Corporate Travel e-Newsletter Nov.2007

Every quarter we draw a winning name. The odds are miles better than winning the lottery (and cost you nothing!), so anyone who has not already done so, now is the time to subscribed to our free e-Newsletter, and be in with a chance of winning the subscribers' prize draw for the 4th quarter 2007!

The voucher certificate will have a value of £100, redeemable against any form of holiday booking (combination of travel and accommodation) 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. Just take a look at the Leisure section of our website to see the massive range of outstanding holidays on offer. Our team of consultants is 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!

As regular passengers on British Airways wait with impatience for the opening of Terminal 5 and the promised end to their hassles at Heathrow, other travellers may find their journeys are beginning to improve. Virgin Atlantic, for one, has just seen a pet plan come to fruition.

Opened on November 2, it is billed as the world's fastest airport check-in, which it probably is. But for regular business travellers used to checking in online, the real draw is from being kept separate from the 'Heathrow Hassle', which has been such a feature of travel through the airport for far too long.

The good news for all of Virgin Atlantic's passengers, whether flying in economy, premium economy or upper class is that new facilities at Terminal 3 will benefit everyone, with a revamped check-in area, new self-check in kiosks and a brighter experience. For the airline's business class passengers, however, there is a wholly new experience in a purpose-built, drive-through check-in.

Increased competition on routes such as those to New York seems a near-certainty in 2008, and the new facility is Virgin's trump card. Virgin saw an increase of 11 per cent in business class passengers in the 12 months September 2006-2007, carrying some 500,000 passengers in Upper Class. Of those, some 50 per cent currently use the drive-though service.

The drive through is accessed by a purpose-built ramp up to the first floor area level with departures. Passengers who have pre-booked the chauffeur-drive service will have been picked up by their car (operated by Tristar), all of which have telemetry inside, allowing the Virgin check-in staff to know exactly when a passenger is due to arrive.

The cars then drive up to a purpose-built area with eight bays. There, they are met by a host, their luggage is tagged, they are checked in (if they have not done so themselves online) and then they are walked through to a dedicated fast track security. Holders of Virgin's Flying Club's Gold card, who are on other tickets can also access this area via the lift to one side of Upper Class check-in on the floor below.

 

The Beachside Resort & Conference Center has recently opened in Key West. The upscale property comprises  222 rooms; including 129 one, two and three-bedroom suites and 93 king bedrooms. Each guest room features marble flooring throughout, oversized balconies with waterfront views, open gourmet kitchens with granite counter tops and stainless built-in appliances, full capacity washer and dryer, high-speed Internet access, sub-zero refrigerator freezer and tinted hurricane glass on all doors and windows.

Other plush touches include marble Jacuzzi tubs, Frette linens, fine china kitchenware, amenities by L'Occitane and LCD flat screen televisions. Most third floor suites have a private sundeck above their balconies and first floor accommodations provide a circular staircase down to the gardens.

The Beachside Ballroom is 6,000 square feet, can seat up to 400 and has its own kitchen. The lobby and conference center is constructed with an emergency power generator and can withstand up to 205 mile per hour winds (a typical category five hurricane has winds approximating 155 mph.

For other conference ideas please see our Groups and Conferences section ion our website, our 3rd Quarter Groups & Conference e-news and contact our specialist consultants

 

Regional air links from Heathrow could be threatened by hefty increases in fees paid by airlines.

The warning came from Bmi, the second largest user of Heathrow, which reacted angrily to Competition Commission recommendations for higher than expected charges as from next April.

The fees per departing passenger at Heathrow in 2007/08 is £18.55 but will almost double to £35.28 in 2012 under the CC recommendations based on an RPI each year of 4.1% as was recorded in August 2007, the airline calculated.

These rises in charges recommended by the Competition Commission, are more than those considered by the Civil Aviation Authority, but are not binding.

The suggested hike in charges every year over five years "threatens to put under further scrutiny the existence and viability of vital UK regional air links into Heathrow and has the potential of pricing them out of the market," Bmi warned.

"The availability of routes from key UK regions to feed into a wide range of destinations through the world's busiest international airport sustains the lifeblood and the economic growth of many of these regions.

"At a time when competition between airlines has demanded that they drive down their costs and generate higher levels of efficiency to survive, we have had to endure inflation-busting increases for the last five years for indifferent levels of service.

"We are now facing even higher increases over the next five years with limited improvements until the opening of the new Heathrow East terminal in 2012."

