircraft was never an issue and the aircraft landed safely in Perth at 3:30pm local time.  Aviation experts confirmed that the four engine jet was capable of flying on 1 in emergency situations.

Sources say the captain chose to divert the plane to Perth where engineers could inspect the aircraft and fix the problem.

The jet was still parked on the tarmac last night in Perth.

The aircraft, which commenced service with the airline in May 1991 was involved in a serious mid-air drama last year, when a fire extinguisher exploded in the cargo bay, forcing passengers to don oxygen masks as the crew conducted an emergency decent and diverted to Manila.

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British Airways introduce A318s

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

British Airways has launched the first of two unique Airbus A318s into its fleet that will be used to operate a new business class-only service from London City airport to New York.

The aircraft has been redesigned by airbus to allow it to take off and land at steeper gradients than usual, such as required by London City Airport.

The new Airbus A318s can carry up to 32 passengers, which feature seats that convert to fully flat beds, internet and email access as well as the option of sending text messages.

Airbus claim the A318 has the best range and capability of all aircraft serving city centre airports.

British airways chief executive said the A318s had been specially ordered for the twice-daily London City to JFK service because of their size, flexibility and steep gradient capability, and will reinforce their unrivalled schedule between two of the world’s greatest financial centres.

He added that although the A318 may be the airline’s smallest aircraft, but it will play a big role in bringing a new dimension of style and convenience to the London to New York route, as well as show their determination to invest in the future of London City.

Passengers who choose to fly to New York from London City have the option of clearing US Customs checks when the plane stops to refuel at Shannon in Ireland.

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Employees made redundant as Irish car hire firm collapses

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Ireland’s oldest car hire company, Pembroke Services, was the latest victim of the tough market last week when it collapsed, forcing 19 staff redundancies.

Pembroke Services, which parent company is the Murray Group, was turned over to liquidators with debts of around £1.3 million.

The company has £400,000 worth of assets, but only 25% can be realised, as debts worth £1.25 million and £50,000 are owed to banks.

The company is a family run operation by Harold Thomas Murray and Harold John Murray, a father and son from Dublin.

The company experienced its first fatal blow earlier this year, losing a Europcar franchise.

An employee with the company said he was told in July that job cuts were inevitable, however didn’t hear from administrators until early last month. 

He said that stuff had been given no pay or redundancy entitlements.

The parent company still has a significant amount of assets and has been implemented cost cutting measures, including cutting 40 jobs.

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Britons use savings for summer holiday

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

As the remainder of the summer is expected to be a washout, new research from Halifax claims that 72 percent of Britons are planning to use their savings for this year’s summer holiday.

The figures vary depending on where in the country, as almost 90 percent in Walesare planning to use their savings, whilst a further 27 percent plan on using their credit card to fund their holiday.

Most savers have opted to put a little money away each month to pay for their holiday, with a third adding lump sums whenever possible.

Just under half of those surveyed are likely to spend between £200 and £500 per person on their summer holiday, 28% percent planning to spend between £500 and £1000, whilst 15 percent plan to spend over £1000 per person.

The figures show that a quarter of residents in the north west of the country plan to spend less than £200 per person, whilst a quarter in the north plan to spend over £1,000, with just under 50 percent of all Brit’s saying that they intend to reduce their travel spend this year.

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American Airlines to cull 921 jobs

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

American Airlines announced earlier this week that it plans to cut 921 cabin crew positions as part of a previously announced capacity reduction as the airline braves the current downturn in business and leisure travel.

The 921 jobs equate to about 6 percent of the total the total American Airlines cabin crew and include 449 positions that were eliminated voluntarily.  The job cuts will take place from October 1.

The airline had earlier predicted job cuts of around 1,200 in June this year.

The airline industry has been in downsizing mode for all of this year, hit with volatile fuel costs and weak demand due to the current recession.

Amercian Airlines said earlier in June that it would cut capacity by almost 8 percent this year.  Other carriers have followed suit, including Delta Air Lines, which said it plans to cut total capacity by 10 percent with reductions beginning in September.

The airline also warned on Monday that employees in airport service positions could also be cut due to declines and shifts in capacity during the winter travel season.

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Qatar Airways to increase European Presence

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Qatar Airways has announced that it will increase services from the Middle East to Zurich next month

The airline announced that an extra service would be added on the route later from October 25, from Doha to Zurich.

In addition to improving access from Qatar, the new services will allow travellers from Europe to connect to destinations including the Maldives, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur via their hub in Doha.

The route from Doha to Zurich will be serviced by an Airbus A330 in a two class configuration, with business and economy class.

The airlines chief executive officer said that Qatar airways had enjoyed five years of success in Switzerland, and that the airline is pleased to offer passengers more choice and flexibility from Zurich.

The airline will also expand its presence in Europe with flights to Paris, Madrid, Stockholm and Athens later in the year.

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SkyEurope latest victim of the recession

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Budget carrier SkyEurope is the latest victim of the downturn in the travel industry, ending operations yesterday due to ongoing financial problems.

Amidst the collapse which has left many passengers stranded overseas, the troubled airline, which flew to destinations across Europe including Luton Airport, stopped trading after airports banned SkyEurope due to non-payments of debts.

Despite the collapse of the airline, passengers who have booked flights with SkyEurope may be entitled to a refund, depending on how they purchased the ticket.

SkyEurope serviced several eastern European destinations such as Kosice, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, and was popular with city break travellers departing from London’s Luton airport.

The airline first showed clear signs of trouble when it was forced to cancel services from certain airports this week due to unpaid debts.

The airline was banned from several airports including Vienna and faced a handling ban at Prague unless payments were received.

SkyEurope announced today that all flights are cancelled and the website regretfully apologises for the inconvenience to customers.

The airline has been in financial trouble for a period of time now, but in July claimed it found an investor.  SkyEurope blamed the global recession and the downturn in the travel industry for its collapse, which saw the aircraft reduce its fleet from 15 to five aircraft over the last year.

According to their website: ‘SkyEurope suspends its operations’ , and informs passengers who purchased tickets over with a credit card and over £100 can receive a refund from their card provider.

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Airlines losing $1 billion a month

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The International Air Transport Association says that airlines are likely to have lost more than $6 billion (£3.7 billion) in the first half of this year.

This number, an average of $1 billion a month, is twice the amount IATA forecasted in December that the airlines would lose in the whole of this year.

Carriers that made losses between April and June at a time when they would usually make 50 percent of their annual profits, IATA said.

However, the association says that passenger and freight numbers have already started to improve.

The two rose more than 3 percent in July from June, but will remain well below levels seen at the same time as last year.

IATA said that there had been a material improvement in July, but the future path is likely to be volatile and recoveries could be slow.

Throughout the world, European and Asian airlines fared the worse, with 12 airlines in Europe losing more than $1.1 billion, and Asian airlines losing about $1.6 billion between the months of April and June.

The global recession has had a significant effect on the travel industry, with business and leisure customers cutting back on travel, and companies transporting less cargo.

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