Business Traveller magazine: relevant articles

[Lindsay Wilson]

Businesstraveller.com would like to congratulate the winners at this year's Cellars in the Sky wine awards.

For 20 years Business Traveller, the premium magazine for business travellers, has organised the annual ‘Cellars in the Sky' Awards. This year it teamed up with renowned magazine Wine International, organisers of the International Wine Challenge.

The International Wine Challenge was founded in 1984 and has developed to become the world's most comprehensive blind wine tasting. In 2003 the Challenge comprised 423 judges, including 45 Masters of Wine, tasting and re-tasting 9,438 wines from 37 different countries – figures which make it the largest blind wine tasting competition in the world.

For Cellars in the Sky, 30 airlines entered a selection of their wines, and after a two-day blind tasting organised by Wine International magazine and the International Wine Challenge, the winners of the following categories were presented with their awards at this year's World Travel Market...

The following airlines picked up awards for their business and first class wines:

Cathay Pacific and British Airways were among the airlines that recorded several wins at Business Traveller's "Cellars in the Sky" wine awards.
The annual awards, which were organised in association with Wine International magazine, are in their 20th year. They seek to recognise the best wines served by airlines in business and first class.
This year 30 airlines entered a selection of wines, which were then blind-tasted by a team of expert judges.

BA picked up winning awards for its white wine served in business class and got runner up awards for its Champagne served in business. Cathay Pacific won the best white served in first class and the best port served in business and got runner up awards for its business class white and business class red.
The airline with the best business class cellar was Cathay Pacific and the best first class cellar went to JAL. The most original business class wine list was Delta's and the most original first class wine list was won jointly by Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

Business

Best White

1. British Airways
Laboure-Roi Meursault 2002 Burgundy, France

2. (Joint)

Air New Zealand
Highfield Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2003 Marlborough, New Zealand

Qantas
Grosset Riesling Rockwood Vineyard 2004 Clare Valley, Australia

Cathay Pacific
Framingham Sauvignon Blanc 2003 Marlborough, New Zealand


Best Red

1. American Airlines
Château Batailley 2000 Pauillac, Bordeaux, France

2. Cathay Pacific
Antinori Tignanello 2000 Tuscany, Italy

3. (Joint)

Northwest Airlines
St Clement Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 Napa Valley, USA

Alitalia
Fattoria del Cerro Vino Nobile de Montepulciano 2000 Tuscany, Italy

Best Champagne/Sparkling

1. (Joint) Korean Air/KLM/JAL/Icelandair

Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV Champagne, France

2. (Joint) British Airways / Qantas

Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve Mis-en-Cave 2000 Champagne, France

3. (Joint)

Singapore Airlines
Piper-Heidsieck ‘Rare' Cuvée Réservé NV Champagne, France

Finnair
Champagne Pol Roger Extra Cuvée de Réserve Brut 1996
Champagne, France


Best Fortified or Sweet

1. Cathay Pacific
Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 1997 Douro, Portugal

2. Finnair
Château Guiraud Premier Cru 1998 Sauternes, France

3. Lufthansa
Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port 1998 Douro, Portugal (37.5cl)


First

Best White

1. Cathay Pacific
Vincent Girardin Meursault Vieilles Vignes 2001 Burgundy, France

2. Etihad??? (who are they)
Domaine Roux Père et Fils Puligny Montrachet Les Enseignières 2002 Burgundy, France

3. Singapore Airlines
Dr Loosen Urziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2000 Mosel, Germany


Best Red

1. Korean Air
Château Giscours 1999 Bordeaux, France

2.Etihad
Possums Vineyard Shiraz 2001 McLaren Vale, Australia

3. Qantas
Saltram No 1 Barossa Shiraz 2000 Barossa Valley, Australia

Best Champagne/Sparkling

1. Malaysia Airlines
Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 1997 Champagne

2. (Joint)
Qantas
Dom Pérignon 1995 Champagne

JAL
Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1995 Champagne

3. Lan Chile
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1995 Champagne

Best Fortified or Sweet

1. JAL
Graham's 30 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal

2. Varig
Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port 1986 Douro, Portugal

3. American Airlines
Graham's Malvedos 1995 Douro, Portugal(37.5cl)

Overall Awards

Best Business Class cellar

Winner - Cathay Pacific
Runners Up - American Airlines, British Airways, Icelandair

