12 AUGUST 2019
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- COMMENT: Who is flying the flag?
- Airbus US A220 line opens
- American moves into Africa
- Another bad week for BA
- Aviation returns to the Commons
- Biggin Hill airshow set for take-off
- Busiest month record for London City
- Four Points lands in Poland
- Gatwick unveils five-year investment plan
- Griffiths to address Aviation Club
- Jazeera Kuwait – Gatwick launch
- JW Marriott arrives in China
- New Air Antwerp service heads for London
- Perth welcomes Ritz-Carlton
- Ryanair pilots in strike talks
- Scandic doubles up in Copenhagen
- SIA brings out a 'super-app'
- SWISS hits out at airport conditions
- Two more for Travelodge UK
- Virgin doubles A350 New York frequency
- Wizz prepares for Edinburgh debut
- ON TOUR: Thessaloniki - Greece
- AUGUST ROAD TEST: Toyota Corolla Excel 2.0 hybrid
- Motoring Extra: Addison Lee, Audi & Clan. Plus 10 million MINI's.
- AND FINALLY: The lure of the royals
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Two more for Travelodge UK
Two new hotels in Winchester and Letchworth have been opened by Travelodge as the company pursues its latest expansion programme. The properties represent an investment of nearly £15m and have created 35 jobs.
COMMENT: Who is flying the flag?
“The World’s Favourite Airline”? No longer – according to Which? And The Times.
What has happened to British Airways? Yet another tech failure last week, talk of unhappy staff and strikes, plus a damning new Which? survey on Saturday.
Another bad week for BA
Another technical meltdown, strike threats and a damning survey from Which? contributed to a bruising period for British Airways last week, overshadowing grandiose plans by the company to welcome the new Airbus A350 to the fleet.
Aviation returns to the Commons
In one of his first moves since being appointed, secretary of state for transport, Grant Shapps has added a new aviation minister to his team, sitting in the House of Commons.
Busiest month record for London City
Strong growth on new routes including Mykonos, Skiathos and Florence lifted London City Airport (LCY) to its busiest month so far in July. Nearly 491,000 passengers were counted, a 4%, or 19,300, increase compared to July last year.
Gatwick unveils five-year investment plan
A new five-year Capital Investment Programme (CIP) was published last week by Gatwick in a £1.1bn commitment to more automation and technology as an enabler of sustainable growth.
Jazeera Kuwait – Gatwick launch
The first new service in 55 years between the UK and Kuwait is set for take-off from 27 October with Kuwaiti low-cost carrier (LCC) Jazeera Airways planning a daily service to Gatwick using a new Airbus A320neo.
New Air Antwerp service heads for London
Belgium’s new airline has followed the unveiling of its livery (BTN last week) with plans to operate 16 flights a week between Antwerp and London City Airport (LCY) from next month.
Scandic doubles up in Copenhagen
In its second new hotel opening in the city in less than a year, Scandic Hotels is expanding its presence in Copenhagen with the opening of the historic hotel and event venue Scandic Falkoner in the Frederiksberg theatre district.
SIA brings out a 'super-app'
An advanced mobile app for Android and iOS smartphones was introduced by Singapore Airlines (SIA) last week claiming to deliver enhanced performance to improve transaction time by up to 60%.
Virgin doubles A350 New York frequency
With New York in the Airbus A350 spotlight as Virgin Atlantic moves to be first on the route with its new aircraft on 10 September (BTN last week), the airline is now planning to boost the service with a second A350 two weeks later.
Wizz prepares for Edinburgh debut
Warsaw and Gdansk (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and Bucharest (Romania) are joining the Edinburgh Airport family of routes this winter after Wizz Air announced it was starting operations there from November.
ON TOUR: Thessaloniki - Greece
This week's ON TOUR takes a look at Thessaloniki in Greece, sometimes called Salonika, a new destination from Luton by Wizz Air UK who join British Airways (LGW), easyJet (LGW), Jet2 (STN), and Ryanair (STN) to this popular and attractive metropolis from the South.
AUGUST ROAD TEST: Toyota Corolla Excel 2.0 hybrid
Toyota has a problem on its hands. A nice one.
Motoring Extra: Addison Lee, Audi & Clan. Plus 10 million MINI's.
The introduction by taxi company Addison Lee of five Audi e-trons for a trial period seemed to be a unique opportunity to try this fascinating car from a back-seat perspective.
AND FINALLY: The lure of the royals
Whatever your reason for travelling, checking out the local royal connections is probably somewhere on the list. Celebrity Cruises certainly thinks so and has researched the 10 most popular palaces in Europe. Perhaps unsurprisingly, four of the top five are in the UK.
Airbus US A220 line opens
Manufacture of the Airbus A220 in the US began officially last week as the first team of production staff started work at the company’s production facility in Mobile, Alabama.
American moves into Africa
New international routes for next summer marking a first entrance into Africa and expansion of its global network to Casablanca, Tel Aviv and Krakow were announced by American Airlines last week.
Biggin Hill airshow set for take-off
The only airshow in the capital, London Biggin Hill Airport’s Festival of Flight 2019 is set to inspire the next generation this coming weekend, 17-18 August, as the past and present of aviation take to the skies.
Four Points lands in Poland
Marriott International’s Four Points by Sheraton brand has made its debut in Poland with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotow, operated as part of a franchise agreement with Hotel Management Group.
Griffiths to address Aviation Club
The life and times of one of the world’s aviation hotspots are on the agenda at the Aviation Club lunch on Thursday 19 September at the Institute of Directors in London, when guest speaker will be Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
JW Marriott arrives in China
In its first footstep into China, JW Marriott has opened a 39-storey, 515-room luxury property under its Marquis brand in Shanghai Pudong near the Huangpu River and convenient to the Lujiazui central business district.
Perth welcomes Ritz-Carlton
Another high-end hotel is set to open in a showpiece waterfront development in the capital of Western Australia on 15 November with the arrival of the Ritz-Carlton Perth in the Elizabeth Quay precinct on the edge of the city’s central business district.
Ryanair pilots in strike talks
Industrial unrest which is threatening British Airways (see this issue), could spread to Ryanair in Ireland later this month after a pilots’ union there warned of a lack of progress in talks over a pay and working conditions claim.
SWISS hits out at airport conditions
Restrictions at Zurich Airport were heavily criticised last week by Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) as the carrier announced plans to put two further Boeing B777-300ERs into service early next year.