Welcome to the January 2007 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
* Gatwick's North Terminal short-stay car park now closed until March
* Travel companies warned about effectivness of carbon offsetting
* Airlines' route additions and changes
o Silverjet gains US approvals
o Lufthansa - new routes and some extended Frankfurt connection times
o Long haul fares to be deregulated
* International Trade Fairs
* Europcar to acquire National and Alamo in Europe
* Are we too fat for economy seats
* Marriott goes smoke-free in North America
* Specially Negotiated Fares
* New Starwood Concord hotel for Paris
* British Airways will effectively become London Airways?
* Business travellers prefer music to messages
Highlights from our Leisure Travel newsletter:
* Teeing off from the top golf resorts
* Holidays for singles
* Overseas Property
We all at Medway Travel wish our readers a very happy and prosperous
New Year
Thank you for your interest and support during 2006 and we look forward to working with you during 2007
Subscribers Prize Draw
Congratulations to Sue King of Toromont Energy Systems Ltd, Caterham, Surrey, who won our eNews subscribers' prize in our 2006 4th Quarter draw. Every quarter we draw a winning name. The odds are much 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 1st Quarter 2007!
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!
Gatwick's North Terminal short-stay car park now closed until March
Passengers intending to use the short-term car park at London Gatwick's North Terminal should bear in mind that it is now closed for refurbishment until late March 2007.
It means travellers will have to allow extra time to park their vehicles because BAA (the operator of Gatwick) is providing alternative arrangements at the long-stay park which is some distance from the North Terminal.
BAA says it is setting apart a special parking area in the long-stay park and will run shuttle buses to the North Terminal every five to eight minutes during the day (a reduced service will operate overnight).
At the same time car hire customers need to bear in mind that the North Terminal's car rental desks are being moved to the South Terminal while the refurbishment takes place. Passengers with little luggage may find it more convenient to use the short-stay parks in the South Terminal and then take the shuttle train across to the North Terminal.
Ask our consultants to pre-book your long stay airport parking. We can obtain better rates, whether it is for meet and greet or DIY parking,
Travel companies warned about effectiveness of carbon offsetting
An increasing number of travel companies are putting emission trading schemes in place in a bid to combat global warming.
But speaking at a green debate at the ABTA Travel Convention in Marbella, executive director Tony Juniper warned that not all schemes were beneficial. He said that a lot of these schemes focus on reforestation, but in countries where there are issues of land rights, people were being expelled from agricultural land so that someone could plant trees to make themselves feel better about flying.
It also seems that other offsetting schemes are being sold several times over, so that there is no actual benefit. There was a strong call for government to end the confusion. The first thing is to establish a single agreed system of working out the carbon footprint of a given company or activity, which takes into account the many variables.
We suggest that, whilst the objective is laudable, it will be years before meaningful data is available that allows travellers to select the carrier and hotel they would prefer to use for any given trip, on the basis of minimising greenhouse gas production.
Airlines’ route additions and changes
Silverjet gains US approvals
All-business class start-up Silverjet has received approval from US authorities to enable it to start taking bookings in America.
The UK transatlantic carrier aims to take off with £799 lead-in flights between Luton and Newark on January 25.
Silverjet said it had been granted the necessary licences by the US Department of Transportation.
Chief executive Lawrence Hunt said: "We are now set for our first London-New York flight on 25 January. "Transatlantic passengers can look forward to an outstanding business class service at unbeatable value for money."
"Flying with Silverjet will mean that you can turn up at a private jet terminal just 30 minutes before your flight, sleep in a luxury award winning flat bed and choose what you want to eat when you want to eat it. We will treat our customers to a truly premium in-flight service by cabin crew who are focused on delivering service to our customers."
We believe Silverjet could present real benefits for those clients prepared to use Luton as their departure airport, but as we are reticent about recommending a new airline without having had some direct feedback from a client, may we ask anyone who samples the service in the near future, to let us know about their experience with it?
Lufthansa - new routes and some extended Frankfurt connection times
New routes
Lufthansa has become the second European airline to serve Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). In December it began a three times a week service from Frankfurt. Up to now, the only other services were operated by British Airways and Air India, both from Heathrow.
A further development takes place on March 27, when Lufthansa will be adding a new three times a week service from Munich to Seoul and Busan in South Korea.
It's the first European airline to fly into Busan, which is a centre of car manufacturing and ship building in South Korea.
These new routes will probably have a beneficial effect on fares, so do contact our consultants to check for the best arrangements for your next trip.
Frankfurt connection times
UK passengers changing planes in Frankfurt with Lufthansa, need to allow more time to make the connection than they have in the past. In a bid to improve the reliability of connections, the German airline has extended the MCT (minimum connecting time) from 45 to 60 minutes.