Best First Cellar
Winner - JAL
Runners Up - Etihad, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Lan Chile

Best Airline Alliance
1. Oneworld
2. Skyteam
3. Star Alliance

Most original first class wine list
Winner - JAL/Cathay Pacific
Shortlist - British Airways, Etihad, Qantas, Thai Airways

Most original business class wine list
Winner - Delta
Shortlist - American Airlines, Alitalia, British Airways, Finnair, Northwest Airlines, Cathay Pacific

[P.S. And yes others have helped me find out who Etihad Airlines are - courtesy of GibSpmuh on FT]:

Eithad Airways - are the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates, and are based in Abu Dhabi. They're looking to emulate that other UAE based carrier, Emirates, and are expanding at what appears to be a crazy pace - wouldn't be surprised to see them ending up in this part of the world sometime, though closest they get at the moment is Bangkok

.

[Lindsay Wilson]

Business travellers care more about upgrades and high fares than security according to a recent survey.

In a survey that questioned 450 frequent flyers about their air travel concerns, a quarter said they would travel more often if they were offered upgrades.

Not a surprising result. What was less expected was that just 3% of respondents were concerned about onboard security, saying that improvements in aircraft security would make them travel more often.

Despite saying that security was not important, only 30% said they would be comfortable flying in the Middle East, compared to 90% who were happy to fly in Europe, 72% in the US and 76% in Asia Pacific.

Another key issue for business travellers is cost, according to the survey results – 35% said they would be tempted to fly more frequently if fares went down.

Frequent flyer programmes were a key issue for 10% of respondents, while only 6% said better schedules would get them flying more often. The views of the travellers were collected for the Corporate Air Travel Survey, which was conducted by aviation analysts, Airclaims and unveiled at this year's World Travel Market in London.

[Lindsay Wilson]

An x-ray machine is currently being tested by security staff at Heathrow, but if successful it will not replace hand searching.

The machine is being tested on passengers in Heathrow Terminal 4 alongside the existing metal detectors and bag scanners in the security area. It works by using a small dose of x-ray to detect objects being carried under travellers' clothes, including both metallic and non-metallic items.

Currently passengers are being invited by security staff to use the machine, and can refuse if they wish. Pregnant women and children are not being asked, despite assertions from the airport's spokespeople that it is completely safe.

The Rapiscan Secure 1000 screens the individual and a digital image of their body is immediately displayed on the security operator's computer screen showing the shape and location of objects hidden under the clothing. Various airports in the US have also tested the x-ray machine.

According to a spokesman for Heathrow airport the machine will not replace hand searching. “We won't see the end of hand searching because it is still sometimes necessary, this machine just adds another layer of security.”
The trial, a joint initiative between Heathrow and the Department for Transport, ends in January after which a review will begin to decide whether to install them across the airport.

[arun]

I hope they would have considered the impact of XRAYS on health. My doctor hates X Rays and only recommends if it is absolutely required and that too at ong intervals.

I am just thinking of regular business travellers.

Regards
Arun

[Lindsay Wilson]

Oops, I have been forgetting to post stories to this..so here goes:

2004 safest year in skies

Air travellers experienced the safest year on record in 2004.

Air travellers experienced the safest year on record in 2004. Last year saw 11 accidents involving commercial flights in which passengers were killed. This is according to industry monitor and consultancy, Airclaims, which posts the death toll from the 11 accidents at 347. The figure does not include the destruction by suicide bombers of two Russian jets after they took off from Moscow in August, resulting in the death of all 90 passengers on board.

Excluding such deliberate acts of violence, the safety of aircraft has improved dramatically since the late 1940s and 1950s when annual accidents involving fatalities averaged 40 or 50 aircraft. During the 1980s and 1990s this dropped to around 25 and in the last four years the number of fatal accidents has steadily decreased.

"This series of 'safe years' starting in 2001 is unprecedented", said director of safety at Airclaims, Paul Hayes. "There has been no other time in the 60 years since World War II where the number of fatal accidents has reduced year on year for four consecutive years", he said.

