Archive for January, 2010
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Last year the car hire world was rocked by the consequences of the global economic downturn. In countries like Spain and Portugal the lack of funds being made available to rental firms to replace the vehicles in their fleets meant that the price of car hire sky rocketed. This year will be a year of recovery for many firms and this weekend Sixt Rent A Car is launching its end of January sale for those who want to get away for a bit of summer sun. Sixt say that those booking a car hire through their website this weekend will be able to get as much as twenty percent off the price of a hired vehicle. This means that top quality cars will be available for as little as £20.00 per day. Sixt offers the highest quality vehicles including new models from BMW and Mercedes.
The end of January sale starts at 6.00pm this evening and will run through to midnight on Sunday. Johannes Boeinghoff, managing director of Sixt Spain, says that although it looks like the pressure on car hire firms in Spain will ease off this year there is still the possibility that those who do not book as early as possible may run into problems finding car hire at the best possible price. He therefore urges Sixt customers to work out their travel plans well in advance an book a car hire as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Sixt Rent A Car has offices at all the major tourism spots throughout Spain.
Tags: BMW. Mercedes, car hire, rental firms, Sixt, Sixt Rent A Car, Sixt Spain, tourism
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Thursday, January 28th, 2010
New full-body scanners are set to be installed in each of Heathrow’s five terminals next week. Even though the government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned that the machines could very well breach a persons right to privacy under the Human Rights Act, ministers have said that no passenger will be allowed to refuse to go through. Even in America passengers are allowed to opt for a body search if they feel uncomfortable going through the scanners.
As of next week two types of scanning technique will be tested. Backscatter technology exposes a passenger walking through one of the scanners to x-rays. Recent tests at Manchester Airport have shown that this technology may have been able to alert security personnel to the kind of bomb that was carried on to a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas day. The second type of scan is the millimeter wave system which produces a 3- dimensional image of a passenger’s body. If anything is revealed by either of the scanning techniques then passengers will be taken away for further examination by officials. Both methods of scanning have raised concerns because they are capable of producing nude pictures of passengers.
In order to allay passenger fear about privacy the security officer operating the scanner will not be able to see the person he or she is scanning. A second security officer will guide passengers through the scanner and will communicate with the person viewing the scan by radio. Once a person has completed the scan their image will be examined and then deleted.
Tags: airport, full-body scanners, Human Rights Act, manchester airport, nude pictures, scanners, x-rays
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Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The Ethiopian Airlines jet which crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Beirut Airport on Monday was allegedly previously the property of Ryanair. Witnesses say that the jet burst into a ball of flames as it crashed into the sea. All ninety passengers on board are thought to have been killed. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chef executive said that the company had sold the Boeing 737 in April last year. The aircraft was eight-years-old and last underwent routine maintenance checks on Christmas Day. During its seven years in service the 737 logged 17,750 hours of flying time. A number of plane spotters have come forward saying that they have records of seeing the plane at British airports between 2002 and 2009. The Irish Aviation Authority has also said that the aircraft with serial number 29935 was previously owned by the budget airline.
Mr. O’Leary has said that there is no way that he can be held responsible for the tragedy. He said that second hand aircraft were like second hand cars, the previous owner cannot be held responsible for an accident that happens eleven months after the vehicle has been sold. He also pointed out that no one yet has any idea what happened to cause the catastrophe. Army officials are still searching for the black-box recorder and gathering up the aircraft debris which is coming ashore. Finding any survivors of the crash is extremely unlikely and thirty-four bodies have already been pulled out of the water. Among the dead are two British men.
Tags: Beirut Airport, black-box flight recorder, Boeing 737, British airports, budget airline, Ethiopian Airlines, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Those deciding to rent a car for their holidays have been advised to read and understand the terms and conditions outlined in the hire contract before committing their signature to the dotted line. Recent research by Which? Holiday has found that many car hire companies are severely lacking in the amount of information they offer up to customers before they hand over the keys. Researchers at Which? Holiday looked at eight car hire companies at Heathrow and Charles de Gaul and came up with some worrying results. When trying to examine the contractual terms and conditions on the websites of both Avis and Enterprise they could find nothing. Limited information was found on the websites of Budget, National and Alamo. A lack of information about the total cost of hiring a car from some of the companies meant that it was not possible to do an accurate price comparison because no information was given about the price of waivers or extra costs.
