01.31.2008 | 8:45 pm | Flight Comparison
While they call it the city of love, unless you have experienced the beauty and culture of the French capital you might never understand why the name holds true. Situated on the river Seine it has a population of well over 2 million people, and while this is well below that of London, Paris is the top tourist spot in Europe with literally millions of visitors sampling the French lifestyle each and every year. So what has it got to offer?
Like so many of the top tourist attractions around the world, the city of Paris is built upon a back bone of business, culture, politics, education, entertainments, fashion and arts, all of which have come together to produce a truly unique atmosphere and experience. In line with the other main attractions of Europe, Paris has the ability to mix the old with the new, the modern with the historic. There are also few countries which can boast such a diverse climate from the sun to the snow in just a few hours – something which has helped to attract the estimated 30 million visitors a year!
Among the more well known landmarks of Paris are the Eiffel Tower (something which has to been seen to be believed, as has the view!), the Champs Elysees, the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, the Louvre art gallery which houses the famous Mona Lisa and the world renowned Moulin Rouge show hall which is rather bizarrely situated in one of the city’s red light districts!
Football is also very big in France and there is also Euro Disney which has been pulling in millions of visitors a year for some time. Unless you have actually been to Paris to sample the life style, the bars and the people, you will never know what you are missing!
01.30.2008 | 8:41 pm | Flight Comparison
When looking at London it can be difficult to know where to start, there really is so much on offer. The first point to make is that while the term London generally refers to the various boroughs of the capital, there is actually a separate City of London which dates back centuries. The city is the capital of the United Kingdom and boasts an array of leading tourist, business and historical attractions.
The greater London area has a population of over 7 million people and is widely known as one of the tourist hotspots of Europe. London has so much to offer on so many different angles, with the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London for starters. Then we have the world renowned Oxford street shops which are literally at a standstill over the Christmas period with shoppers invading the city. London really does have it all, arts, culture, politics, education centres, fashion and a financial centre which is a leader in so many different fields.
However, for many people it is the vibrancy and excitement of the city which is the main attraction, a city which actually has its own micro-climate – pumping out its own heat at night time when the air gets a little colder. The UK, and especially London, is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world with a section of the great city for each and every culture around the world. Much of this diverse culture comes from the spread of countries which the UK used to rule and while many have now left the commonwealth, the cultural impact of many still remains.
It is very difficult to cover London in such a short passage of writing but it is know as the city which never sleeps, the city which is awake 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If that were not enough the city has great links will all areas of the UK, with Scotland only a few hours away and France even closer – not to mentioned mainland Europe and the US only a plane journey away.
01.29.2008 | 5:39 am | Flight Comparison
Even though we have seen a few crazy ideas from the European Union (EU), their latest attempt to curb the emissions from airlines operating within the boundaries of the EU seems to be nothing more that another income stream for them. So what is the hair brained scheme?
The EU are putting in pace a cap on the legal emissions which each plane travelling to and from Europe can emit (set to come start in 2012). However, rather than simply cap the limit and push towards greener engines, greener fuels and less emissions they are putting in place an emissions credit system. The system will include an auction service whereby an airlines would be able to buy and sell “emission credits”, with each airline required to buy at least 10% of their requirement in an auction system (with the rest available free). Quite how this would work is a mystery!
While the details are still fairly sketchy with the EU, as always, keeping the actual detail well away from the public eye, they seem to be missing the point somewhat. After a decade of encouraging air travel and reducing the costs for people to travel within Europe, they are now looking to tame the beast (i.e. the airline market) which they helped to create.
The industry has for some time been an easy target for added taxation, fines, increased security costs and other additional expense. It seems that the EU have been very active in encouraging us to fly, and the creation of the budget airline industry, and then when we actual believe that flying is cheaper than other modes of transport, they then hit us with charge after charger after charge.
Many of the airlines who operate in the European market have expressed their concerns about the emissions credit system, how it will work, the benefits with many suggesting that the EU are missing the point. Any additional costs associated with the industry should be channelled towards greener engines, greener fuels and less emission, not a crazy scheme to increase costs yet further!
01.28.2008 | 5:36 am | Flight Comparison
While the majority of the travelling fraternity do not know what to make of breaking news that German travel agency OssiUrlab have arranged a nudist only flight from Germany to the Baltic island of Usedom, many will be surprised to know that this is not the first nudist flight to take to the skies!