Club World faces upgrade

In a bid to see off competition British Airways is making its business class flat-beds more comfortable than ever. The airline is taking its inspiration from the sleeping experience 35,000 feet beneath it, and using technology employed by makers of household mattresses. The airline says the new mattresses, which are being installed across the long-haul fleet, will offer better ergonomic support.

Coupled with larger pillows and thicker blankets, passengers in Club World should be able to sleep more soundly. Improvements to the flat-beds are part of an overhaul of Club World cabins over the next six months. Seats will be covered in dark blue covers and images of Britain hung around the cabin to create a more attractive environment.

Before passengers nod off, BA says it will treat them to a top class restaurant-style dining experience, with the introduction of linen tablecloths, Royal Doulton china, more personalised service and new menus devised with the help of a council of chefs including Richard Corrigan of The Lindsay House in London and Shaun Hill from The Merchant House in Ludlow.

With better seats and higher quality food, you might ask what's left for first class... A spokeswoman for BA told businesstraveller.com there were still distinguishing factors between business and first class products. She said smaller cabins of 14 seats, bigger beds, duvets, more selective in-flight entertainment and more one-on-one service all add up to a more exclusive experience in first.

Earn your bonus

Fly across the pond in United Airlines' premium classes and you can earn two free US domestic flights with the carrier. The airline is offering members of its frequent flyer scheme, United Mileage Plus, the chance to earn over 50,000 miles when they take a qualifying premium class transatlantic flight from the UK with United or Lufthansa. Normally premium passengers would earn around 8,000 miles on a return transatlantic flight, depending on the route and class.

The offer applies to various classes of business and first class tickets, including F, A, C, D and Z for a return ticket on travel completed by April 30. During that period there is no limit to the number of qualifying trips a United or Lufthansa customer can take.

The 50,000 or more miles are added to the relevant frequent flyer account and can be spent on any award within United's scheme. For example, 50,000 miles would get a “saver” return transatlantic ticket in economy, 25,000 miles would get a “saver” return ticket in the US and Canada and 15,000 miles, an upgrade from economy to business class on one sector of a transatlantic flight.

In order to receive the bonus miles members of United Mileage Plus need to register online at 50K to USA.

Conrad counts down to Tokyo opening

Conrad's next hotel opens in Tokyo and will be home to the first Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Japan. The Conrad Tokyo, due to open in July, will have 290 rooms and is located near the exclusive Ginza district. It occupies the upper floors of the mixed-use Tokyo Shiodome building.

The Gordon Ramsay restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, will offer fine dining and more casual all-day dining. Regional specialities will be served in the hotel's Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Ramsay, the British celebrity chef with seven Michelin stars under his belt, will advise on the menu, ingredients and cooking methods and instruct the chefs. In addition to the restaurants, the hotel will have a lobby bar and lounge where afternoon tea is served, and later on cocktails with a backdrop of live music.

As well as becoming famous for its Ramsay restaurant, the hotel's wedding chapel is sure to court publicity – an ideal place to establish or renew vows, according to the website. Guests who want to work off the excesses of Ramsay's cuisine can use the hotel's fitness centre and pool, or simply relax in the spa, which offers internationally-inspired treatments include grape seed aromatherapy from California and natural bio-cosmetics from Germany.

Rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, some with views of the Hamarikyu gardens, a former Royal residence. They also feature all the mod cons: 37-inch plasma television screens, DVD and video on demand, wired and wireless internet access and electronic safes.

Conrad is the luxury brand of the Hilton International chain. Openings planned over the next two years include properties in the US, Thailand and Dubai. Go to Conrad Hotels.

[Lindsay Wilson]

American Airlines is reinstating transatlantic flights from two UK regional airports this summer.

Flights from Manchester to Boston and from Glasgow to Chicago will relaunch on May 2. Except for a year-round service from Manchester to Chicago and winter flights from Manchester to Miami, American operates all of its transatlantic flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick, but says it has found success with these seasonal services.

The Glasgow-Chicago route, which is in its tenth summer, will be operated daily until September 30 with fares from £396 including tax. It operates with a two-class configuration. American says about a quarter of passengers finish their journey in Chicago while the remainder fly on to other US cities.