A spokesperson for Enterprise reportedly told the research team that their website was merely a tool for booking a vehicle and that the transaction as well as terms and conditions being made available would take place at the booking desk. National and Alamo also allegedly said that customers should not compare waivers and insurance cover on price alone because their levels can vary.
Hertz, Europcar and Enterprise all told Which? Holiday that the clause in their contracts making the hirer of a vehicle responsible for paying the full price of that vehicle in the event that they cannot produce the keys after the car has been stolen is a way of preventing fraud and negligence. They said that there were circumstances where exceptions would be made.
Tags: Alamo, Avis, Budget, car hire, car hire companies, car rental, Charles de Gaul, Enterprise, Europcar, Heathrow, Hertz, holidays, National, rent a car, Which? Holiday
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Monday, January 25th, 2010
As British Airways cabin crews return to the polls this week to cast their ballots the airline has announced that anyone who decides to walk out will immediately have all travel privileges revoked. They will also lose any days off that would have been earned by flying as well as their pay. BA say that the scheme which allows cabin crew and selected friends and family to fly at a ninety percent discount with the airline when seats are available is a perk and is not written into the employment contract. They say that they are therefore well within their rights to remove such privileges. Cabin crew who have been with the airline for more than five years also traditionally receive a set of free tickets to anywhere they choose to go on the BA network. This will not be the case for anyone who walks out.
BA has also said that they are willing to offer training to anyone within the airline who wishes to make themselves available for cabin crew duty in the event of industrial action. Last week Unite made the concession that if its members voted to strike they would not do it over the Easter holidays so as not to disrupt family plans to get away. British Airways were not overly impressed saying that the move would be of little comfort to those who planned to travel at other times. Unite have said that the latest threat to its members was petty and that the only way to resolve the problems between BA and its cabin crew was to sit around the table and thrash out a deal.
Tags: airline, BA, British Airways, cabin crews, Easter holidays, free tickets, strike, Unite
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Friday, January 22nd, 2010
With the football World Cup just around the corner managers of car rental companies in South Africa are feeling upbeat about the future. As with everywhere else in the world South African car hire has been feeling the pinch of the global economic downturn. Many companies struggled to remain profitable as business and leisure customers disappeared and many who were denied the capital to maintain their fleets were forced to dramatically increase the rental price on their remaining vehicles just to stay afloat. However the Christmas period showed that customers were finally returning. CEO of car rental at Barloworld, Keith Rankin says that at Avis Rent A Car, owned by Barloworld, the demand for vehicles over the festive period was so high that for a couple of days they actually ran out of cars.
CEO of Europcar South Africa, Dawn Nathan-Jones said that compared to December 2008 tourism figures were up by 12 percent this Christmas. However Christmas is now over and car hire companies in South Africa will be firmly focused on one of the world’s biggest sporting events, the football World Cup. Many say that they intend to increase the size of their fleets to cope with anticipated demand. Nathan-Jones says that enquires and bookings of vehicles at Europcar for the event have shot up over the past few weeks. She says that Europcar could grow their fleet by as much as twenty percent.
The MD of Budget Rent A Car, Ray Booth says that they too intend to grow their fleet before the World Cup and that they too have experienced a surge in bookings over the last couple of weeks.
Tags: Avis, Avis Rent A Car, Barloworld, Budget, Budget Rent A Car, car hire, car rental, Europcar, football, global economic downturn, World Cup
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
British Airways seems to be unimpressed by the fact that Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary at the trade union Unite has said that if a strike by BA cabin crew goes ahead it will not take place during the Easter holidays. McCluskey announced that the union wanted to avoid dates when families were most likely to be travelling together so they would be able to book their holidays with confidence. A spokesman for BA has said that he doubts such a promise will be of much comfort for all those who need to travel on dates not included in the Easter holiday calendar.
If members of BA’s 12,000 cabin crew decide to strike then they will be legally allowed to do so at some point after March 1st. This will of course depend on whether or not Unite have ironed out the creases in their balloting system which wrecked the chance of a walkout over Christmas. The High Court ruled the strike planned for the festive season unlawful because some of the ballots cast in favour of strike action were by employees who had already taken the voluntary redundancy packages offered to them. This irregularity meant that millions of BA passengers avoided the consequences of a twelve-day walk out over the holidays.