Even though they are not the first to suggest such a flight style, OssiUrlab have certainly grabbed the headlines not only in their native Germany but all around the world. The 5th July trip is far from cheap at 499 Euros, but it is more the style of transport which has grabbed the attention of the massive nudist market in Germany. How will it work?
Firstly the agency involved are very keen to confirm that this is not any kind of “fun club” in the Sky and they are fulfilling demand for a very unique niche in the market (one which was first fulfilled in 2003). While the passengers have been told that they must remain fully clothed prior to reaching the plane (i.e. no running naked through the airport!), once on board they can then dispose of their clothing if they so wish. What about the cabin crew and airhostesses?
For those who are looking for a quick glimpse of the captain and his co-pilot they will be sadly disappointed as safety regulations have forbidden the crew from disposing of their clothing. While there are so many jokes that could be made at the expense of this service, the fact is that there seems to be genuine demand from the German market in particular, and the amount of press coverage this has received will no doubt result in more demand.
There is no guessing what we will see next in the airline industry, as we are on the verge of space travel and now we have nudist taking to the skies!
01.25.2008 | 6:53 pm | Flight Comparison
Anyone who has travelled to the States from the UK will know that this particular market is dominated by a small band of US airlines and an even smaller band of UK airlines (predominately British Airways!). As Heathrow is the busiest international airport not just in the UK but in the world (with upwards of 400,000 flights a year), landing slots at the airport are literally like gold dust and dominated by British Airways. So how have British Airways managed to gain such a foothold in this market?
The British Airways story goes back to the time when Heathrow airport was first built and the UK government were keen to ensure that the UK was as accessible as possible, not only for the tourist trade but also for the very lucrative business market. In order to ensure that international travel was in “safe” hands, British Airways were given a very strong position at the airport, guaranteeing them the vast majority of the landing slots. They were also “awarded” grandfather rights which effectively mean that any regulatory or legal changes to their landing slots were invalid and they are in effect protected from change.
However, British Airways have been involved in a number of long and tedious negotiations with the US authorities to try and find a way of opening up the US market to British Airways. As you might expect the US authorities have requested that British Airways give up some of their much cherished Heathrow landing slots to their US counterparts in exchange for greater access to the US market. This is the reason why the talks have been on and off for years, and look like continuing well into the future.
This demonstrates the influence which Heathrow has in the airline industry and the awesome power which has been put into the hands of British Airways.
01.24.2008 | 8:14 am | Flight Comparison
While many in the sector are talking about price rises and increasing operational costs, Air New Zealand have taken a slightly different road to everyone else – they have actually announced plans to reduce their domestic ticket prices by between nine and thirty percent from the 23rd February. Rather than increase prices and risk falling passenger numbers they have decided to reduce the cost of ticket and hopefully increase their passenger numbers.
Over the last few years we have seen a gradual increase in passenger numbers for New Zealand air travel, something which prompted Air New Zealand to increase their flight capacity by some 50%. Now that they have finished this stage of their expansion plans they actually need to fill those additional seats and try to encourage yet more Kiwi’s to use their services. But will this actually work?
New Zealand is a slightly different situation to most other developed or developing air travel markets in that due to the size and position of the country, air travel is vital and always will be. By bringing down the price of domestic flight tickets there is every chance that those who may have travelled by long bus journeys before (or other modes of transport) will actually prefer to jump on a plane. With the increased capacity of Air New Zealand has come a marked increase in service quality. They have been undergoing a total revamp of their operations of late and seem to have cut away most of the excess costs and expenses to make themselves more competitive.
While it looks as though the Air New Zealand strategy has every chance of succeeding, there seems little chance of any of the other major worldwide airlines under taking such a radical change. However, it will be interesting to see if they emerge as a stronger global force rather than just strengthening their domestic operations.
01.23.2008 | 1:33 pm | Flight Comparison
It seems that you just cant keep the king of PR down, hot footing it from his recent visit to the far east with Gordon Brown – where he is alleged to save sown up a deal to buy Northern Rock – Virgin Chief Richard Branson was today launching Virgin Galactic’s first commercial near-space flight which is due for launch next year. However, with testing due to be completed by the end of this year it seems that space travel for the masses may not be too far away!
The so called “White Knight” mothership is well into production and will undergo rigorous tests later this year as the race for commercial space travel hots up. There are a number of businesses vying to be the first to launch a commercial space service, and Branson seems to be the leader of the pack – at the moment.
While to listen to the king of spin you would think that the launch was just days away, there are still many regulatory, commercial and mechanical hurdles to clear. However, this has to be the greatest leap in airline technology for many years, offering the “public” the opportunity to experience 5 minutes of weightlessness for a cool $200,000. As you might guess the price tag has not put off the mega-rich of the business world and they are queuing up to get their name on the first passenger list.
