Welcome to the December 2006 edition of the Medway Travel Business email newsletter.
This newsletter is available on free subscription only and is our way of keeping you informed about developments in the business travel industry, as well as explaining how our services may be of benefit to you and your organisation.
In this issue:
* Subscribers Prize Draw
* New Eurostar London terminal to open in under 12 months.
* Taxation 'not the answer' to preventing climate change - easyJet
* Airlines' route additions and changes
o Air Transat launches Heathrow-Toronto flights
o Clickair to fly from Heathrow
o Brussels Airlines emerges
o Oasis retimes it’s schedule to Hong Kong
o Round the World with Air New Zealand for £801
o Emirates opens dedicated Heathrow lounge
* Europcar to acquire National and Alamo in Europe
* International Trade Fairs
* Club class seating gets better and better!
* Moscow hotels ‘most expensive’ – Bangkok ‘cheapest’.
* London room yields up 16.5% in first nine months.
* Specially negotiated fares
* Eos secures $75m for expansion
Highlights from our Leisure Travel newsletter:
* Cape Verdi - a new experience
* Warning over overseas medical services
* Top 10 'quirkiest hotels' revealed
We all at Medway Travel wish our readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and enjoyable New Year.
Thank you for your interest and support during 2006 and we look forward to working with you during 2007
Subscribers Prize Draw
Every quarter we draw a winning name. The odds are far better than winning the lottery, so anyone who has not subscribed to our free eNews, now is the time to be in with a chance of winning the subscribers' prize draw for the 4th quarter!
The voucher certificate will have a value of £100, redeemable against any form of holiday (combination of travel and accommodation) booking made through us to the value of £500 or more, and will be valid for a period of 18 months from the date of issue. It will be transferable, providing the winner advises Medway Travel of the name of the eventual recipient.
From a City break to a Cruise, from an all-inclusive package to a tailored holiday, the choice is yours. We have a massive range of outstanding holidays to offer and a team of consultants highly qualified to research and advise on all aspects of your trip. The chances of your being the lucky winner in the next 12 months are better than 1 in 500, so the very best of luck!
New Eurostar London terminal to open in under 12 months
St Pancras International, the new London terminus for Eurostar Channel Tunnel services, is to open on 14th November 2007 (Ed. Or so they say!).
London & Continental Railways made the announcement while revealing that the UK's first high speed rail link, the £5.8 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link project, is to be called High Speed 1.
Eurostar will move from Waterloo next November to St Pancras, which will also become the terminus for Midland Mainline services, Thameslink and London Underground services.
High speed Kent commuter trains will start using High Speed 1 from 2009.
LCR estimates that 44 million passengers a year will pass through St Pancras from 2007.
The station was originally built in 1868 and LCR claimed it has been painstakingly restored with the intention of its becoming the finest station in Europe. It is redefining how a station operates, to provide a unique retail mix and new levels of customer service, in a truly magnificent setting.
Consult us for all your rail needs, including UK & Continental rail as well as Eurostar and Eurotunnel. We have the most up-to-date systems to identify the best fare alternatives to suit your needs, and can even produce the smart tickets used by the UK rail operators.
Taxation 'not the answer' to preventing climate change - easyJet
EasyJet has called for emission trading rather than taxes on airlines to help global warming.
Responding to the Stern report on The Economics of Climate Change, the budget airline said it welcomed the emphasis placed on emission trading, global solutions and on the reconciliation of economic and environmental sustainability.
Chief executive Andy Harrison claimed that "we can grow and can be green at the same time".
He said: "To achieve this objective, we have to find European and global solutions that reconcile economic with environmental sustainability. Low-fare airlines have done exactly this by introducing a new way of flying that is incredibly more efficient than the old way of flying half-empty aircraft in and out of congested hub airports. We fly brand-new aircraft and we fly them direct and as full as possible."
Harrison added that taxation was not the answer. Taxes didn’t help the environment – they would only fill a government's coffers and burden the economy. There were more effective solutions right under our noses. He suggested airlines could significantly reduce CO2 emissions if Europe's governments would reform our medieval Air Traffic Management systems and would stamp out the illegal subsidies that were still given to ailing national airlines that fly old, half-empty airlines.
Harrison said: "Now it is time to take the whole industry to the next level of efficiency and energy conservation. easyJet has been one of the earliest advocates of including aviation in the EU's Emission Trading Scheme, and we are delighted that the Prime Minister personally is putting its weight behind the idea. Whilst emission trading is not yet a global solution, we can give it global outreach by including all flights to and from Europe, not just intra-EU flights.
Whatever one thinks of easyjet, they can usually be relied on to come up with practical ideas!
Airlines’ route additions and changes
Air Transat launches Heathrow-Toronto flights
Air Transat Holidays is starting direct London Heathrow to Toronto Pearson International Airport flights in May 2007.