Unite is continuing to argue with Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive about staff cuts and pay reductions. Walsh has announced that BA will be offering training to all staff who wish to take the place of members of the airline’s cabin crew should they choose to walk out.
Tags: BA, ballots, British Airways, cabin crew, Easter holidays, High Court, redundancy packages, Unite, willie walsh
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Greater Manchester Police are investigating an incident whereby an 18-seat stretch Hummer was impounded as it waited outside a dog racing track to pick up customers. The vehicle is owned by Earl’s Limousines based in Wigan and is one of only two to be found in the U.K. The vehicle was seized after police ran a check on the driver with the Vehicle Operators and Services Agency. Although the driver claims to have a valid license allowing him to drive large buses, a requirement for anyone driving a vehicle with more than 16 seats, he was flagged by the system as not being allowed to drive a vehicle for hire or reward.
Jason Earl who owns the luxury car hire firm is said to be angry at the way the police dealt with the situation. He claims that he has spent £18,000 converting the vehicle so that it complies with U.K. standards and that the driver had a valid license to drive it. Mr. Earl said that he managed to fulfill his obligations to the clients who were at the Belle Vue stadium because his friend owns the other U.K. based 18-seat Hummer. However he will now be seeking £1,500 compensation from the Greater Manchester Police. The Hummer was out of action for two days whilst impounded and Mr. Earl was forced to pay £190 to have the vehicle released. It is now back on the road with the same driver behind the wheel. The police say they will look into the circumstances surrounding the incident because the driver has appealed.
Tags: car hire, Earl's Limousines, Greater Manchester Police, Hummer, luxury car hire, police, vehicle for hire
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Holiday Inn has decided to launch a novel bed warming service to its customers in the U.K. The idea is extremely simple and involves a member of staff jumping into your bed and warming it up for you. The Holiday Inn human bed warmer will be dressed from head to toe in an all in one body suit and will stay in your bed until it is nice and warm. The service is gratis and as of next week will be offered to customers staying at the Kensington Holiday Inn in London.
The human bed warmers may well be in popular demand as weather forecasters predict a continuation of freezing temperatures, ice and snow. Jane Bednall, a spokeswoman for the hotel chain said that having a member of staff hop into a customer’s bed for a few minutes was a bit like having an enormous hot water bottle.
Director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, Dr. Chris Idzikowski suggests that there is more to the new Holiday Inn’s human bed warming service than just being a fun gimmick. He explains that getting in to a cold bed can actually inhibit a person’s ability to get to sleep. He points out that if the bed a person is getting into is already at body temperature then the process that allows our bodies to slip into a slumber will begin more quickly. He said that the service would be particularly useful right now when people’s bodies would be taking longer to warm up because of the freezing temperatures outside.
Tags: bed warming, Edinburgh Sleep Centre, freezing, holiday inn, hotel, Kensington Holiday Inn, sleep
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Monday, January 18th, 2010
Lufthansa says that it plans to start flying passengers to and from Iraq as soon as the middle of this year. When it does it will be the first major carrier in Europe to do so since the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990. Lufthansa claims that there is a strong demand for a service to Baghdad and that an easing of security restrictions in the area is now making the route viable. The airline also plans to carry passengers to the northern city of Erbil. Austrian Airlines which is owned by Lufthansa already provides a service to Erbil. The airline first started carrying passengers to Iraq in 2006 but had to take a break in 2007 because of increased tensions in the area. Austrian Airlines resumed the service in April 2008. British based BMI which is also owned by Lufthansa has also expressed an interest in starting a service between London and Baghdad.
Spokesman for Lufthansa in Frankfurt, Boris Ogursky confirmed that there was enough demand for the Iraq bound service to resume although he could not say how many flights would be laid on when it did resume. A German Transport Ministry spokesman has said that an initial agreement was reached with Iraq’s aviation authorities in October last year. He said that Lufthansa’s proposed routes to Iraq were now being examined carefully.
Air Berlin, one of Germany’s low cost airlines, has recently published its schedules from four cities within Germany to the Iraqi cities of Erbil and Sulimaniyah.
Tags: Air Berlin, Austrian Airlines, bmi, Erbil, German Transport Ministry, Gulf War, Iraq, Lufthansa, security
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