Moscow has again been named as the world’s most expensive city for hotel rooms in a survey by a business travel firm.
The research, which looked at room rates for the first six months of this year, found that Abu Dhabi was second on the list followed by Paris, New York and Milan.
Moscow topped the survey despite a 14 per cent drop in rates in the first half of this year.
source: Mail Online
Lufthansa is offering passengers compensation for rainy days on holiday, the latest travel company to do so.
People who book flights with them from Germany can claim 20 euro for every rainy day, for up to ten days.
The Lufthansa ‘sunshine rate’ is available until 18 August and is valid on flights departing between 1 September to 31 October to 36 destinations.
source: BBC
Two workers syndicates that operate two airlines in Spain, Easyjet and Spanair have announced plans for strike action this August in protest against senior management in both companies. Apparently the Easyjet strike will affect flights, but not the Spanair one.
The two workers unions based in Spain announced they call for 24-hour strike action of all Easyjet maintenance staff in Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante and Tenerife on August 15, 22 and 29.
source: euroweeklynews.com
Airline fans have the chance to name some of Vueling’s incoming A320s, which are joining its fleet following the merger with clickair. The winner of the best idea will be awarded with a trip to the hangar where the chosen name will be painted on the new livery.
Vueling launched a Europe-wide contest inviting its fans to name five of Vueling’s 18 incoming planes using new social network outlets. These aircraft have joined Vueling’s all-A320 fleet, which now stands at 35 aircraft, after its merger with clickair was ratified on July 15th.
source: Boarding.no
Baggage fee hikes continue as this British Airways announced that beginning October 7, international passengers flying economy will only be allowed one free checked bag. The previous, pretty standard way of international checked luggage was to allow each person two checked bags.
On British, economy class is called “‘World Traveller'” and “‘World Traveller Plus’,” and these are the only classes affected. Flying Club World (business) or First Class will still yield the massive allowance of three free checked bags on international flights.
source: Jaunted
Ryanair is to cut 670 flights a week, close ten routes and reduce frequency on a further 30 routes in the biggest winter shake-up for the airline so far.
The low-cost carrier refused to specify which routes would be affected. It will move some operations from its largest base, at Stansted, Essex, to Spain, which is abolishing airport landing fees this winter to try to keep tourist numbers up. Greece has also eliminated landing fees and airports around Europe are understood to be arranging discounts with airlines to keep services operating.
source: Times Online
A high-profile campaign has been launched in a bid to see Liverpool twinned with the Spanish holiday resort of Malaga.
And after ten years of flying between the two destinations, easyJet is spearheading the calls for Liverpool to become the first UK city to officially twin with the gem of Andalusia.
Like Liverpool, Malaga is a busy port which has re-invented itself over recent years to become a busy, cosmopolitan city with an exciting and multi faceted cultural scene – not to mention attracting thousands of tourists (or ‘guiris’ as they say in Malaga) each year.
source: clickliverpool.com
Italy’s civil aviation authority grounded low cost airline MyAir on Wednesday, saying months of financial troubles made the company’s service unreliable.
The Italian authority, know by the acronym ENAC, said it suspended MyAir’s license to fly effective at midnight Friday.
The airline based in Vicenza, northern Italy, flew from Italian cities to airports across Europe, as well as Morocco and Turkey.
source: MSNBC
The no-frills airline, renowned for its “‘hidden charges’â€, was referred to the OFT following a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Ryanair has promised to give greater prominence to information regarding “optional†charges, such as those for checking in luggage, and will provide clearer information on its promotions and low price guarantee.
“‘We welcome Ryanair’s action which we believe will make it easier for consumers to access the information they need when choosing low cost flights’,†said Mike Haley, the OFT’s director of consumer markets.
source: Telegraph.co.uk
The global economic crisis took a heavy toll on travel to and from Britain last year, figures released on Thursday showed, while the first quarter of 2009 was also gloomy for the tourism industry.
Visits to Britain fell to 31.9 million, down 2.7 percent from 2007 and the first fall since 2001, when the 9/11 attacks and a foot-and-mouth outbreak dented global travel, a report by the Office for National Statistics showed.
Visits by Britons abroad also dropped in 2008, marking the first decline in two-way travel — both from Britain and to it — since the Gulf War in 1991.
In the first quarter of this year, visits by British residents abroad fell by 21 percent year-on-year, following a 9 percent fall in the last quarter of 2008.
source: Reuters