 

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 - PLASTICS:                                   3rd - 6th May, 2008

Australia - Sydney - HOSPIMEDICA:                         13th - 15th May, 2008
Australia - Melbourne - AUSPLAS:                            6th - 9th October 2008

Germany - Cologne - IMM:                                     14th - 20th January, 2008
Germany - Dusseldorf - BOOT:                               19th - 27th January,2008
Germany-Dusseldorf-INTERPLASTICA                       29th January - 1st February 2008
Germany - Cologne - DOMOTECHNICA:                    18th - 21st February, 2008
Germany-Dusseldorf-EUROSHOP                             23rd - 27th February 2008
Germany-Dusseldorf-WIRE                                     31st March - 4th April 2008
Germany-Dusselforf-COMPAMED                              19th - 21st November 2008

India - New Delhi - TUBE INTERNATIONAL:              14th - 16th February, 2008

Russia - Moscow - INTERPLASTICA:                         29th December, 2007 - Ist January, 2008

Singapore - IDEM:                                                4th - 8th April, 2008
Singapore - ASEANPLAS:                                        26th - 29th May, 2008
Turkey - Istanbul - FOODTECH:                             24th - 27th October, 2008

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

Travelodge has opened its largest hotel to date, a new £60 million property on London's City Road.
The hotel is a part new-build, part-conversion of the Grade II listed former Singer headquarters, with 392 guest rooms.

The bedrooms, which cover seven floors, incorporate some aspects of the brand's new room design, including flat-screen TVs, wifi, white-linen bedding, window blinds and new sofa-beds. However, as work on the City Road property was well underway before the redesign was completed, certain aspects - such as the blue, white and red colour-scheme, mood lighting and wall-mounted TVs - have not been introduced to this property.

Eating options at the hotel include a newly-launched dinner menu, which is available from the hotel's signature Bar Café, as well as an enhanced breakfast buffet menu, with all you can eat for £7.50 per head (10 per cent discount if you book breakfast online). Perhaps unexpectedly for a Travelodge, the City Road property also has five simply-furnished meeting rooms, accommodating up to 16 delegates.

In-keeping with its budget business model, the City Road Travelodge is offering rooms from £26 per night until the end of December 2007. The standard room rate will then increase to £95 per night.

Travelodge plans to become London's largest hotel brand in time for the 2012 Olympics and currently has three more London hotels in the pipeline (with a further 16 planned for the next five years). December will see the opening of Travelodges in Euston and Heathrow Terminal 5, and a further property is due to open in Southwark early next year.

With such a plethora of hotels in most major cities, let us help you find and book the accommodation best suited for your purposes, saving you time and most probably securing a better rate for you as well!

 

British Airways has a new promotion to woo business travellers - a free upgrade from Club World to First. And for the most valued customers there's also the chance to receive up to £200 of Gordon Ramsay restaurant vouchers

Passengers booking a full fare Club World ticket (fare code J2BA) between now and December 14, 2007, will receive a free upgrade to First on one of the legs. What's more members of BA's Executive Club stand to benefit further from the deal, as they will receive the extra miles and tier points on the first class leg. Online bookings are not eligible for this offer.

This promotion is valid for all customers, but some of you who travel with BA regularly may have received an email with an added incentive - selected customers who make two return journeys in Club World before December 14 will also receive £100 worth of Gordon Ramsay vouchers (valid for 18 months), rising to £150 for three return journeys completed, and £200 for four returns or more. Not quite a free meal, but a treat before Christmas for those who are Club World regulars.

Do contact us for more details, and to make your bookings.
 

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.

This month's examples are:

Singapore Airlines has revealed details of its new suites on the forthcoming A380 aircraft, which the carrier is billing as "a class beyond first".

Designed by French luxury yacht designer Jean-Jacques Coste, the new suites will be located on the main deck of the superjumbo, with 12 individual cabins (four of which can be converted into doubles) in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Each suite will have sliding doors for privacy (similar to the new first class offerings with Emirates and Jet Airways), and will feature a leather seat reclining to 130 degrees, plus a fully-flat 78-inch bed. These two are separate from each other (rather than the seat converting into a bed as on most first class products), although the seat will need to be folded away before the bed can be used, and vice versa.

The seat width is 23 inches with the armrests up, or a huge 35 inches (90cm) when folded down, and seat pitch is 81 inches, or just over 2m. The bed is 27 inches in width and nearly 2m in length, with duvets and pillows designed by Givenchy. There is also a chaise longue on the opposite side of the suite from the main chair, to enable companion dining or meetings across the height-adjustable table.

In-flight entertainment includes a 23-inch TV screen, Krisworld entertainment system with 100 movies, 180 TV programmes and 700 music CDs, all of which can be listened to on Bose headphones. There is also a USB port and power socket in each suite, along with IT office tools available through the IFE system.

On-demand dining comes from menus designed by chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Georges Blanc, and served on bone china, with crystal and silverware designed by Givenchy. Meanwhile amenity kits feature products by Salavatore Ferragamo.

The first flight of SIA's A380 took place at the end of last month, and the scheduled service is now on-going.

