Archive for November, 2009
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Cabin crew working for British Airways have been slammed for not doing enough to help the recession hit airline. Jonathan Strickland, an aviation expert was talking at this years World Travel Market when he pointed a finger at BA employees for not helping the airline’s CEO Willie Walsh adapt to the modern market. They are due to vote on whether or not to strike in the run up to Christmas over working conditions and pay. He said that airlines now had to focus more on costs rather than just the traditional glamour associated with air travel. Strickland went on to tell the Vision Global Economic Forum that BA needed to keep up with airlines such as Ryanair who are managing to supply quality service without the enormous costs.
Walsh also spoke to the forum in a pre-recorded video. He said that the main challenge facing British Airways at present was to make sure that it was striking the right balance between demand for seats and the supply of those seats. He said that the business was going to have to bring itself in line with the drop in demand.
Both Walsh and Strickland talked about the impact of the loss of the business passenger on premium airlines. Walsh said it was obvious that the global economic downturn had had a devastating impact of the numbers of people flying in the airlines first class and business cabins. Strickland said that because airlines cannot be sure whether or not these passengers would be returning then business models had to be made to adapt. He went on to say that BA was trying to do this by reducing capacity.
Tags: airline, BA, British Airways, cabin crew, Global Economic Forum, Ryanair, willie walsh, world travel market
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Friday, November 13th, 2009
Virgin Atlantic has hit on the novel idea of offering its passengers a simple to use system that will enable them to taxi share after landing at an airport. The idea is to save passengers money on onward journeys from the airport along with cutting down on carbon emissions. All passengers need to do is go to the Taxi2 website and enter a few details such as flight number and intended onward destination and the system will do its best to connect those going to similar destinations.
Passengers can then decide whether or not they wish to share a cab. The system also caters to women who only wish to continue their journey on the ground with another woman. If the website finds a suitable match then passengers can print out a Taxi2 name sign which will make it easier for travelers to locate each other at the airport.
The new taxi share initiative has come about because of Virgin Atlantic’s VJAM programme which aims to find innovative solutions to its passengers needs. Taxi2 is just one of many ideas that Virgin Atlantic say they will be rolling out in the near future. The VJAM programme works alongside the U.K.’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and looks at ways in which the airline can encourage its passenger to be more social.
The Taxi2 initiative is not just available to those travelling with Virgin Atlantic. Passengers on other airlines are also welcome to take advantage of the service.
Tags: airport, carbon emissions, congestion, taxi, Taxi2, virgin atlantic
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
As it becomes more and more necessary for the individual to play their part in looking after the environment, so to is the travel industry taking greater steps to play its part. Car hire firms along with hotel chains and airlines are now making going greener a major part of their company policies. Car rental outlets throughout the world are now offering customers the opportunity to do their bit by providing fleets of hybrid cars as a way of saving fuel along with reducing emissions that damage the environment. Enterprise, Budget, Avis and Hertz already hire out a large range of vehicles especially designed to reduce a driver’s impact on the planet. Although at present they may cost a little more to run it is expected that over time as these vehicles become standard prices will drop.
Major aircraft manufacturers are also realizing that by producing planes that are more efficient they are helping to reduce the impact on both the environment and the wallets of the airline companies. Boeing has already shown that its new 787 is more efficient than most other large aircraft by around twenty percent. This added to initiatives by companies such as British Airways, Southwest, Continental and Singapore Air to recycle more materials and use more efficient bio-fuels is already having a more positive impact on the environment.
Greener designs, recycling programs, water and energy saving initiatives along with the use of electricity saving light bulbs are now measures that have become standard across many major hotel chains. Customers who wish to do their part in reducing their impact on the planet’s environment now have few excuses not to do so.
Tags: Avis, boeing, British Airways, Budget, car hire, car rental, continental, Enterprise, green, Hertz, hybrid cars, southwest
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
After thirty-three years with the company Joseph R. Nothwang will be leaving his senior executive position as President of Hertz Global Holdings in the Americas in December when Scott P. Sider will step into his shoes. Sider currently holds the position of president of off-airport operations.
Sider’s new title of Executive Vice President and President, Car Rental and Leasing The Americas will be effective as of December 12th. Since joining Hertz in 1983 Scott P. Sider quickly rose to the position of Manhattan Area Manager. Before being given his current title he has looked after various regions such as West Central, New England and the largest region in the Hertz car rental network, the Western Regions.
Head of Hertz Global Holdings, Mark Frissora said that Mr. Sider’s appointment as president would allow the company to build on the excellent achievements of Mr. Nothwang. He said that Mr. Sider’s management experience and ability to generate profit growth and revenue along with his team building abilities made him the right man for the job. He went on to say that he had the utmost confidence in Mr. Sider to build the business across the Americas.
Michael Taride is now set to take over Hertz car rental and car leasing businesses in the Asia/Pacific region. Mr. Taride moves over from his position as executive vice president and president for car rental and car leasing in Europe, The Middle East and Africa. His new responsibilities will cover the territories of New Zealand, Australia, India and China.
Tags: car hire, car rental, Hertz, Hertz Global Holdings, Mark Frissora, Scott P Sider
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Monday, November 9th, 2009
Gordon Murray, designer of the famous supercar the F1 McLaren has decided to team his design company up with Zytek Automotive to try and come up with the world’s best electric car. Although very little is known about either the car’s design or the manufacturing process it is said to be a radically new concept in that is a complete solution for the problems of producing electric cars from the building stages to the driving stages.
