3 MAY 2021
YOUR WORDS
Readers are invited to add their comments to any story. Click on the article to see and add.
BTN DISTRIBUTION
BTN also goes out by email every Sunday night at midnight (UK time). To view this edition click here.
- ON THE SOAPBOX: John Strickland - JLS Consulting
- LETTER OF THE WEEK
- T5 Club Aspire Lounge
- Airlines incentivised for Eilat
- Aviation Club greets Lundgren
- Blue Badge in Europe
- Bristol hotel opening
- Chaos adds to chaos
- Dine at Farnborough
- Dixons closes its airport shops
- European wi-fi for KLM
- Flybe Ltd – What is it worth?
- Glasgow Airport comes to life
- Heathrow’s war of words
- Hotel Week London
- LCY goes remote + route update
- Meliá for Amsterdam
- New BA holiday destinations
- Robert Courts MP – You are not safe
- Ryanair loses
- Self-Driving Vehicles in the UK
- Shapps & Transport Committee in row
- ON TOUR: The Principality of Monaco
- ON TOUR SPECIAL: Napoleon
- MAY CRUISE NEWS
- CRUISING "What's On"
- AND FINALLY: Scotland rewarded with jet.
The Business Travel News
PO Box 758
Edgware HA8 4QF
United Kingdom
info@btnews.co.uk
© 2022 Business Travel News Ltd.
Hotel Week London
Following the announcement of Hotel Week London 28 May–6 June (see BTN 19 April) another 10 of the capital’s leading properties have joined the initiative.
Meliá for Amsterdam
Spain’s largest hotel group, Meliá Hotels International, has opened its very first property in the Netherlands.
LATEST TRAVEL COVID UPDATES FROM GOVERNMENT
This will be automatically changed when the new rules are announced
ON THE SOAPBOX: John Strickland - JLS Consulting
The Airline industry
More challenges ahead
But when will there be a renaissance?
Aviation Club greets Lundgren
EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren was Guest of Honour at an Aviation Club virtual lunch last week.
Flybe Ltd – What is it worth?
BTN has reported regularly on the Flybe saga since the airline collapsed in March 2020, with the loss of at least 2,000 jobs and debts up to £789m.
Heathrow’s war of words
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has rejected a "disproportionate" request for funding from Heathrow which would have increased passenger charges by 10%.
LCY goes remote + route update
London City Airport (LCY) has become the first major international airport to be fully controlled remotely.
New BA holiday destinations
British Airways has confirmed four new summer holiday routes from Heathrow, to Wroclaw and Gdansk (Poland), Riga (Latvia) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). Also being added is Perugia (Italy), half-way between Florence and Rome. This was due to start in 2020 but was delayed due to the impact of the pandemic.
Robert Courts MP – You are not safe
You’re not safe until we’re all safe, was the underlying message from aviation minister Robert Courts last week, speaking at the Institute of Travel Management’s (ITM) Virtual ‘Revive’ conference, reports Alison Chambers.
Ryanair loses
The High Court has ruled Ryanair must pay compensation to customers affected by a 2018 strike action. Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed during that summer when pilots and cabin crew walked out.
Shapps & Transport Committee in row
Transport secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that England will use the existing NHS app as a vaccine passport for travel overseas.
ON TOUR: The Principality of Monaco
BTN’s editor-at-large Jeff Mills explores Monaco’s high life and a touch of low life, too.
ON TOUR SPECIAL: Napoleon
With the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death on St Helena Wednesday (5 May) Business Travel News recalls here the editor-in-chief's visit to the island 14 October 2017 with a news story and not one but two ON TOUR. St Helena – Another scoop for BTN and put it on your “wish list”.
MAY CRUISE NEWS
Along with the rest of the travel industry the UK waits for the Government’s final opening up of hospitality scheduled for Monday 17 May.
CRUISING "What's On"
BTN offers here a short synopsis of what is likely to be available from May onwards but things can change. In this issue BTN reports certain countries are now on the ‘red list’. This may affect staff recruitment. Passengers and crew will need to be Covid-free and vaccinated twice.
T5 Club Aspire Lounge
It will be drinks on the house (as always) for visitors to the Club Aspire Lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 in late May. It is gearing up to re-open (subject to Government restrictions).
Airlines incentivised for Eilat
Israel is reopening its gates to vaccinated tourists starting at the end of May.
Blue Badge in Europe
This guidance gives an overview of the conditions of use of a parking card for people with disabilities in each EU country.
Bristol hotel opening
Leonardo Hotels, Israeli-owned and one of the leading and fastest-growing hotel chains in Europe, has chosen 17 May to open its first hotel in Bristol.
Chaos adds to chaos
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued 630 fines since 11 February to airlines carrying passengers without the right documents. These measures form part of the UK Government’s border measures to protect the UK as the vaccine rollout continues to make progress with more than 42m vaccinations delivered so far.
Dine at Farnborough
Farnborough Airport has announced the opening of the On Air Café in conjunction with pioneering aircraft caterers On Air Dining.
Dixons closes its airport shops
Electronics giant Dixons Carphone has announced plans to permanently shut all of its Dixon Travel airport outlets.
European wi-fi for KLM
KLM has begun installing wi-fi technology on a number of aircraft of its Boeing 737 fleet. The first Boeing 737-800 is now equipped to offer this facility. This courtesy service allows passengers to send and receive messages via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, etc, free of charge.
Glasgow Airport comes to life
Domestic services are returning to Glasgow Airport following lifting of travel restrictions and the airport’s World Duty Free store has reopened.
Self-Driving Vehicles in the UK
Look no hands!
By the end of this year self-driving vehicles could be on UK roads.