Eos announces two new routes

Eos Airlines will start flights between Paris and New York JFK, and London Stansted and Newark Airport in 2008.

After having recently secured a $50 million capital injection, Eos will acquire two more Boeing 757 aircraft in order to introduce as many as four new routes in 2008.

The business class carrier will add flights between Stansted and Newark in spring 2008, while flights between Paris and New York are expected to start in the autumn.

Details of initial ticket sale dates and schedules will be announced soon.

BA to launch Gatwick flights to Poland and Turkey.

British Airways will start flights from Gatwick to Poznan in Poland and Antalya in Turkey starting next Spring.

From March 30 it will fly daily to Poznan and from April 10 it will operate three flights per week to Antalya.

This is to supply the increasing demand for business and leisure travel between the UK and Poland, and Poznan becomes the third destination for BA, following Warsaw and Krakow.

All three destinations will operate from Gatwick next summer when BA's Warsaw flights move from Heathrow.

Antalya, in south west Turkey, is an increasingly popular leisure destination with new tourism facilities being developed. BA's entry on to this route, may help to keep fares to Turkey, down.

Eastern Airways adds direct route to The Loire

Eastern Airways will launch flights from Southampton International Airport to Angers Loire Airport next month.

The UK regional airline will operate a three times a week service from November 15.

Flights will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays leaving Southampton at 1105, arriving at Angers Loire at 1320 local time. Flights from Angers Loire take off at 1345 and land in Southampton at 1405 local time.

Virgin Atlantic increases Upper Class capacity

Virgin Atlantic is responding to strong growth in passengers booking its premium cabins by increasing the number of Upper Class seats on some of its services out of London Heathrow.

As previously reported, the airline has added 30 seats to its premium economy product. It is also increasing the number of Upper Class seats. This results in the upper deck of the 747 being devoted to Upper Class rather than being shared with Premium Economy. Whereas before rows 1-6 upstairs were J class, while rows 70-74 immediately behind them were Premium Economy, now the whole of the upper deck is Upper Class, numbered rows 1-11. The seats are in a 1-1 configuration apart from rows 10 and 11 which are singles.

Downstairs the J class seating continues in rows 12-19 and 20-25 with premium economy having its own cabins from rows 28-37. The new configuration can be viewed on Virgin Atlantic's website by clicking here (seating configuration 4).

BA to increase US flights from Heathrow

British Airways will increase flights from Heathrow to New York JFK (by 4 per week), Seattle (by 3 perm week), and Washington (by 3 per week) from March 30.

The increases follow the EU-US 'Open Skies' aviation treaty which comes in to effect that month.

BA will also increase flights from Gatwick to Orlando from seven to 10 flights per week.

The airline's daily flight to Dallas Fort Worth and double daily flights to Houston will move from Gatwick to Heathrow airport on the same date.

But flights from Heathrow and Detroit will be suspended.

 

 

Hilton Hotels plans the introduction of 25 new hotels across the Russia.

The hotel chain will be launching Hampton by Hilton and the Hilton Garden Inn in Russia, with the first property likely to be a Hampton property in St Petersburg, due to open in the second quarter of 2008.

With the limited number of internationally branded properties in Russia, Hilton plans to make a significant impact on the Russian hotel market in a relatively short space of time.

The introduction of additional brands from the Hilton Family of Hotels is aimed at providing a hotel product to suit all sectors and budgets.

In the long-term, the company anticipates opening some 70 hotels under the Hilton umbrella in Russia within the next 10 years, covering a number of regional cities.

Hilton's first Russian hotel, the 275-room Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya, is scheduled to open early in 2008.
Hilton Hotels is viewed by many as the leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels in 76 countries.

Don't forget that our consultants will be pleased to search for the best and most convenient hotels for your trips, worldwide, using the latest research tools, offering you options and details and at some of the best rates available. All this will be without charging a transaction fee, providing we can book them for you at the same time as booking your related flights.

As pressure from the greens grows stronger, with aviation being portrayed as the villain, is it practical to use rail as an alternative to flying from a business perspective?

It's a popular view that European rail systems are fast and are environmentally friendly in a way that aircraft can never be. It is true that there are some genuinely fast services.

The Brussels-Paris route is a breathtaking blur of pylons and telegraph poles, but the Cologne-Brussels trip is a meandering dawdle through the pretty Ardennes.

Eurostar is clearly raising its game and with the opening of the spanking new St Pancras station in London later this year, journey times will be slashed to allow access to Paris in 2h 15m and Brussels in as little as 1h 51m.
The Channel Tunnel operator has impressive facilities for the business traveller, including an appropriate lounge at Waterloo and, if its quality can be replicated at St Pancras, it will be a relaxing and efficient start to any journey.