Currently what is known about the new car is that it will be smaller than a Smart Car, but with more cabin space and is at present known as the T.27. Development costs, half of which will be provided by the government’s Technology Strategy Board are estimated to be in the region of £9 million and the first T.27 prototypes are expected to roll out in early 2011.
Gordon Murray is still to show off his new iStream manufacturing process but it is believed that it will not incorporate traditional processes such as use of stamped steel in the building of the T.27 or traditional gearboxes, batteries or electric motors. Everything about the new T.27 is expected to be geared towards lightweight efficiency.
Initial math says that the T.27 should run considerably better than any other electric cars currently being manufactured. Gordon Murray Design says that it has been able to run the figures from their current T.25 project designing more efficient petrol-powered vehicles. It is hoped that the T.27 will live up to the promises of being reliable, efficient and fun to get around in and will go into full scale production in the near future within the U.K.
Tags: electric car, F1 McLaren, Gordon Murray, Smart Car, T.25, T.27, Zytek Automotive
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Thursday, November 5th, 2009
A row over employment contracts will see cabin crew union Unite take its case to the High Court against airline giant British Airways before the new contracts are rolled out to employees on November 16th. Unite say that the new contracts will affect pay as well as terms and conditions for cabin crew at a time when the airline is also trying to cut costs as well as staff. British Airways say that they are implementing the changes so that they can respond to a number of requests for voluntary redundancy as well as requests by staff to go part-time. They say that the new contracts are being produced after nearly a year of negotiations with the trade union.
Steve Turner, Unites national officer says that there has been an enormous amount of support for a strike that if it goes ahead could see more than 13,000 cabin crew staff walk out on December 21st. The action would be devastating to an airline already hit by heavy financial losses because of the ongoing global economic downturn. Turner points out that the first walk out by cabin crew in twenty years is not as a result of demands but merely as a measure aimed at preventing British Airways placing unacceptable impositions on its staff. Turner also warned that the action could spread to involve BA transfer and check-in staff.
British Airways are defending their moves by saying that the new contracts will not affect cabin crew pay but actually increase their benefits. BA maintains that its cabin crew is still the best paid in the country.
Tags: British Airways, cabin crew, High Court, pay, strike, Unite, walk out
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Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Insurance company Setanta has just launched a campaign which it hopes will put the spotlight on the problems caused by people who decide to drive vehicles whilst under the influence of drugs. Setanta aims to roll out a number of four-minute long commercials illustrating the dangers of drug driving.
Research published by Aviva earlier this year suggests that a quarter of passengers between the ages of 17 and 24 think they have been in a car with a driver who is under the influence of some type of drug. Another recent study showed that the figure for those who admit that they have driven after taking drugs could be as high as 20%, with drivers aged 15 to 24 being the most likely to do so. Out of the 1,800 drivers pulled over last year on suspicion of operating vehicles whilst under the influence, three-quarters tested positive for drug use.
Mike Matthews, Setanta’s chairman and CEO says that he hopes the new awareness campaign will drive home just how dangerous it is to get into a vehicle having taken drugs. He pointed out that it was an extremely important issue and that he wants people to realize they are risking their own lives as well as the lives of others.
As an added incentive to get people involved in the campaign, there will be a dedicated YouTube page set up where people can upload their own films illustrating the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of drugs. The maker of the best film will receive a cash prize of 3,000 Euros.
Tags: Aviva, campaign, commercials, danger, drug driving, drugs, film, Setanta Insurance, Youtube
Posted in Health & Environment | Comments Off
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Since July 2005 people wishing to buy a new car have been able to make use of a colour coded label that tells the customer how fuel efficient a vehicle is. Now the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership has produced a similar label for second hand cars called the Used Car Fuel Economy Label. Customers shopping for a new car will now be able to tell at a glance the level of CO2 emissions of any particular model. The label will also tell customers approximately how much fuel will be used by a vehicle over 12,000 miles (the average distance covered by a car in Britain in a single year).
The new labels are not compulsory but over 1,000 car dealers nationwide have said that they will be using them in their showrooms and forecourts. The labels can be displayed on any used cars that were built after March 2001.
Minister for transport, Sadiq Khan said at the launch of the initiative that he was pleased that the new car label had been extended to cover second hand vehicles. He also pointed out that running costs have always been important to people looking to buy a used car and that nowadays people were increasingly concerned about how that car is going to impact the environment. He finished by saying that he hoped that people would start seeking out the new labels at used car dealerships and that as many dealers as possible would make the effort to take part in displaying the labels.
Tags: CO2 emissions, colour coded label, dealerships, environment, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, running costs, Used Car Fuel Economy Label, used cars
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Monday, November 2nd, 2009
After almost 6 years, cruise operator Royal Caribbean International has proudly accepted delivery of its latest and most modern cruise liner, Oasis of the Seas, from STX Europe in Turku, Finland.
Beginning the 12 day countdown until her maiden voyage into Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Oasis of the Seas departed Turku on Friday Oct 30, captained by William S. Wright will feature updates on the social networking website Twitter as well as new webisodes which will be chronicled on the company’s website.
The new liner will feature revolutionary entertainment facilities including the FlowRider surf simulator, ice skating rinks, whirlpools, rock climbing walls and the Royal Promenade which stretches nearly the entire length of the shit, and is expected to unveil a range of new attractions and engineering marvels.
The official naming ceremony for the Oasis of the Seas is expected to take place on November 30 during an inaugural celebration fundraiser to benefit the not-for profit Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Tickets for the event begin at $750 per person and guests who wish to continue their adventure on board will receive $100 off the price, on a four night cruise sailing to the cruise line’s private beach destination.
Tags: caribbean, cruise ships, oasis of the seas, Royal Caribbean
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