The new MCT applies to all Lufthansa passengers connecting to or from US flights. It also applies to passengers travelling between non-Schengen countries (like the UK) and Schengen countries within the EU. As an example, it would cover any Lufthansa passenger flying, say, from Zurich to San Francisco or from Edinburgh to Milan. But it wouldn't affect a passenger flying, say, London-Frankfurt-Tokyo.
Long haul fares to be deregulated
The Civil Aviation Authority is starting to remove its regulation of long-haul air fares because of greater competition in the airline market.
This is taking place in two stages. The first covered long-haul routes other than UK-US from December 1.
The second stage will be deferred until other pricing restrictions in the UK-US market are removed.
As a result of the first stage, regulation was removed from flexible economy fares to Israel, Russia, Egypt, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Mexico and Brazil.
The CAA has regulated around 40 long-haul routes - those where competition is most constrained by government limits on which airlines can fly and how frequently, and has done so for more than 30 years.
Regulation on such routes was confined to the fully flexible economy fares - those applying to last-minute, changeable, refundable economy tickets, where airlines generally have the least incentive to compete on price.
Available data suggests that in recent years fewer passengers have been buying such fares in any case, and they now form only a tiny proportion of the hundreds of thousands of fares available in the market.
International Trade Fairs
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.
Australia - Sydney - CBIT: 1st - 3rd May 2007
China - Guangzhou - INTERZUM; 27th - 30th March 2007
China - Shanghai - SEMICON CHINA: 21st - 23rd March, 2007
Germany - Frankfurt - AMBIENTE: 9th - 13th February, 2007
Hong Kong - GIFTS AND PREMIUM: 28th April - 1st May 2007
India - New Delhi - BUILD EXPO '07: 24th - 26th March 2007
Kenya – Nairobi – KITE; 2nd – 4th February, 2007
Saudi Arabia – Riyadh – SAUDIPACK: 12th –15th February, 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 – EAITE: 9th – 12th MARCH, 2007
Tanzania - Dar Es Salaam - EATIF - 20th - 3rd April, 2007
U.A.E. - Dubai - ARABLAB: 11th - 14th February, 2007
Ukraine – Kiev – PLASTEX UKRAINE: 20th – 23rd February, 2007
U.S.A. - New York - NYIGF: 28th January - 1st February, 2007
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.
Europcar to acquire National and Alamo in Europe
A major consolidation in European car rental has been sparked by Europcar, which announced recently that it is acquiring Vanguard Car Rental Holdings' European businesses for 670 million euros (£450m) - subject to approval by competition authorities. This includes the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.
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 form a global network.
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, whilst 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 and the National / Alamo businesses will continue to operate as two separate networks but there will be "synergies" in fleet management, a statement said.
This acquisition will enable the Europcar group to become the leading car rental operator in the UK market, thereby considerably strengthening its position as the largest car rental company in Europe and also to become a worldwide car rental player by offering clients access to one of North America’s premier networks.
Medway Travel has preferred status and enjoys favourable rates with Europcar , so do contact us with you car rental requirements
Are we too fat for economy seats?
Air travellers are becoming too fat to fit into conventional airline seats, according to a recent survey. It found that between 1951 and 2002 the average female put on 1.5 inches around the hips, which now measure 40.5 inches. Across the shoulders, women have broadened from 13.8 inches to 14.5 inches.
Apparently, statistics for men in 1951 were not available (we guess that will get the conspiracy theories going!). However in 2002, the average man, sitting up straight, measured two inches more across the shoulders than the average woman, at 16.5 inches.
Based on the findings, it seems that two thirds of men are now too broad shouldered for their neighbours' comfort in an aeroplane seat of 16 inches width, which is the narrowest provided.
It claimed that in the standard airline seat, which measures 17 inches across, around one third of adult male passengers felt cramped.
Meanwhile, although only one in seven women were too broad in the narrowest seats available, they were more likely to feel the pinch further down. One in five were generously enough built to find a 16 inch seat a tight fit, while 5.3 per cent could do with more room in a more copious 17 inch seat.
In the past, airlines have tended to promote extra leg room as a selling point, due to the well recognised increase in the average height of passengers over the last few decades, but this survey suggests the emphasis may well begin to change to airlines boasting about seat width. One hopes so!
Marriott goes smoke-free in North America
Marriott hotels in the US and Canada has gone 100% smoke-free following a period when more than 90% of its guest rooms had been non-smoking.
In total the chain has nearly 2,300 hotels and 400,000 guest rooms. A spokesman for Marriott said recently that there has been very positive customer feedback from the move.