The twice-weekly service will operate on Saturday and Sunday and will be operated by an Air Transat Airbus A310 aircraft with Economy Class and Club Class.
Natalie Roberts, Air Transat Holidays' business support director, said: "The addition of Heathrow now enables Air Transat to offer services from eight UK airports.
The introduction of these flights compliments Transat's double-daily, direct non-stop services from London Gatwick to Toronto.
Clickair to fly from Heathrow
Clickair plans to launch flights from London Heathrow to Seville and Valencia in the first quarter of next year, making it the first low-cost airline to fly to Spain from Heathrow.
Between January 1 and March 1, it will also start flights linking Barcelona to Malaga, Munich, Oporto, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dublin, Basel, Prague and Berlin, a new route between Valencia and Milan-Malpensa, and a new daily frequency to Lisbon.
The Barcelona-based airline has released figures that show it managed a load factor of 70.8% across the 740 flights made during its first month of operations.
It transported 92,000 passengers in the 24 daily flights that began on October 1.
Yesterday it introduced another six flights with the arrival of
a fourth Airbus A-320 aircraft, launching two new routes from Valencia to Paris-Orly and Rome-Fiumicino.
In December 2006 it will add two additional airplanes and throughout 2007 Clickair will add an average of one new aircraft every month.
Brussels Airlines emerges
Brussels Airlines is the new name for the merged Virgin Express/SN Brussels Airlines.
The renamed Belgian airline emerged five years after SN Brussels' predecessor Sabena went bankrupt.
One part of the new carrier will run a no-frills service based on the Virgin Express model while the other will cater for business travellers.
Flights will operate under the Brussels Airlines brand from March 25, with the combined airline serving more than 50 European destinations, 13 in Africa, three in North America plus China and the UAE.
CEO Neil Burrows has been quoted as saying that Brussels Airlines listened to what all its passengers wanted, both business and low cost, and has created two products that each meets exactly what they wished for.
SN has a majority 70.1% stake in the airline's holding company, with Virgin having the remaining 29.9%.
Medway Travel’s systems are updated daily to include the latest No Frills airlines and routes, and our policy is always to look for the best deal for clients, whether travelling for leisure or on business. This gives travellers yet more choice, and the competition between airlines must be good for keeping travel costs down.
Oasis retimes it’s schedule to Hong Kong
Budget airline Oasis has retimed one of its London to Hong Kong services because its flights are taking a more circuitous routing. Last month's inaugural to London was a day late leaving Hong Kong, because the Russian authorities had refused to grant overflying rights.
That still remains the case and so Oasis' flights between London and Hong Kong must take a longer routing over China, Central Asia and Turkey before entering European airspace. It means that average flight time is extended by an hour with services from Gatwick now taking 12hrs 30mins and those from Hong Kong taking more than 14 hrs.
Oasis was operating four times a week with a single B747-400 until November 24 when a second plane joined the fleet enabling the service to become daily.
We will of course include Oasis in our itinerary research, and compare its fares when you ask us to quote for your next trip to Hong Kong.
Round the World with Air New Zealand for £801
Air New Zealand has just commenced a service from London to Hong Kong, which will create the UK's first round-the-world air link.
The missing link will allow the airline to offer London – Hong Kong – Auckland – Los Angeles – London connections.
The Hong Kong service will be in addition to ANZ's daily flights to Auckland via Los Angeles.
Economy return flights to Hong Kong start at £520 including taxes while round-the-world tickets lead-in at £801 including stopovers in Los Angeles, Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch and Hong Kong.
Premium Economy prices start at £1,111 including tax with Business Premier starting at £2,796 including taxes.
Emirates opens dedicated Heathrow lounge
Emirates has opened a dedicated lounge at Heathrow for first and business class passengers.
Located in Terminal 3 in the recently-opened Pier 6 departures area, the 9,500 sq ft facility is part of a $13 million global investment in airport lounges by the airline.
The lounge has seating for 190 passengers and includes a business centre with 10 computer workstations and four laptop workstations each with free broadband and wireless LAN access.
UK & Ireland vice-president Vic Sheppard explained that, following the addition of a fifth daily flight to or through Dubai last year, demand for Emirates services from London Heathrow continued to grow with over 10,000 passengers travelling with the airline from London each week. The new lounge forms an integral part of the travel experience provided for its first and business class passengers.
Europcar to acquire National and Alamo in Europe
A major consolidation in European car rental has been sparked by Europcar, which is set to acquire Vanguard Car Rental Holdings’ National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands in Europe.
The deal makes Europcar the leading rental company in the UK and reinforces its position as European leader in its field.
A transatlantic partnership between Europcar and Vanguard will enable the European company to be connected to a global network.
