Archive for May, 2012
Thursday, May 31st, 2012
People are expected to travel in their millions over the coming few days as the UK celebrates the Queen’s Jubilee. Abta, the travel organisation, has predicted that six million Brits will be holidaying at home or overseas from 2-5 June.
Nearly three million passengers are expected to use Heathrow Airport over the coming fortnight with 780,000 travellers arriving from abroad between now and bank holiday Tuesday. In anticipation of an increase in road users the Highways Agency said that it will be suspending road works on major roads and motorways. However, some will need to remain in place because of safety.
London Underground said that it would be running a normal service over the weekend although the Waterloo and City Line will not be operational. There will also be some suspensions on Overground services.
Train companies across the UK are expected to put on additional services in and out of London to carry people to and from the Jubilee celebrations. National Express said that around 30,000 people would be travelling to the capital on its coaches over the weekend.
However, visitors to the centre of town are being warned to leave their cars at home as the roads are expected to be extremely congested. Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner, advised people to make use of public transport to get around the capital over the weekend and to plan their travel carefully before setting out.
Tags: abta, Heathrow, Highways Agency, Jubilee, London Underground, national express, Peter Hendy
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
Possible disruption on the London Underground during the Olympic Games because of industrial action has been averted through a pay deal. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said that an agreement had been struck with Tube bosses that meant staff would be guaranteed extra cash for working during the event.
Operational managers and service, maintenance and station control staff will be paid up to £850. The amount will depend on attendance, flexible hours and levels of customer satisfaction during the Games.
General Secretary of the RMT, Bob Crow, said a deal was finally in place after many months of negotiations. He explained that the agreement meant that workers would be rewarded for putting in a great deal of extra hard work over the period and also protected agreements already in place as well as contractual rights.
Mr Crow went on to say that London is facing its biggest ever transport challenge and that he would continue to fight to make sure that enough staff will be present to ensure the network is safe. He said that the past fortnight had seen a range of problems from signal failures to train breakdowns caused by maintenance and staffing cuts.
According to Transport for London the deal with the RMT means that settlements have been made with all four unions. The others are Aslef, TSSA and Unite. Howard Collins, London Underground’s COO, said he was pleased with the deal because it meant that staff could now focus on delivering an exceptional level of service to those travelling to sporting and cultural events this summer.
Tags: Aslef, Bob Crow, London Underground, Olympics, rmt, tssa, tube, Unite
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
Passengers boarding the Heathrow Express this week will see some changes as refurbished carriages begin to appear. The refits are part of a three year project worth £16 million which should see all of the trains updated by April 2013. The idea behind the project is to make travelling between London and Heathrow more like travelling with an airline.
In First Class all seats are now singles so that travellers are given more privacy. The carriages have also been made more comfortable and will have improved service. In Express Class passengers can also expect to see some changes to the seating. Some of the tables have been replaced with cup holders and there are now power points so people can charge their phones or work on a laptop.
The lighting has also been altered and all carriages will now be lit with LED lights. There is mood lighting beneath the seats and the lights will intensify to warn travellers when the train is about to stop at a station.
Heathrow Express boss Keith Greenfield said he was proud of the new trains and pleased to be able to unveil them at a time when international visitors are flying in to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and with the Olympic Games just around the corner.
Heathrow Express carries around 16,000 customers every day. It was launched in 1998 and runs between Paddington and the airport terminals. It is the fastest way to get from the city and Heathrow taking between 15 and 25 minutes.
Tags: airline, Diamond Jubilee, Heathrow Express, Olympic Games, Paddington, trains
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Monday, May 28th, 2012
American airlines are being asked to make sure that families do not have to spend extra cash on top of the price of their tickets to sit together on flights. New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer wants to see new regulations put in place which will mean that carriers are not permitted to charge extra for parents to sit with their children.
