tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57483730867502361132007-10-21T12:15:53.499ZNikBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-82731304150594371842007-10-21T12:03:00.000Z2007-10-21T12:15:53.548Z

Soon you'll be able to make and receive calls on your mobile during flights. The Civil Aviation Authority is in the process of approving the move, which will allow airlines to decide whether to allow passengers to use their mobile phones or not. So far Ryanair, BMI, Air France are testing out the systems that will allow mobile calls. According to the Airline Passengers Association, passengers

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-67400831480513985572007-06-27T17:36:00.001Z2007-06-27T17:36:48.634Z

Three months after merging with MyTravel, Thomas cook today warned of a difficult summer ahead, posting a 7% cut in first-half losses to £217 million. Trading in the UK was "challenging" according to CEO Manny Fontenla Novoa.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-27322367203863749492007-05-22T17:14:00.001Z2007-05-22T17:14:17.937Z

Holidaymakers visiting Spain after the 13th June this year will face new tougher security controls upon arrival.Spanish authorities will require full details of all adults and children in advance from airlines. These details will include full names, date of birth and travel documents of each passenger.The so called Advanced Passenger Informtion is likely to cause problems as it is due to come

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-2337211918905862602007-05-17T16:57:00.001Z2007-05-17T16:57:31.242Z

Ryanair have been brandished "Grossly irresponsible" by Friends of the Earth for offering 1 million free flights to lucky passengers.Ryanair is paying passengers fees and taxes in an offer that brought their website down as millions of people tried to grab one of the deals. It's no wonder Ryanair enjoyed their busiest day ever!

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-307887216921133512007-05-11T17:08:00.001Z2007-05-11T17:08:32.323Z

Passenger numbers at London's main airports have dropped off due to increasing numbers of passengers choosing to fly from alternative terminals such as London City Airport and Farnborough.Even Stansted which has seen double-digit growth for years has reported a drop of 3.5% in passenger numbers, meanwhile growth at London Luton has increased 10% in a year.There are several theories for this drop

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-44420769059233900992007-05-10T08:33:00.001Z2007-05-10T15:32:48.571Z

Ryanair, the low-cost airline has bowed down to criticism and begun to quote fares inclusive of taxes on its website.The airline industry has come under pressure from the Office of Fair Trading and the Air Transport Users' Council to start showing prices that passengers will actually pay rather than making the prices look low, only to slap the taxes on at the final stage of the purchase.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-39835879011499966872007-05-09T17:56:00.003Z2007-05-09T17:56:50.378Z

This month the number of flights scheduled world-wide will rise 5% above figures for this time last year to reach a record of 2.51 million. This rise has been partly due to the increasing popularity of low cost airlines.Scientists claim that the aviation industry is one of the main catalysts for global warming.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-64131603877892098182007-05-09T17:56:00.001Z2007-05-09T17:56:40.634Z

Easyjet the budget airline has said that it had to cut air fares during the winter period to attract passengers who were deterred by rising interest rates, the increase in Air Passenger Duty and environmental issues.Easyjet managed to recover its position by increasing baggage charges and selling additional services such as hotel rooms and car rental.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-78694770682055240382007-05-02T16:17:00.000Z2007-05-02T16:18:04.648Z

The Civil Aviation Authority has said that pirate radio stations in London are interfering with air traffic control. Transmissions to and from pilots and air traffic control are being interrupted causing messages to go unheard and risking passengers lives.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-82727811399795623722007-05-01T16:54:00.001Z2007-05-01T16:54:45.390Z

First Choice who are merging with German travel company Tui has stated that demand is strong for trips to Turkey and Greece, despite cutting their capacity of short-haul trips in favour of higher revenue long-haul trips.Holidays in Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica are also proving popular this season, but the rise in Air Passenger Duty and fuel costs have dented their profit margins.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-38967931274178720312007-04-30T17:57:00.001Z2007-04-30T17:57:19.364Z

Easyjet will soon allow eco-aware passengers to buy credits in UN-backed carbon offsetting schemes. Travellers will be able to contribute to projects such as tree planting to reduce the impact of their flight.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-68632297626843394722007-04-25T17:21:00.001Z2007-04-25T17:21:38.743Z

Holidaymakers face May bank holiday hell at Gatwick as fuel staff prepare to strike. The Transport & General Workers Union has ordered two strikes. The dates are Wednesday 2nd May starting at 5am and lasting 24 hours, the second is scheduled for Friday 4th May from 5am and lasting 48 hours.During this busy weekend for the travel industry 30 airlines will be affected. Some airlines have already

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-86643038346260577012007-04-24T17:01:00.001Z2007-04-24T17:01:04.998Z