Business travellers are clearly paying a premium, so what do they receive for handing over extra cash? Well, Eurostar provides a highly impressive at-seat dining experience, deep, wide armchairs and a frequent traveller scheme. Pan-European operator, Thalys also provides a similar standard of luxury, whilst Deutsche Bahn, perhaps because of its highly competitive business class fares, doesn't quite measure up to the same level.
But it's not just the Continentals who are changing the face of rail travel. Despite Virgin Train's sparse business lounge at Euston, its business offering is second to none.

Virgin have revolutionised UK train travel with its gleaming 21st century service that provides real comfort and sophistication. Standard class is pretty good anyway, but the business end really sets it apart.

Tables already laid with cloths and metal cutlery, attentive staff and high quality food, combined with large, comfortable seats and lots of frills, all make Virgin the industry leader in the UK. It's true that journey times to Scotland for example, are still frustratingly long, but completion of the West Coast Main Line should help, although the British government seems to have shut the door on any north-south high-speed line as found in France for example.

The success of airline alliances such as Star and oneworld is due to the fact that passengers can use miles earned on one airline, for trips on another in the same group. If the European members of Railteam could also come up with something similar, they may be on to a winner. And despite much trumpeting from the Europeans about its Railteam concept, it will still be some time before the unified element of being able to book a trans-European trip becomes a reality.

Both Eurostar and Thalys have frequent traveller programmes, but if they could be used in a similar way as airline alliances, then so much the better.

Many typical journeys for business travellers between major European city centres would probably compete effectively with the airlines, especially since the time spent in major airports has become so extended, although the two longest - London-Cologne and Cologne-Paris - would have to improve journey times considerably to make them really comparable.

Our consultants are experienced in handling both UK and European rail travel, so do ask them for comparisons with air, if you are interested in considering the rail alternative. Medway Travel has the latest UK rail fair research and ticketing service available.

 

Austrian Airlines has just started a twice-daily two-class service to Vienna from London City Airport.
Operating the Monday to Friday flight is a Fokker F70, a type not regularly seen at the airport and previously only flown by Air France for a limited period before the introduction of the larger BAe 146/AVRO types.

Vienna is one of the furthest routes that can be reached from the Docklands hub and provides an ideal gateway to Eastern Europe and beyond.

The flight time of 2h 15min is on par with services out of Heathrow, the slightly slower speed of the Fokker more than made up for by the lack of taxiing time at the airport, that easily has the quickest turnaround in London, to say nothing of the easy of getting to the City Airport compared with the hassle of getting to and through Heathrow, for those working in and around the City.

Construction is ongoing for a link under the Thames to Woolwich, with completion due by the end of 2008. This DLR extension will open up the whole of Kent as a potential market.

London Heathrow

BAA has recruited 15,000 passengers to test facilities at Heathrow Terminal 5 which opens on March 27, 2008

They are giving a trial to "every aspect" of the new building, including car parking, check-in, baggage systems, way-finding and security, according to the airport's operator.

The company has also showcased a next generation of security screening equipment called Smiths aTiX X-Ray machines. These will be in addition to extensive use of state-of-the-art check-in kiosks which BAA claims will cut queues. Faster, more advanced baggage systems will also mean better punctuality and reliability.

British Airways, which will use the new terminal, is working towards 80% of passengers using online check-in or using a self service kiosk when they arrive at the airport.

This year, 68 million passengers will fly through Heathrow, using terminal facilities designed to accommodate 45 million people, according to BAA.

When Terminal 5 opens, 30 million passengers will move out of existing terminals, giving a "once in a life-time opportunity" to redevelop the rest of the airport.

BAA is redeveloping Terminal 3 and will modernise Terminals 1 and 4 when Terminal 5 opens. Planning permission has also been received to build a new, "environmentally-efficient" terminal called Heathrow East (replacing Terminal 2 and The Queens Building).

BAA plans that by 2012, they could effectively have created a new London airport, with the majority of passengers travelling through facilities that will be less than 5 years old.

The Terminal 5 complex features 60 new aircraft stands; two satellite buildings - the second to be completed by 2010 - extensions of the London Underground and Heathrow Express; a new multi-storey car park and control tower.

 

Birmingham International

Birmingham International Airport plans to grow passenger numbers from 9.2 million to 27.2 million passengers per year by 2030.

It predicts that the airport will see 205,000 air transport movements a year by 2030, compared with the current 108,658.

The figures were disclosed in an interim statement released this week ahead of the publication of a 'Master Plan', due to be released later this year.

The statement also reveals plans for an extension to the main runway, which could be open before 2012. Apparently a second runway will not be needed before 2030, but a third passenger terminal will be built on the existing site, with the first phase proposed for 2018.

The plan also commits to ensuring the development is carried out in an environmentally sustainable way, mitigating impacts on the environment and people, as well as considering climate change.