As the price of fuel remains high airlines are attempting to increase revenues by charging for services such a baggage space, entertainment and early boarding. They also charge more for people to be able to sit by a window, by the aisle or to have more leg room.
Schumer has asked transport secretary Ray LaHood to introduce rules which will mean that airlines are not allowed to charge extra for families to travel together. He has also asked Airlines for America, the trade group, to talk to airlines about removing the extra charges.
The number of seats set aside for those who are prepared to pay more or who are members of a frequent flyer programme has increased since last year on airlines such as American, Frontier, Delta and United.
According to the airlines they try their best to make sure that families are always seated together. Often they will ask passengers if they would be willing to swap a seat so that children are not separated from their parents. They are however keen to avoid regulations which could damage revenue at a time when they are struggling.
Tags: airlines, American, Delta, frontier, Ray LaHood, United
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Friday, May 25th, 2012
Questions are being asked about whether London’s transport system is going to be able to cope with the deluge of extra passengers expected during the Olympic Games. Problems have been causing major delays across the London Underground network over the past week. A broken down train yesterday caused LU to announce that all passengers who were forced to walk through tunnels will be receiving £40 in compensation.
The latest in a string of incidents occurred after a train broke down between Baker Street station and St John’s Wood, according to LU’s operations director Nigel Holness. He explained that the breakdown caused services to be suspended between London Bridge station and Finchley Road.
He said that staff had attempted to shift the stranded train by pushing it with another train but that this did not work because of the gradient. It was then decided that passengers should be walked out of the carriages.
London Assembly member Val Shawcross said that problems with signals, tracks and trains continued to delay travellers on the Underground when the Olympics is just around the corner. She added that the mayor needed to do something now to ensure that when the Games are happening London does not become a laughing stock because of the inadequacies of its transport system.
LU’s managing director Mike Brown said staff on the Tube were working to make sure that the network would be reliable for the Olympics.
Tags: london assembly, London Underground, Olympic Games, Olympics, transport
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Thursday, May 24th, 2012
China is being asked to get more involved in talks to find a viable solution for regulating airline carbon emissions around the globe. The appeal has come from the EU as it tries to resolve a dispute with Beijing over its own airline emissions scheme. New regulations which came in on 1 January mean that all airlines using an airport in Europe now have to comply with the emissions trading system to offset the greenhouse gasses they introduce into the atmosphere.
China is opposed to the system along with a number of other countries including India, the US and Russia. However, the EU says whereas most countries are complying with the system, China still refuses to get involved.
Beijing has ordered its airlines not to submit emissions data to the EU and has even cancelled large orders for new planes with European manufacturer Airbus.
The matter of creating a global solution to the problem of airline emissions is now being looked into by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Director for aviation at the EU, Matthew Baldwin, said if a global solution was agreed to then the EU would be prepared to revise its own carbon trading system.
He also said that China needs to play a greater role in any solution. China has a massive part to play as far as Europe is concerned because its airlines are responsible for bringing in large numbers of passengers from across Asia. At a time when the travel industry is struggling against a slump in demand and economic problems, these visitors are more important than ever.
Tags: airbus, airlines, carbon emissions, emissions trading scheme, EU, travel industry
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
New technology which will allow passengers on the London transport network to pay for journeys on their credit cards through a wave and pay system has been delayed. Transport for London, which planned to have the system up and running by the end of 2012, has announced that the full roll out will not happen until next year.
The scheme uses existing oyster card readers to take payments for travel from Visa, Mastercard and Eurocard and it was hoped that it would be available on all London buses before the start of the Olympic Games.
The London assembly transport committee criticised contactless payment at the end of last year saying that it was unlikely to make the savings TfL was claiming it would and also questioned how robust the system would be. Although security concerns have also been brought up, TfL has said that criminals will not be able to get hold of any confidential information from customers’ cards.
Shashi Verma, director of customer experience for TfL, said that when the technology is introduced it will make the whole process of paying to travel in London easier and more convenient therefore it will only be rolled out once everyone is confident that it will be 100 per cent secure.
