5 OCTOBER 2015
YOUR WORDS
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- ON THE SOAPBOX: Peter Davies, CEO and Founder of the Airline Management Group
- Another Brandenburg setback
- BA’s upmarket Dreamliner
- Biggin’s BGAD bonanza
- Blue moves into Glasgow
- CityJet lands SAS contract
- Cuba flights edge closer
- Davies defends LHR plan
- EasyJet on the move
- Ethiopia's mega-airport plan
- Flight tracking at Manchester
- Four Seasons arrives in Seoul
- Gatwick air quality boost
- Heathrow pollution riposte
- Jock Lowe v Zac Goldsmith
- MICE focus for New York
- More awards for Norwegian
- Oban seeks Glasgow link
- Porter’s touch of class
- Ryanair eyes French network
- Wizz Air forecasts growth
- ON TOUR: Hanoi
- CRUISE NEWS OCTOBER 2015
- AND FINALLY: Airport extras
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BA’s upmarket Dreamliner
New levels of luxury flying on the Dreamliner have been unveiled by British Airways after the airline’s first Dash-9 model touched down on Wednesday at Heathrow.
CityJet lands SAS contract
A major wet-lease contract has been awarded to Irish carrier CityJet by Scandinavian Airlines to operate a network of regional routes from Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm from next March.
Four Seasons arrives in Seoul
Korea’s capital acquired a new luxury hotel last week with the opening of the Four Seasons Seoul, with features including seven restaurants and bars and a three-storey spa and fitness complex.
Oban seeks Glasgow link
Expressions of interest are being sought by Oban Airport for an airline or aircraft operator to fly a schedule to and from Glasgow.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Business Travel News has been shortlisted for the prestigious CWT Business Travel Journalism Awards.
ON THE SOAPBOX: Peter Davies, CEO and Founder of the Airline Management Group
Peter Davies recently gave a discourse to the Aviation Club on what was described as the “Art of airline management”. Here he paraphrases his dissertation. (see BTN 28 September)
Biggin’s BGAD bonanza
With more than 700 visitors, 60 exhibitors and 20 aircraft and helicopters on display, the move of the Business and General Aviation Day (BGAD) show to Biggin Hill Airport has been acknowledged as a great success.
Cuba flights edge closer
Meetings aimed at ending Cuba’s commercial aviation isolation from the US are due to be held next week. US travellers can fly to Cuba at the moment only on charter flights for ‘permitted reasons’, including education, humanitarian efforts and professional research.
EasyJet on the move
A new service between Southend and Paris and more capacity for the Inverness – London route have been announced by easyJet.
Ethiopia's mega-airport plan
Plans have been announced to make Addis Ababa ‘the aviation hub of Africa’ with the building of a mega international airport with the capacity to handle 120 million passengers a year.
Gatwick air quality boost
Air quality at Gatwick – already within legal limits – has improved further, according to a new report published on Friday.
Heathrow pollution riposte
In a new riposte to its critics, and following Sir Howard Davies’ remarks (see this issue of BTN), Heathrow last week released a graphic using independent data which it said showed how road vehicles, and not emissions from operations on the airport, are the biggest contributor to the capital’s air pollution.
Jock Lowe v Zac Goldsmith
What in effect is a challenge to Zac Goldsmith has been issued by Jock Lowe, Director of Heathrow Hub. Captain Lowe’s innovative scheme envisages an extension of Heathrow’s current northern runway from its present 12,800ft to 22,000ft in total including the safety margin, in effect offering two runways out of one.
MICE focus for New York
Members of the Convention Development team at NYC & Company, the marketing, tourism and partnership organisation for New York City, held their largest pan-European MICE roadshow this week, visiting Manchester, London, Paris and Brussels.
ON TOUR: Hanoi
Business Travel News has always found Hanoi a fascinating place to visit and it has featured in these columns over the years.
Vietnam Airlines first introduced a direct Gatwick service back in November 2011. We jumped at the opportunity to visit Saigon (officially Ho Chi Min City) and now with the flights transferred to Heathrow and the Boeing Dreamliner introduced on the Hanoi route it was an offer not to be turned down.
CRUISE NEWS OCTOBER 2015
BTN has often been asked what the difference is between deep sea cruising and river trips. “Which do you prefer and what makes for the better holiday?”.
It is an easy one.
AND FINALLY: Airport extras
As if you needed reminding, a new list of unusual airport amenities shows how things have changed in air travel.
Once you went to an airport just to catch a plane.
Not so now.
Another Brandenburg setback
Structural flaws in the terminal roof are being blamed for another setback to Berlin’s troubled Brandenburg Airport project. Reports say the ceiling within the building has been found to be too heavy.
Blue moves into Glasgow
Romanian carrier Blue Air will begin flying from Glasgow Airport for the first time this winter, starting with a new direct flight to its home capital Bucharest.
Davies defends LHR plan
The suggestion that air quality represents a significant obstacle to airport expansion should be given only limited weight, Sir Howard Davies has said.
Flight tracking at Manchester
Flight and noise data collected by Manchester Airport’s new aircraft monitoring and tracking system can now be accessed online.
More awards for Norwegian
Norwegian, which claims to be the world’s fastest-growing airline, last week won two trophies for passenger choice at the 2015 awards ceremony at the APEX Expo in Oregon. The carrier took first place in the categories for Best in Region: Europe and Best Inflight Publication.
It was the second year in a row Norwegian has been named Best in Region: Europe by passengers.
Porter’s touch of class
Toronto-based Canadian carrier Porter Airlines, which claims to offer premium service on short- and medium-haul journeys, has extended its network with flights between its home base at Toronto’s Billy Bishop City Airport and Pittsburgh.
Ryanair eyes French network
In a telling indication of future ambitions, Ryanair has applied for slots at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports and is willing to co-operate with long-haul traditional airlines, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told a French financial newspaper last week.
Wizz Air forecasts growth
Lower fuel prices have led Wizz Air to raise its forecast for capacity growth for 2016 from 17% to 18% and predict a €190m-plus profit for this year.
The airline said the decrease in fuel costs was "feeding through to lower air fares" and it anticipated the downward trend in unit revenues would continue in the second half of the financial year.