Richard Branson has responded to Michael O'leary's pledge of transatlantic flights as low as €10 by stating that Virgin Atlantic "Won't be beaten on price", if Ryanair sell tickets to America for £7, we would sell them for £6 he said.Branson also commented on the Open Skies agreement stating that the deal favoured the American Airlines. He wants Virgin to be able to operate internal US routes.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-26229635848569747882007-04-23T12:32:00.000Z2007-04-23T12:39:34.843Z

British Airways are showing an edited version of the new James Bond film Casino Royale on their flights. The BA version does not feature Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson, who had a cameo role in the film for providing an aeroplane for the movie. The Virgin logo on the plane was also edited out. The BBC received an official statement from British Airways: "We do reserve the right to edit films

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-63558345514487897232007-04-23T12:20:00.000Z2007-04-23T12:29:07.411Z

A survey by Deloitte's examining airport fraud has found 7% of all airlines have said employees had stolen the identities of their passengers. Scams involved credit card fraud, tax credit fraud, and diverting frequent flier points away from their passengers.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-22003517241546154242007-04-18T17:18:00.001Z2007-04-19T08:41:10.781Z

British Airways has won OAG's airline of the year award, voted for by frequent fliers. It won best transatlantic airline, best Europe to Asia airline and best Europe to Australasia categories. This is despite the fact that British Airways lost more bags in 2006 than any other major European airline, and the other troubles BA has had to deal with in the past year. These include, delays and

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-49195745306660641162007-04-17T07:08:00.001Z2007-04-17T08:57:16.440Z

Common knowledge to the most astute traveller on a budget, but a survey by InsureandGo has concluded that buying your travel insurance from your travel agent will indeed cost you more. If you shop around and compare travel insurance policies you find with those available from your travel agent you could save up to 9.3% on European trips and 23% for world-wide policies it was found. The only

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-35721328036758717752007-04-13T06:56:00.001Z2007-04-16T20:04:37.971Z

Ryanair is the latest airline to claim their piece of the cheap transatlantic flights cake. Ryanair boss Michael O'leary has claimed that by the summer of 2009 we could expect flights to the US to be as low as £7 not including taxes. These flights will be to smaller airports, a method already used by the budget airlines to reduce cost. Long Island Islip MacArthur airport would be used for New

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-58894174776253409782007-04-12T11:53:00.000Z2007-04-12T11:58:24.976Z

Zoom airline which mainly flies in Canada, is the first airline to take advantage of the Open Skies agreement and take on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and the US carriers in announcing a Gatwick to JFK route for as little as £258 return. They claim this deal will provide savings of upto 70% over rivals prices. Zoom will use the EasyJet model where prices rise as the planes seats fill up.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-33622211374770516072007-04-11T16:59:00.001Z2007-04-11T16:59:46.985Z

Despite all the recent press and media coverage about Global warming and reducing our CO2 emissions, more Brits are jetting off on holiday than ever before.The Office for National Statistics revealed that in 2005 66.4million trips overseas were made. Aeroplane travel accounted for 81% of those trips. That was up 60% on figures released in 1981. Spain, the Canary Islands, USA and Ireland were

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-34791457479214275012007-04-09T07:21:00.000Z2007-04-09T07:40:31.146Z

The FT published an interesting article yesterday. Apparently if you miss a flight for whatever reason, even if the ticket is non-refundable, you have a good chance of getting at least your Government taxes back. read the FT.com article in full. Most airlines do not advertise this fact and pocket the money, but there is however a catch to making a claim; Most airlines will charge you an

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-32099213425962287482007-04-03T08:05:00.000Z2007-04-03T08:07:55.054Z

There are several interesting surveys published in the newspapers today. The first concluded that one in five Britons is finding it difficult to shrug off the winter blues, and intends to take a career break to go travelling. It also claims that more and more firms are recognising that a good way of retaining and recruiting the best staff is to allow them to take extended breaks from work.

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-61646786885136429292007-03-23T07:48:00.001Z2007-04-16T20:05:37.166Z

Yesterday the EU approved an agreement to allow any European airline to make transatlantic flights from March 2008. At present only British Airways, Virgin Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines can fly from Heathrow to the US. Open Skies will be a good deal for passengers as it will open the routes into the states to competition from other airlines and will most likely bring prices

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-40682843537149036492007-03-20T13:38:00.000Z2007-03-20T13:53:36.423Z

The internet revolution is continuing to cause headaches for existing bricks and mortar companies, with many losing out to their online counterparts. As a result these existing companies are merging in order to cut costs and boost sales. This particular merger is between two of the largest travel firms, First Choice and TUI, will reduce the four market leaders to three. It comes as many

Niktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748373086750236113.post-54243993648598734962007-03-19T08:13:00.001Z2007-03-20T13:55:40.402Z

Green issues seem to be the hot topic amongst politicians at the moment. The Tories view of taxing our flights is a little more complex than the New Labour policy of just doubling airport tax across the board. The Tories want to use an air miles system, you could think of it as rationing. Everyone will have a certain allowance of air miles, beyond which the tax increases to make the journey by

Nik