While the feeling of weightlessness will be short lived and the aircraft will only hold 6 paying passengers, there is much excitement in the industry as we approach D-day for many attempting the leap to outer space. Who will actually make it first is still very much uncertain but those in the race are keeping the details of their technology under wraps. Who will unwrap their “gift” first remains to be seen!
01.22.2008 | 8:54 pm | Flight Comparison
In the aftermath of the Heathrow crash many are now starting to question the safety of air travel with many looking at the industry’s safety record to try and justify their arguments. So is air travel really as safe as the authorities would have us believe?
When you consider that you have more chance of being knocked over by a car than you do having a plane crash, it starts to bring home the excellent safety record of the airline industry. While there have been “blips” along the way with some of the smaller Russian air plane companies having chequered pasts to say the least, in general the industry has performed very well. This latest accident at Heathrow was the first ever to involve a Boeing 777, something which is very impressive when you consider how many years it has been in production.
Also, even though it has not yet been officially confirmed, it looks as though this accident was the first of its kind to see both engines fail during flight. Even when the engines did fail the Captain was still able to land the plane safely and avoid any loss of life or serious injury. However, it will be interesting to see what the black box flight recorder has to show with regards to the last few moments of the flight and the problems encountered.
For those a little more worried about flying, they should be able to sleep easy in their beds knowing that major airline crashes are still very few and far between. This is due in the main to the increase in engine reliability as well as the massive investment in airport safety personnel and the relevant equipment. There are risks with any type of transport you choose, but the risks associated with flying are negligible.
01.21.2008 | 6:11 am | Flight Comparison
As we suggested a little while ago on this blog it seems that the higher cost of fuel, higher security charges and impending worldwide economic downturn may well signal a number of major changes in the air travel industry. Indeed there is intense speculation in the financial markets that we are about to see the start of a wave of mergers and takeovers as companies battle to stay in business and profitable. So how might this situation pan out?
While 2006 saw a massive campaign to save Delta Airlines from the clutches of US Airways, it now seems as though Delta may well be the aggressor in a move to merge with either United Airlines or Northwest Airlines. These potentially multi billion dollar mergers may well change the face of air travel for many years to come, with competitors unlikely to sit back and let a larger group steal their market share. So how might this cause a chain reaction?
As groups grow larger and larger, the idea is that central costs per dollar of income will fall, the airlines will have increased buying power and also a higher profile name in the consumer and business markets. Increased cash flow will also make it a little easier to fund debt repayments and possibly release more funds for promotion and advertising or “special offers”. On the downside, if more and more airlines merge then competition will reduce slight and we may well see ticket prices rise in the short term. While this would not be welcomed, against the back drop of falling ticket prices over the last decade it is not something which would be wholly unexpected.
While the Delta deal is only rumoured at the moment, if this were to happen then the whole face and shape of the industry could change in a very short space of time. Within weeks we could see more rumours, more deals and more headaches for the regulators who clear such issues. The next 12 months could turn out to be very active in the mergers and acquisitions market!
01.18.2008 | 11:31 pm | Flight Comparison
While the investigation into the Heathrow crash may be well under way we are still seeing the repercussions today and probably for the rest of the weekend. There have been hundreds of flights cancelled and re-routed as yet more chaos descends upon Heathrow airport. So why are the delays still so large in number?
One of the major points to appreciate about the airline industry is the split second timing which is used at airports such as Heathrow to allow as many planes to land and take off as is possible, within safety boundaries. The runway which witnessed the crash earlier this week is still closed with crash investigators eager to ensure that every fact about the crash is know. Quite when the repaired runway will re-open is not sure, but it has put immense pressure on the remaining runway.
A backlog of only a few planes can and regularly does have an impact upon the airline industry around the world – such is the presence and power of Heathrow. Even when things return back to normal it will still take some time to ensure that planes are at the correct airports, crews are available to fly them, etc. You would not want to have the job of re-arranging flights at Heathrow over the next week or so!
It has also emerged that air traffic controllers at Dublin airport have withdrawn their voluntary over time, which has highlighted a major shortage of full time air traffic controllers at the airport. While no flights have been cancelled or re-arranged as yet, it seems only a matter of time before we see major disruption. The “strike” appears to be due to what the unions see as a massive under staffing problem – something which seems to be very much in evidence after the workers withdrew their voluntary overtime.
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