May we take this opportunity to remind readers that Medway Travel makes no transaction charge for researching and booking hotels if we book your travel at the same time. So, please do include your accommodation requirements when discussing your travel itinerary with our consultants.
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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!
New Starwood Concorde hotel for Paris
Concorde Hotels and Resorts has added a seventh property to its Paris portfolio with the opening of the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse.
Previously the Bleu Marine Montparnasse, the Concorde Montparnasse is now under the ownership of investment firm Starwood Capital Group, which bought the property in 2004 under its Louvre Hotels group.
The hotel is located in the 14th district of the city, on the Left Bank, close to Montparnasse railway station. It has 354 modern, air-conditioned rooms, a fitness area, a bar and restaurant. The meeting and conference facilities can hold up to 160 people, and wifi access is available on the ground and first floors.
Hotel Concorde Montparnasse joins six other Parisian hotels in the Concorde collection, including the famous luxury Hotel de Crillon, on Place de la Concorde.
Starwood Capital Group has announced plans to create a new luxury brand called Crillon by 2010, which will have Hotel de Crillon as its flagship property.
The Crillon brand will feature small luxury hotels of around 150 rooms and will offer top-class dining options with the likes of Jean-Francois Piege (of Les Ambassadeurs in Hotel de Crillon) and three Michelin-starred chef, Guy Martin, of the Grand Vefour. They will be located in major cities worldwide, and resort destinations may also follow.
With the rapid expansion of the Concorde chain, and plans for the Crillon brand in the pipeline, Starwood Capital Group will have brands for all budgets in its Louvre Hotels portfolio. These start from hotel chains such as Kyriad, Campanile and Premiere Classe to the higher-end option of Concorde Hotels and Resorts and the top-end Crillon brand.
Our consultants have details of tens of thousands of hotels at their fingertips, many at better than normal corporate rates. So do ask them to find the right hotel for you in the right location. We make no charge for this service, providing you ask us to book your travel at the same time.
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British Airways will effectively become London Airways ?
By next spring BA's network will be cut back to a London-centric operation with any remaining regional services reduced to Heathrow and Gatwick feeder services.
The big change will come about following the off-loading of loss-making budget brand BA Connect to Flybe. The deal means that BA's livery will disappear from large parts of the UK. Its domestic network will be cut back to London-bound services from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Aberdeen.
It also means that BA will no longer have a presence in cities like Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, Inverness or Southampton. In addition BA will no longer be able to provide regional direct flights to important mainland European cities such as Frankfurt, Milan, Paris and Vienna.
Abandoning direct flights from the regions would be unthinkable at Europe's other large carriers such as Air France or Lufthansa. Both maintain a comprehensive network of international flights from both main and secondary cities.
Exeter-based Flybe will absorb the BA Connect business for an undisclosed sum. It will make Flybe Europe's largest regional airline, flying 10 million passengers a year over 159 routes. BA will acquire a 15 per cent stake in the new business.
Budget carrier Flybe says it will phase out the existing BA Connect fleet as soon as possible but passengers are unlikely to see any changes until the spring. The carrier is currently taking delivery of a fleet of fuel-efficient Q400 turbo-props and Embraer 195 regional jets and these will eventually appear on those BA Connect routes which Flybe decides to keep.
Flybe has extremely competitive fares and so passengers will probably end up paying less for their tickets although they will also have to get used to paying extra fees for some services for which BA Connect did not charge (like baggage check-in). It also means the BA passengers booking alternative Flybe flights or seeking to connect between BA and Flybe won't be able to interline (through-check carriers) and they'll have fewer opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles.
But there is some good news. The existing BA Connect flights out of London City do not form part of the deal. These will continue to be operated by BA and the carrier says its London City network will be expanded.
Business travellers prefer music to messages
More than three quarters of business travellers take their iPod with them on the road while only 28% described their BlackBerry or PDA as an essential travel companion.
A poll of 13,800 travellers found that iPods produce better business results by creating a relaxed and stress-free environment.
The iPod is highly prized for its ability to relieve stress and put travellers in a relaxed and positive frame of mind. Almost two thirds of respondents (64%) believed a stressful journey can have a seriously detrimental effect on the meeting they're travelling to.
The research suggests that BlackBerrys and other devices which keep travellers in contact with base, are delivering business people to meetings stressed, distracted and unfocused.
The vast majority of businesses travellers use their iPod to listen to music (79%) with only 2% using it for 'business' purposes such as listening to conferences or business presentations.
Those polled travelled on average once or twice a month (63%), with a further one in five (20%) travelling three or four times and 15% travelling more than five time a month.