Vanguard EMEA operates more than 43,000 vehicles and achieved revenues of 405 million euros last year with over two million rental contracts. The UK represents 84% of revenues for the company which has 3,200 staff.
Europcar has over 200,000 vehicles and 2,950 outlets, a workforce of 5,600 and saw revenues of 1.28 billion euros in 2005.
Europcar and the acquired National and Alamo business will continue to be operated as two separate networks but there will be "synergies" in fleet management, a statement said.
The deal is subject to approval by competition authorities, but has two major benefits.
Firstly, the group becomes the leading car rental operator in the UK market, thereby considerably strengthening its position as the largest car rental company in Europe.
Secondly, the strategic alliance with Vanguard enables Europcar to become a worldwide car rental player by offering clients access to one of the US and Canada's premier networks.
Our senior consultants have ready access to some 50 car rental companies stock and rates (many of which are at corporate or better levels, so why not ask us to include your car hire requirements when we research your trips? We are very likely to be able to offer you better deals.
International Trade Fairs
The following are some of the more significant trade fairs taking place at the end of 2006 and into 2007. If you wish to attend, then please contact us and we will be happy to arrange your trip. On the other hand, you may prefer to try to avoid the host cities during these fairs, as they will inevitably be more crowded than usual!
In general, we will be able to obtain better deals for you on airfares and hotel accommodation, the earlier you decide to attend such events.
Australia – Sydney – CBIT: 1st – 3rd May 2007
China – Guangzhou – INTERZUM; 27th – 30th March 2007
China - Shanghai - SEMICON CHINA: 21st - 23rd March, 2007
Germany - Dusseldorf - BOOT: 20th -28th January 2007
Germany - Frankfurt - HEIMTEXTIL: 10th - 13th January, 2007
Germany - Frankfurt - AMBIENTE: 9th - 13th February, 2007
Germany - Frankfurt - PAPERWORLD: 24th - 28th January, 2007
Hong Kong - TOYS AND GAMES: 8th - 11th January 2007
Hong Kong – GIFTS AND PREMIUM: 28th April – 1st May 2007
India - New Delhi - BUILD EXPO '07: 24th - 26th March 2007
Singapore - MTA 2007: 28th – 31st March 2007
Singapore – AUTOMATION 2007; 28th – 31st March 2007
Singapore – SEMICON: 8th – 10th May 2007
Tanzania - Dar Es Salaam - EATIF - 20th - 3rd April, 2007
U.A.E. - Dubai - ARABLAB: 11th - 14th February, 2007
U.S.A. - New York - NYIGF: 28th January - 1st February, 2007
If you or your colleagues have plans to visit any overseas trade fair in the future, please contact us as soon as possible about your arrangements for travel and accommodation, as the earlier we can make the bookings for you, the lower will be the cost of the airfares, and the greater the selection of hotel accommodation. We would also suggest you take a look at our website Trade Fairs page from time to time, to help with your forward planning.
Also, don't forget, if there are a number of you travelling together, there are major savings possible for groups of 9 or more, when we negotiate group rates with the airlines. Click here to see more about our Group travel services.
Club class seating gets better and better!
British Airways’ new Club World seats had their first public viewing on 13th November, and the various elements of the eagerly awaited £100m revamp of BA’s business class product, including a virtual tour of the business class cabin were shown off.
The changes look evolutionary rather than revolutionary, with the configuration remaining the same – alternating forward and rear-facing seats arranged 2-4-2 on Boeing 747s and 777s.
The new seats are fully flat like their predecessors but are slightly longer – six foot and six inches compared to the existing six-foot long flat bed seats.
Each seat has power supplies for laptops and includes a 10.4-inch screen on which to enjoy up to 200 on-demand movies, TV programmes and CDs.
The service will also feature more flexible in-flight dining, and passengers will be able to choose form a range of hot and cold dishes whenever they want.
New Club World will be rolled out to the entire fleet by April 2008.
Business travellers will undoubtedly compare BA’s new Club World experience with Singapore Airlines’ newly revamped seats, which start appearing on that airline’s planes this month. The seats were shown in the UK for the first time at World Travel Market and revealed a drastically different design for business class. The new seats are 30 inches wide at their broadest point and require the passenger to lie at an angle to the aisle, with their heads closest to the centre of the plane and their feet closer to the windows. Despite the unusual design, the seats are remarkably comfortable.
Singapore is also introducing a new on-demand in-flight system with more than 1,000 movies, TV programmes, music options and even office applications to choose from and 15.4 inch wide screens in business class.
Moscow hotels ‘most expensive’ – Bangkok ‘cheapest’
Moscow hotels are the most expensive in the world followed by New York and Boston.
The Russian capital cemented its status as the world's most expensive city, with prices paid averaging £167 a night between April and June 2006 despite prices falling 28% year-on-year.
Prices paid in New York were £140; up 16% on the same period a year ago while the average cost of a London hotel £91.
The findings are based on prices paid by customers for 20,000 hotels across 1,000 locations.
US cities dominated the top of the table, with Boston (£135 per night on average) and Chicago (£125) joining New York in the top five most expensive cities and Washington (£118) also in the top ten.
Venice was the most expensive of the leading Western European destinations, with prices paid coming in at £123 per night on average during the second quarter of the year.
Leading the "rest of the world" was Dubai at £119, while Tokyo was the highest-priced Asian destination, with rooms costing an average of £106.
At just £57 per night, Bangkok has the cheapest average hotel prices paid amongst the top-50 major tourist cities in the world at £57 a night. The Thai capital is closely followed by Buenos Aires (£62) and Bilbao (£63). Major Chinese destinations, Shanghai (at £66 a night) and Beijing (£69) are among the world's "cheapest sleeps". Las Vegas was the cheapest major US destination, according to the research.
Average prices paid across Germany rose rapidly through the second quarter of 2006, probably due to the World Cup – which shows what the impact of a major event can have on a country's hospitality industry and the prices of rooms. It certainly bodes ill for travellers in the UK market, as we look forward to a number of cultural and sporting events, culminating with the Olympics in 2012.
These rapidly increasing average costs for hotel accommodation, underline the benefit of putting your hotel bookings through Medway Travel. We have access to tens of thousands of properties worldwide, with many of which we enjoy better than normal corporate rates. What is more, we do not charge a transaction fee for making hotel reservations when we book the flights for the related trip. So it pays to contact us!
London room yields up 16.5% in first nine months
London hotels achieved record results in September while regional cities were helped by a return in business travellers following the summer holidays, according to new figures.
Average daily room yield in the capital was up 20.9% on 2005 values, to £108.94, according to a recent report. This was fuelled by a 9.2% increase in room rate from £114.10 in 2005 to £124.64 and a 10.7% increase in occupancy to 87.4% this September.
The performance for the ninth month running means that London hotels' rooms yield is now 16.5% higher than it was a year ago, according to the report.
Regional performance across more than 600 hotels in the survey revealed consistently steady growth in September. The average room rate was up 3.4% to £73.22, occupancy up 1.9% to 80.8%, and daily room yield up 5.4% to £59.19.
But performance varied considerably across the country. With the summer holiday season largely over, visitors returned to major business cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool which recorded room yield increases of 12.3%, 13.0% and 5.2% respectively.
As the Festival Fringe extended into the first weekend of September, Edinburgh hotels were still 89% full and a 7.2% increase in 2005 room rates to £92.50 helped to boost rooms yield by 9.8% to £82.35.
By contrast, Cardiff room rates fell by 6.6% on 2005 to £65.48 so, although there was only a marginal drop in occupancy, rooms yield fell by 7.3% to £50.53.
After a traditionally poor August, Birmingham hotels rallied slightly with the return of the business visitor but rooms yield was still more than 2% down on 2005 values.
With such high occupancy levels and increasing room rates, it pays to have your hotel bookings well managed. We have immediate access to thousands of hotels across the country and are well placed to ensure your budget is optimised, to say nothing of the time we can save you when availability is tight, so make sure you contact us with your hotel requirements.
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Specially negotiated fares
Medway Travel has access to one of the largest portfolios of specially negotiated contract fares open to any travel agent in the country. This means we can - subject to availability at the time of booking - offer unusually low prices for many long-haul and certain European routes.
Each month we bring you a small selection of the 9 million such fares, to illustrate the level of fares you can enjoy as a result of our extensive connections and research.
So if your next destination isn't on the above list of examples, please do contact us. There is every chance we will have a real bargain to offer you!
Eos secures $75m for expansion
Those of our clients for whom we have already arranged a trip with Eos, will be pleased to learn that this Business class-only carrier has raised $75 million to fund future expansion, including new US routes from the UK.
The second round of institutional investment will enable the airline to expand its fleet of Boeing 757s in preparation for new services in 2007. Paris and Zurich flights to New York are under consideration in addition to more UK flights.
Eos, which launched premium class-only flights between Stansted and New York last year, has secured the new expansion funds from both current and new institutional investors.
The airline announced the start of a second daily flight between New York and London in September using the 757s in a 48-seat configuration and claims to have maintained load factors of more than 65%.
The airline claims to have identified and prepared initial applications for a range of possible new routes from New York, including growth markets such as Paris and Zurich, as well as potential new US city pairs for flights to and from London.
The carrier competes against MaxJet from Stansted and faces fresh transatlantic competition from newcomer Silverjet from Luton in January.
Medway Travel’s consultants will offer all these options if they seem to have potential benefit for clients, when researching your trips, so do contact them to ensure you obtain the best options to choose from.