Head of the London assembly transport committee, Caroline Pidgeon, said the delay would be an opportunity for TfL to make sure the system was working correctly, adding that those who still choose to pay for journeys using Oyster cards should not be penalised through an increase in fares.
Tags: Olympic Games, Oyster Card, tfl, Transport for London, Visa, wave and pay
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Australian airline Qantas has said that it will be separating the company into two operations as it attempts to turn around its loss making international business. The plan is part of a raft of changes to be made at Qantas over the next five years to ensure that it remains viable.
Alan Joyce, chief executive, said that as with airlines around the globe, Qantas was struggling to cope with the high price of jet fuel and a downturn in demand. He added that as well as splitting the business there were plans to cut back on costs, invest in better technology, fly to more global gateways and look at tie-ups and alliances with other airlines.
Qantas had hoped to tap into the lucrative Asian market by setting up a premium carrier there under a new banner. However, since talks with Malaysian Airlines ended earlier in the year some industry experts suspect the plans have been put on the back-burner for the time being.
The carrier announced yesterday that it would be cutting some 500 maintenance jobs as part of an effort to consolidate ground operations. Qantas announced a similar number of job losses in February as it explores way to slash its outgoings. The carrier said that the maintenance work was not needed after it retired a number of planes from the fleet.
The domestic arm of the firm will be run by Lyell Strambi, currently operations group executive, and Qantas International will be under the charge of Simon Hickey, currently CEO of the frequent flyer programme.
Tags: airline, Alan Joyce, Malaysian Airlines, Qantas
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Monday, May 21st, 2012
Motorists across the UK can look forward to smaller fuel bills as Sainsbury’s announces that it has cut the cost of a litre of unleaded by three pence at all of its stations across the country. The move follows the price hitting record highs last month as the price of crude oil soared.
Sainsbury’s said that it was aware that fuel costs were a large portion of most households’ monthly budgets and that it was pleased to be able to hand on savings to customers as the price of a barrel of oil drops across Europe.
According to motoring organisation, the AA, the average price of petrol has dropped from 142.5 pence in April to 138.4 pence at the end of last week. However, the organisation said that although it was good to see the price of fuel dropping it should decrease further. The most recent cuts are estimated to give a saving of around £9 per month to a family which runs two cars.
As well as knocking three pence off the price of a litre, Sainsbury’s said it would offer vouchers for another five pence off a litre to customers who spend more than £50 while shopping online or in stores.
The Sainsbury’s price cut is likely to be followed by other major retailers across the UK. The AA suggested that the average price at the pump needs to be reduced by another six pence per litre.
Tags: AA, fuel, motorists, petrol, Sainsbury's
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Friday, May 18th, 2012
London Underground and a firm which looks after maintenance on the Northern line are looking at huge fines after a driverless train ran out of control for around four miles. According to reports the maintenance vehicle sped through six stations before coming to a stop at Warren Street.
The 90-tonne train was being pulled by an empty passenger train when a coupling broke at Archway and the vehicle started to gather speed on a downhill slope. It then began to chase a passenger train. According to one of the passengers the driver of the train informed travellers that there was an emergency and asked everyone to move to the front of their carriages before driving through six stations without stopping.
Disaster was apparently averted after two signal operators spotted that something was wrong and diverted two other passenger trains out of the way of the runaway vehicle. Tube Lines is the company managed by Transport for London which looks after maintenance on the Northern Line and it will face prosecution and a likely heavy fine alongside London Underground.
Mike Strzelecki, Director of Safety for London Underground said he was disappointed by the decision to prosecute made by the Office of Rail Regulation as LU had already implemented the safety recommendations made by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union, said he was concerned that London Underground was trying to brush over an incident which could so easily have ended in disaster.
Tags: London Underground, runaway train, Tube Lines
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