London | erentals news

Posts Tagged ‘london’

New York and London reach tourism agreement

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

A new agreement has been reached between New York and London in order to boost travel between the two cities.

The arrangement will also see both cities providing each other with advertising space and sharing new ideas.

London Mayor Boris Johnson made the announcement during his trip to New York and said that both cities were in a good position to be able to exchange combined knowledge.

Johnson has been attending events in New York to promote London’s economy.

One of the promotions includes the launch of a British Airways campaign at JFK International Airport highlighting business travel and attending an ‘Only in London’ event at Time Square.

He will also be promoting the 2012 Olympic Games at a ‘Think London’ Reception.

Johnson said that the two cities shared many similarities including a strong sense of optimism and determination, along with a great appreciation for diversity and innovation.

He concluded by saying that the common ties and dedication between the two cities provided a world-class service and experience for both residents and visitors, making them well poised combine knowledge and resources to impact the future of the cities.

Tags: British Airways, economy, london, New York
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Europcar apologises to Ruth Kelly

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Former transport secretary Ruth Kelly has received an apology from Europcar after she was incorrectly charged more than £1,000 for problems with her hire car.

Car hire giant Europcar reimbursed Ms Kelly 1,341 euros as well as 47.70 euros for petrol following the incident which occurred when the Labour MP was on holiday with her family in August.

Kelly was billed for almost £1,800 for alleged damage to a seven-seater Volkswagan Touran, which she hired in Avignon, southern France.

Shortly after hiring the car the tyres went flat and phoned Europcar’s assistance line which arranged for a taxi to take them to their destination and for a replacement car.

Ms Kelly was informed that there would be no charge for the service, but upon arriving in London, she was shocked to have discovered a £1,180 invoice.

Kelly, who resigned from Cabinet in September last year, said she was also charged for a tank of fuel despite the car being returned with a full tank.

Ms Kelly sent seven emails to Europcar and contacted them twice over the phone but was not satisfied.

Europcar has since said that the amount for the damage and petrol were made in error and would be refunded. The company has also waived the rental fee.

Tags: car hire, Europcar, France, incident, london
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

400 Jet Airways pilots call in sick

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Thousands of passengers were affected on Tuesday when nearly 400 pilots working for Indian airline Jet Airways called in sick to protest the firing of two colleagues, the airline said.

Spokesman for the airline A K Sivanandan said that over 100 of Tuesday’s 346 international and domestic flights were cancelled, including flights to New York, London and Brussels.

A statement from the airline said that the pilots’ strike action is illegal and it was not clear at present how long the strike would last.

Sivanandan had said two senior pilots were sacked for working against the company’s interests but did not disclose the nature of the dismissal.

Almost 400 pilots are demanding that Jet Airways management immediately re-hire the fired pilots.

Jet Airways has offered a full refund to passengers whose flights were affected by the strike action.

Tags: airline, flights, india, jet airways, london, New York
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: car hire, excel, london, travel, world travel market
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

London Midland cancellations cause major disruptions

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Rail commuters faced major disruptions yesterday as a rail company cancelled all but one service due to a lack of staff volunteering to work.

The company, London Midland, which operates more than 1,200 services a day to 149 stations, cancelled all services except to those on the Birmingham to Liverpool line.

The company has been under fire lately from passengers and politicians after it has been revealed that drivers usually work on a voluntary basis on Sundays, but this week saw insufficient numbers put their hands up for the shift.

One traveller, Hemi Carlson, had planned to take a London Midland service from Euston to Milton Keynes, but instead had to travel on a Virgin train, costing £13 return compared to £11 with London Midland.

He said that the service usually worked, but there are often delays, cancellations and power cuts on the line, and that £2 was a lot more money during these rough times.

The company, based in Birmingham, runs services throughout the centre of England, servicing cities including London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and connecting many towns across throughout the midlands.

Lord Adonis, Transport Secretary, has been asked by Conservative MP to investigate the disruptions.

This weekends disruptions were caused by the end of an agreement where drivers were paid double to work Sundays, however the Rail Maritime and Transport Unions aid that workers were not taking strike action.

Tags: birmingham, london, london midland, railway, travel, unions
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: car hire, car rental, Europcar, fiat, london, uk
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: airline, australia, london, Qantas
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: airline, airports, Europe, flights, london, recession, SkyEurope
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Aer Lingus to keep long haul services

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Ireland’s flagship airline Aer Lingus announced on Sunday that it doesn’t plan to cull its long haul services as part of plans to reverse increasing losses.

A newspaper report said senior management believed cutting back routes to the US was a possibility in the medium term, however an airline spokesman said the former state carrier would remain in the sector.

“We’re not getting out of long-haul but we have to make long-haul work,” the spokesman said.

The report also said the airline was contemplating shifting its focus away from major European hubs and moving towards using “secondary” airports, a key strategy for major competitor Ryanair in order reduce costs.

“That has yet to be decided,” the Aer Lingus spokesman said in response, without elaborating.

The article in The Sunday Tribune says plans were being considered by management would still include keeping routes from London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, but move out of other expensive airports in smaller cities.

Aer Lingus recorded a first-half operating loss last Thursday and said that no bank was prepared to lend the money for the airline to order new aircraft because of its cash burn rate, pledging a massive cost-cutting scheme to make the business profitable again.

Tags: aer lingus, airline, airports, Heathrow, london, Ryanair
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Third runway advertisement ‘misleading’

Friday, August 28th, 2009

An advertisement that claims a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport would not make the airport noisier or dirtier has been ruled as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authoritity (ASA).

The ASA also deemed the advertisement as misleading to claim that the runway would not go ahead ”unless local air quality meets stringent EU standards on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2)”.

The commercial had been published in regional newspapers by pro Heathrow expansion group Future Heathrow, and was published before the Government’s decision earlier this year to approve the runway.

The ASA reported than an unnamed MP had challenged the claims made by the ad.

The authority said airport operator BAA responded to the complaint on behalf of Future Heathrow, claiming that it was a ‘’statement of fact and that readers would be right to confidently understand that a third runway would definitely not create more noise or air pollution than Heathrow at present”.

The ASA said today that it found both claims to be misleading.

The authority also noted that both Future Heathrow and BAA believed that noise limits would not be breached, but the claim was impossible to prove until the construction of a third runway took place.

“We concluded that the claim ‘a third runway won’t make Heathrow any noisier or dirtier’ was likely to mislead.”

The ASA said the advert must not appear again in its current form.

Thanks to The Telegraph for the above quotes. For more information on this article visit their website.

Tags: air, baa, Heathrow, heathrow airport, london
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »