Corporate e-Newsletter May 2007

Leeds-based budget carrier Jet2.com has topped a poll as the best airline running flights through UK airports.

The airline achieved an average score of nine out of ten for the quality of its service, and was praised by customers for its excellence in reliability, customer service and value for money.

BMI, First Choice, Thomas Cook and EasyJet also came out favourably from the survey with ratings above five out of ten, whilst US carriers American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways all scored poorly. Iberia came bottom.

The findings come from customer ratings on UK consumer review website ReviewCentre.com, which allows users to comment on and rate 200 airlines, based on their experiences during flights.

The fact that many people consider Jet2's service quality to be better than established names such as BA and American Airlines is a considerable achievement – and must be an unpleasant surprise for the major airlines.

As competition for passengers increases, so the quality of service that airlines provide has become crucial. Passengers are looking for cheap, hassle-free flights, and feedback from other travellers plays a large part in their decision-making process.

The results of the ratings were:

•        Jet2.com  9.0
•        bmi  6.8
•        Continental Airlines  6.3
•        Singapore Airlines  6.3
•        Thomas Cook  6.0
•        Virgin Atlantic  5.8
•        EasyJet  5.4
•        British Airways  5.2
•        bmi baby  4.7
•        Ryanair  4.7
•        KLM  4.3
•        United Airlines  4.2
•        American Airlines  3.2
•        US Airways  2.5
•        Iberia       2..2

As more and more no frills airlines come on stream serving ever increasing numbers of routes, it becomes harder to ensure best value through booking direct. Our consultants have one of the most comprehensive and latest systems, enabling them to research all the no frills and conventional  airlines best fares on any given city pair routing in seconds. This ensures that clients get the very latest and best fares, for a modest fee that often is much lower than the saving we achieved in the fare itself.

So why not contact us and save yourself time, doubt, stress - and probably money too?

The cost of staying in a UK hotel rose by an average of 17 per cent to £98 per night in the last quarter of 2006, compared with the same period in the previous year, according to a new survey from a hotel specialist. It tracks the real prices paid across thousands of properties, from bed and breakfast accommodation to five-star hotels.

For the second year running, Bath was the most expensive place to stay in the UK, with average room prices up six per cent to £114. London hotel tariffs averaged £107, a jump of 22 per cent.

Edinburgh was the third most expensive city, costing £95 per night, while the costliest continental European city was Rome at £94 per night, followed by Copenhagen and Amsterdam, both averaging £93 per room.

Nottingham was one of the few UK cities to report a drop in prices, with rooms costing on average £61, a fall of four per cent on the previous year.

According to the survey, the UK remained the most expensive country in Europe during 2006, reflecting the rising popularity of cities as tourist and business destinations.

While London led the overall rises for the UK, there were substantial increases across other key urban areas, reflecting the resurgence of these regional centres.

Meanwhile, hotel prices around the world rose by an average of 15 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2006, compared with the same period in 2005.

Tariffs in the US rose by 11 per cent and Asia 12 per cent, while the biggest price rise, 58 per cent, was in Bangkok. However the average cost of staying in the Thai capital was never-the-less only £44 during the quarter.

In the last three months of 2006, Moscow retained its position as the city in which tourists paid the most for a room – an average of £172 per night – despite a three per cent drop on the same period in 2005.

New York, at an average of £155 per night, and Dubai at £124, were the second and third most expensive destinations.

Shanghai and Bali both featured in the list of bargain destinations, with room prices at just £61 and £63 per night respectively.

With its being a sellers’ market, it is clearly becoming more difficult to find real value for money in the hotel sector. But, by careful research and by using sophisticated systems, our consultants are able quickly to find the best value and most convenient locations for your trips to any destination. This saves you valuable time and costs you nothing for our service on such bookings, if you book your flights with us at the same time. So please do contact us for your optimum hotel bookings.

Economy Fares

Business Class Fares

Each month we bring you a small selection of the 10 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!

 

You may have seen that a £4.7 million fine was levied against British Airways by EU antitrust regulators, for using a system that locked larger travel agents into selling more of its tickets at the expense of its rivals, has been upheld.

The European Union's Court of Justice rejected an appeal by the airline, saying it was "in part inadmissible and in part unfounded".

The EU court found BA guilty of abusing its dominant position in the market for air travel services.

It said BA's system of paying the largest UK agents a basic commission for selling its tickets plus a performance bonus based on the growth of annual BA ticket sales was unfair because it locked agents into selling more BA tickets at the expense of other airlines.

Virgin Atlantic has complained to EU regulators about the selling practices of its main rival.

Virgin said it was "delighted" that the court had upheld the decision and that BA had lost its final appeal after having been found guilty of operating anti-competitive incentives with sectors of the travel trade.

We, at Medway Travel, are delighted at this result. We do not receive any such incentive from BA, and consider it wrong that larger agencies are incentivised to sell BA when it could well be in their clients’ best interests to travel with a different airline, and we always put our clients’ best interests first, when offering alternative fares.

Airport operator BAA and British Airways have announced that London Heathrow's Terminal 5 will be opened on March 27 2008. The terminal will be a dedicated BA terminal, serving around some 30 million passengers a year.

BAA claimed that over 90% of construction work is complete and the project remains on time and on budget and it will begin an intensive six-month trial of facilities in September, by recruiting 16,000 people to act as passengers.

68 million passengers are expected to fly through Heathrow this year in aging terminal facilities designed to accommodate around 45 million. When T5 opens and 30 million passengers move out of existing terminals, there will be, for the first time in decades, space to breath in the central terminal area and BAA will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to redevelop the rest of the airport and bring it up to a comparable standard to T5.

BAA plans to have either re-built or redeveloped the existing facilities by 2012, and aims to have returned Heathrow to its rightful status as the world's leading international airport.

Designed by 2006 Stirling Prize winner the Richard Rogers Partnership, the T5 complex features 60 new aircraft stands, two satellite buildings (the second to be completed by 2010), rail links to London Underground and Heathrow Express, a new multi-storey car park and extensive landscaping.

Which is all great news, but will the M25 stop us from ever getting there?

If you would like us to try to get you seats on flights taking off from T5 on it's historic first day, as explianed in our recent Medway travel Express, please contact us and we will do our best to find a suitable flight for you.

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.

Algeria – Algiers – SIAC: (Food & Technology) 17th – 20th November 2007

Brazil – Sao Paulo – HOSPITALAR: 12th – 15th June 2007

China – Shanghai – WORLD FOOD OF CHINA: 4th – 7th September 2007

Germany – Dusseldorf – GIFA: 12th –16th June, 2007
Germany – Munich – BIJOUTEX: 30th June – 2nd July, 2007
Germany – Frankfurt – TENDENCE: 24th – 28th August, 2007
Germany – Cologne – SPOGA: 2nd – 4th September 2007
Germany – Dusseldorf – GDS (shoes): 14th – 16th September, 2007

Kurdistan – Erbil – ERBIL INTNL. FAIR: 29th October – 2nd November 2007

Lebanon – Beirut – PROJECT LEBANON: 12th – 16th June 2007

Russia – Donetsk – METALLURGY UKRAINE: 4th – 7th September 2007
Russia – Moscow – CPM: 5th – 9th September, 2007

Saudi Arabia – Riyadh – SAUDIBUILD/STONE: 12th – 15th November, 2007

Singapore – ENVIROASIA: 27th – 30th November, 2007

Switzerland – St. Gallen – NANOEUROPE: 11th – 13th September, 2007

Thailand – Bangkok – HOSPIMEDICA: 12th – 14th September, 2007

U.S.A – Las Vegas – GLDA: 29th May – 1st June, 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.

 

You may have seen a big splash in the national press recently about the scandal of the rail fares “rip-off”.

One Broadsheet editorial put it that Britain’s train companies are routinely overcharging phone customers, having previously bewildered them with up to 40 options, each with fine print restrictions.

The point the newspaper went on to make was, that if one is confronted by endless ingeniously named product categories that sound economical, we are less likely to make an informed choice. If fare and price structures are sufficiently labyrinthine, it is highly likely we will end up picking an expensive option by mistake. This is of course much to the benefit of the train companies and detriment of the passengers!

You may know that Medway Travel’s consultants are trained in the use of the most sophisticated and ltest train fares research tool available, have your best interests in mind and will be pleased to handle your rail fare enquiries and give you unbiased advice on the best fare for your trip. What’s more, we can then issue you with the normal smart tickets (that operate the station “turnstiles”) and they can include cross London journeys involving the Underground.

Why spend valuable time in booking direct, only to get advice generally recognised to be biased against you, when (for a small fee) you can come to us and obtain advice you can trust, and have a good chance of obtaining a much lower fare – off-setting our fee several times over?

Your rail spend would then naturally be invoiced in the usual way and included in our monthly statements – a big advantage for your accounts departments, against it’s being on expense claims or separate rail company accounts!

If your company has a substantial spend on UK rail, you may find it worthwhile having your own ticket printer, which we can set up for you in your own office, together with the user friendly research software which we can show you how to use to best advantage. Furthermore, you could then readily obtain detailed M.I. on your rail spend.

Please contact us for more information.

We understand that Virgin Trains are continually striving  to promote, encourage and implement procedures that benefit the environment, and should therefore be considered a green railway.

Virgin Trains claim to be committed to complying with all relevant environmental legislation and industry standards, since they :

• Are researching biodiesel for use on the Voyager trains.
• Were the first train operator to serve Fairtrade hot drinks on board.
• Procure around 20% of their station electricity from a renewable source.
• Ran a record-breaking Glasgow to Euston train and gave all the proceeds of the ticket sales (and on-board raffle) to Unite.
• `Currently have recycling operations at 17 of their 19 stations (work is under way on introducing such facilities at the other two stations) and are trialling waste recycling on board their trains.
• Have distributed power (lots of smaller engines) and therefore lower fuel consumption
• Have automatic shutdown of systems and engines when the train is left stabled
• Retain toilet waste for discharge at depots (rather than on track like the old trains).

Their Pendolino trains on the West Coast use 'reverse thrust' traction motors to slow down, generating electricity which goes back into the National Grid. For example, a nine-car Pendolino braking system returns up to 1,500 kWh of electricity to the power lines on a journey between Glasgow and London - enough to light over 500 houses for several hours. As well as creating enormous energy savings, the new brakes dramatically reduce the amount of dust created by using old-style frictional disc brakes, with no loss of performance.

Well done Virgin!

And please don’t forget we have one of the most sophisticated and quick to use research and ticketing systems for UK rail, to ensure you obtain best value fares without the hassle of trying to get meaningful information out of the rail companies themselves! So do contact us before you undertake a rail trip.

We are pleased to launch a new service to our clients, Business Taxis. This is a company that offers an efficient global and pre-bookable Meet and Greet Taxi and Excecutive Vehicle transfer service in thousands of business destinations, worldwide.
 
The service is specifically aimed at the international business traveller, with the vehicles offered ranging from taxis to executive cars for single travellers or groups. All vehicles and drivers are fully insured and pre-vetted.
 
The worry of hanging around at airports in a taxi queue, having enough local currency and whether you will be able successfully to communicate your required destination address, are taken away by pre-booking. You will be met by the driver displaying your name (or a prearranged alternative reference if you are concerned about security).
 
At Medway Travel, we can pre-book and prepay this service for you.

Additional benefits:

· Available in thousands of cities world wide - and growing rapidly.

· Vetted chauffeurs

· Choice of level of refinement and luxury

· Security conscious – eg meet by agreed code/number if you wish to retain confidentiality. Bug free “electronically clean “ cars, if specified.

· Retain car and driver all day if you have a series of meetings at different locations

· In “difficult navigation “ countries – eg Japan – with hard to read signs and unknown languages, drivers will speak English or have access to English speaker, and take you from meeting to meeting by best route.

