19 APRIL 2021
- ON THE SOAPBOX SPECIAL: Airline Shares – Worth Buying?
- LETTER OF THE WEEK
- Shapps and Doyle go public
- Air France adds to Heathrow
- AirBaltic to Edinburgh
- BA – Two out of ten
- Downtown Toronto Airport to re-open
- Drive-in movies at Luton Airport
- Flybe flies again?
- France to ban short-haul?
- Gatwick and British Airways
- Heathrow chaos & Commons Transport Select Committee
- Hotel Week London
- Loganair to Exeter
- Losses for Luton airlines
- Marella Cruises for the UK
- Monarch Airlines collapse
- NYX Hotel London
- Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) news
- Premier Inn central London
- Tallinn Radisson
- Update on Norwegian
- ON TOUR: For somewhere different head to Iceland
- AND FINALLY is Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker
© 2022 Business Travel News Ltd.
LETTER OF THE WEEK
Paul Robin, once of the Business Travel Show, in a tribute to Prince Philip.
www.btnews.co.uk/article/17462
NYX Hotel London
Israeli-owned Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland has announced the opening of its first NYX Hotel in the UK on 17 May.
LATEST TRAVEL COVID UPDATES FROM GOVERNMENT
DO CHECK DAILY. The travel ban varies all the time.
ON THE SOAPBOX SPECIAL: Airline Shares – Worth Buying?
Our veteran contributor, John Burke, who is a financial journalist as well as a travel writer, assesses the outlook for aviation and hospitality shares on stock markets.
Air France adds to Heathrow
A summer destination to Nice has been added by Air France from Heathrow operating out of Terminal 2.
AirBaltic to Edinburgh
Latvian airline airBaltic announces that starting on 4 June it plans to launch new scheduled flights between Riga and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. AirBaltic has planned to connect both cities with two weekly flights.
BA – Two out of ten
British Airways gets two out of ten according to Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker.
Flybe flies again?
Using the goodwill of the bankrupt Flybe a new airline has been announced calling itself Flybe Ltd after acquiring the remaining assets of the previous carrier.
France to ban short-haul?
France’s National Assembly has approved a draft law that would see internal flights on certain routes banned where an alternative to travel by rail taking less than two and a half hours is available. The proposed law would affect routes between Paris and Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux, for example.
Gatwick and British Airways
British Airways has confirmed that the majority of its Gatwick short-haul services will continue to operate from Heathrow until the end of October.
Heathrow chaos & Commons Transport Select Committee
It was supposed to be to discuss the Global Travel Taskforce report but last week’s Commons Transport Select Committee hearing was dominated by Heathrow’s chief solutions officer Chris Garton with an outburst concerning border controls.
Loganair to Exeter
Now calling itself, quite rightly, the UK’s largest regional airline, Loganair has announced a major step in connecting East Anglia with the south west of England through the launch of a new air route between Norwich and Exeter.
Losses for Luton airlines
Wizz is the latest Luton Airport airline to announce massive losses. The London Stock Market listed but Hungarian-based carrier said in a statement that the figure up to the end of March could exceed €590m.
Monarch Airlines collapse
Reports in various national newspapers would seem to indicate that the collapse of Monarch Airlines in 2017 will have cost the taxpayer £40m.
Update on Norwegian
The Oslo County Court has approved Norwegian's reconstruction plan in Norway. Reaching this milestone means that both the group's reconstruction processes in Ireland and Norway have now been approved by the courts.
ON TOUR: For somewhere different head to Iceland
Touch down in Iceland, step outside the ultra-modern Scandinavian-style terminal building at Keflavik airport, the gateway for Reykjavik, and, as you peer through the gloom out of the taxi window you could be forgiven for thinking you have landed in a place that time and civilisation forgot, writes our editor-at-large Jeff Mills.
Shapps and Doyle go public
On Tuesday (tomorrow 20 April), and for the first time, secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps, and chief executive of British Airways Sean Doyle will be live for a Zoom gathering open to all hosted by ConservativeHome.com.
Downtown Toronto Airport to re-open
Porter Airlines has set 21 June for the reopening of flights from Toronto Billy Bishop City. The downtown airport has been closed to all but emergency flights since the start of the pandemic. Connect Airlines is set to arrive in the autumn.
Drive-in movies at Luton Airport
Luton Airport has teamed up with Nightflix Outdoor Cinema to bring the big screen to the airport, as lockdown restrictions are eased further.
Hotel Week London
With the end of the lockdown in sight some 35 of London’s finest hotels are getting together to launch a new marketing programme to help the capital on its way to complete revitalisation.
Marella Cruises for the UK
TUI-owned Marella Cruises is for the first time to base a ship in the UK for the summer season.
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) news
With unique, unprecedented access to frontline staff a new study by award-winning training provider Travel Uni, was carried out during March in the first of a regular series of ‘Frontline Findings’ surveys.
Premier Inn central London
Whitbread, the UK’s largest hospitality business, is adding two prime locations to its network of ‘hub by Premier Inn’ hotels this spring with new openings in central London, at Soho (Berwick Street) and Shoreditch (Quaker Street).
Tallinn Radisson
Radisson Hotel Group has opened the Palace Hotel Tallinn, located at the entrance to the historic Old Town. Built getting on for 100 years ago and respectfully renovated, this monument of national architectural heritage is the first Radisson Individuals in the Baltic region.