For further information or to make a booking, please contact us or call 01622 608268

Air New Zealand expands Asia routes

Air New Zealand will increase services from Auckland to Shanghai and Hong Kong following strong demand for the airline's new services.

The airline will introduce double daily services between Hong Kong and Auckland on Fridays and Sundays between November 30 to March 2, 2008.

Two additional services per week between Auckland and Shanghai will be added, increasing its weekly operations from three to five services a week.

Demand for these services is now strong enough to justify these new services, according to Ed Sims, group general manager, international.

Apparently the new daily service to and from London Heathrow via Hong Kong has stimulated new business on the Hong Kong to Auckland leg, to the point that Air New Zealand is now able to add these two additional services over the peak season.

 

BA expands London City operations

British Airways has launched a new subsidiary to expand operations from London City Airport by more than 70%.

BA CityFlyer, running until recently 144 flights a week from London City, will now operate 250 flights a week from the Docklands airport to six UK and European destinations, following BA’s offloading regional arm, BA Connect, to Flybe.

The new offshoot started routes to Glasgow and Zurich from March 26, each served four times a day, and add extra frequency to Edinburgh. Destinations also include Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan. Fares start at £39 one-way, including taxes.

The airline's schedule enables passengers to do a full business day in Glasgow and Zurich with a same-day return option.

The airline, employing 278 staff, will operate 10 Avro RJ00 aircraft, with up to 110 seats in a single-class configuration on domestic routes and a two-class layout on European routes.

A spokesman said London City will be a major focus over the next few years. "It is an increasingly popular base for customers, easy to use and conveniently located for the growing business districts of Docklands and the City. Our existing services have been well received by the business community, and our new routes are very much at the top of the "wish list" for our customers”.

 

Oasis aims for Oakland – San Francisco

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines chairman has confirmed that Oakland Airport, on the other side of San Francisco Bay from the city’s main airport, will be the carrier’s next destination.  Oasis hopes to start flying this route in July. He pointed out that Oakland is a major airport in its own right and is a hub for low cost carriers including Southwest and JetBlue. It will involve a flight close on 15 hours and Oasis will need a minimum of two aircraft in order to service the route on a daily basis.
Since its launch on 26 October 2006, the airline has taken more than 70,000 bookings and carried 34,000 passengers with an average 76% load factor out of the UK over the first three months of operation.  97% of the flights operated on time in January – exceeding the industry average of 75% on the London – Hong Kong route. The company now employs 308 staff, including 58 pilots.
The airline now operates daily between Gatwick and Chep Lap Kok with a pair of ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400s.  There are 81 business class seats with 60” legroom and 278 in economy with a liberal 32” pitch.  At the front end, passengers gain a full service operation, whilst those at the back have complimentary tea, coffee and water and a paid for bar.  There is a choice of Asian and European meals but for those wishing to book alternative food a pre-booked range is available.

With the choice of airline and route increasing almost daily, it really pays to shop around. This can take a great deal of valuable time, unless, like the professionals, you have expensive connectivity allowing you to see at a glance the many different fares (and  their restrictions) all at the same time.
So why not increase your chances of obtaining best value, by asking our consultants to research and book your flights?

 

Virgin America closer to take off

Fledgeling US domestic carrier Virgin America has won tentative approval from the country's Department of Transportation.

The DOT, which had previously blocked the airline's plans, found that Virgin America is owned and controlled by US citizens and is fit to operate as a domestic airline.

The airline said it hoped to receive final DOT approval in anticipation of a mid-summer launch from its base in San Francisco to New York John F. Kennedy Airport. Four additional cities - Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington DC - are planned to be added within nine months of the company's first flight.

The DOT Order proposes that Virgin America finalize changes already offered by the company to address concerns about its citizenship, and to satisfy certain other pre-launch conditions.

"Today's order puts us one giant step closer to flying," said Virgin America spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones. "We look forward finally to getting our wings - it will be a huge win for our employees, investors, supporters, and the travelling public."

The airline's CEO Fred Reid said: "We worked very hard to address the Department's initial concerns, and are pleased that they have recognized our extensive work and good faith commitment to meet and exceed those requirements.

"We plan to meet with our shareholders immediately to address the Department's proposed conditions."

Medway Travel will, of course, include Virgin America flights in our trip research, and options, immediately it commences operations.

 

Airlines and travel companies have joined together to applaud the "open skies" agreement between the Euopean Union and the US, but some say it has not gone far enough.

Many airline spokesmen agreed with Cheapflights.co.uk CEO David Soskin, who called for more progress on deregulation in the aviation industry, saying “this agreement is a start but does not go far enough – there should be a total deregulation ensuring that European airlines can compete in the American market or own shares in American carriers"

A spokesman for ABTA said: " Anything that increases choice is good for both our members and their customers. However we do not anticipate open skies bringing in much lower fares as prices to the US are already very low, particularly in economy."

Bmi said the decision will have a major impact not only on its point-to-point traffic to the US but on the network competition that it will be able to provide from its domestic, European and other longhaul services.

Meanwhile Continental Airlines immediately filed an amended application at the US Department of Transportation for rights to serve new routes to Europe once the open skies agreement takes effect.

It plans to inaugurate service from its Houston hub to Heathrow before summer 2008, subject to government approval and the airline obtaining necessary slots and facilities.

As it expands into Heathrow, the airline will retain service to Gatwick currently offered from the airline's three US hubs.

"Our customers have always wanted more options for accessing London, and the open skies agreement will allow us to give our customers the convenience of choosing between Heathrow and Gatwick for their London travel plans," said Larry Kellner, chairman and CEO.

Virgin Atlantic said the deal did not go far enough because although US airlines would gain free access to European airports, EU airlines would not be allowed the same rights on US domestic routes.

British Airways also expressed reservations about the agreement, which will challenge its dominance at Heathrow.

Chief executive Willie Walsh said: "The EU is naive to believe the US will deliver on the next stage of liberalisation without sanctions so we are pleased the UK government has recognised this and demanded an automatic termination clause. However, the five-month delay before implementation is unnecessary.

"With the EU having given away their most valuable negotiating asset - Heathrow - the UK government must stand by its pledge to withdraw traffic rights if the US does not deliver further liberalisation by 2010. Nothing short of an Open Aviation Area by 2010 will be acceptable and we want talks on the second stage to achieve this to start immediately.”

International business travellers working more than five consecutive days during a single month in Belgium, now are required to register with the country prior to entry, the Belgian Ministry of Social Security said. The program, called Limosa, was implemented on 1st April, and is causing headaches for some international companies sending employees to Belgium on business.

The Belgian Social Security Administration on April 1 launched a Web site—limosa.be—through which employers can register on behalf of travellers prior to entry into the country. The Web site notes that the employer or organization sending personnel on business to Belgium must make the declaration and that "a third party can also do this on your behalf." The Web site also notes, "Every applicant shall immediately receive a Limosa-1 certificate of every declaration. The electronic versions of these certificates have to be printed out. Every posted employee, self-employed person or apprentice must be able to produce this Limosa-1 to his Belgian client or principal."

Corporate travel organizations have been stongly critical that Limosa has not been well publicized or clearly spelled out, and some travel buyers are readjusting policies to avoid the program's penalties for non-compliance. Penalties apparently could apply to "both the foreign employer and to the Belgian host company (if any) and could include "imprisonment of the foreign employer for up to two years and a fine of €6205 (approximately US$8,000).

Belgian Social Security officials have confirmed that the new rules apply to business travellers from foreign countries working more than five consecutive days, but are exempt as long as trips "do not exceed five consecutive working days per calendar-month." Belgian officials also have set exemptions for government personnel and scientists, among others. One international company in an internal memo noted that employees with a Belgian employment contract—those who "contribute to Belgium Social Security"—also are exempt.

We thought initially on learning of this, that it was an elaborate April Fools joke, but the website really exists, with all the handbooks and forms that normally go with government red tape and regulations.

We wonder what has happened to the “Eurovision” of free movement of goods and people across borders? Red tape will soon strangle it, it seems!