The Manchester-Boston flight will be operated daily until October 29 and is an all-economy flight with fares from £329 including tax. Go to AA UK website

Marriott brand gets revamp

Courtyard is ditching in-room minibars at properties in mainland Europe.
The decision by the value-for-money brand of US hotel chain Marriott, will delight travellers who grumble about excessive hotel minibar charges.
The mini-bars are being replaced by in-room fridges which the guest can stock with items of his or her own choice.

The concept is already offered at the Amsterdam Schiphol Courtyard along with the new property located near Brussels' airport. The idea is that guests can either stock the fridge with their own drinks or snacks or buy them from a special "grab and go" shop in the lobby. The concept is expected to be extended to all new Courtyard properties planned for mainland Europe.

At the same time, Marriott is upgrading the Courtyard concept. The latest properties, which are located near airports or at business locations on the edge of town in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France and Poland, are built to higher standards.

Accommodation remains reasonably priced but guests can now expect improvements like larger rooms (30 square metres), in-room safes, air-conditioning, iron and ironing board and a quality food and beverage outlet which is open long hours.

Says a Marriott spokesperson: "These Courtyards offer four-star standards at more affordable rates. They're designed for executives who don't want to compromise on quality yet who don't need the extensive range of services offered by a traditional four or five star hotel."

The new breed of Courtyards (with the typical room rate) are located at: Hanover (Euros 130), Amsterdam Schiphol (Euros 135), Warsaw airport (Euros 110), Paris CDG airport (Euros 155) and Brussels (Euros 149, which includes free high-speed internet access until February 27).

Go to Marriott website.

[Lindsay Wilson]

"Bumped off" air travellers will receive compensation of up to £415 under European legislation coming into effect today.

The legislation is designed to stop airlines from deliberately overbooking flights but airlines are against the rules saying it could push up fares. From today, all airlines, including charter and low cost carriers, which deny boarding because of overbooking will have to pay out £173 on short-haul flights (under 1,500km), £277 on medium-haul flights (over 1,500km in the EU and up to 3,500km outside EU) and £415 on long-haul flights (over 3,500km). This compensation is halved if the passenger is not delayed more than two, three or four hours respectively.

The payouts are set regardless of the fare – something no-frills airlines such as Ryanair are objecting to, claiming the payout could exceed the original fare. "Compensation should be proportional to the fare paid," said Easyjet in a statement. Industry commentators are predicting a rise in fares as a result of the legislation, but few airlines are willing to state this. British Airways told businesstraveller.com its fares will be unaffected, but Easyjet has hinted at "increased costs for the passenger".

Consumer groups are welcoming the new rules. Which? Campaigner Emma Harrison accused the airlines of pulling the wool over their customers' eyes in the past. She said: "For years airlines have washed their hands of responsibility for making sure passengers get to their destinations on time, it's common knowledge that airlines over-book flights as a matter of course."

In addition to a cash payout bumped passengers will be entitled to a full refund of the ticket or alternative flight to their destination, as well as a recoup of accommodation and other subsistence costs incurred while "stranded". Airlines can still appeal to passengers to voluntarily opt for a later flight in the event of overbooking by offering incentives such as flight or duty-free vouchers or cash. The legislation goes into effect today, with leaflets distributed throughout Europe's airports, but airlines hope a legal challenge being made on their behalf by various organisations including IATA, could amend the rules.

Cancelled flights

It is not just bumped off passengers that benefit from the legislation – the same level of compensation extends to passengers on cancelled flights where the problem is deemed to be the fault of the airline and sufficient advance notice is not given to the passenger. However, this aspect of the legislation has been criticised by airlines for being "woolly" and could lead to disputes with passengers over whether the airline is at fault over the delay. In a statement Easyjet said: "...poor wording of the legislation will prove misleading in terms of what passengers will be entitled to." BA told businesstraveller.com that it was also concerned about the wording of the new policy.

Delayed flights

Better treatment of delayed passengers is another impact of the legislation. If a flight is delayed more than two hours, airlines must provide a meal, refreshments and two free phone calls. If this delay extends over five hours, passengers can demand a full refund and a return flight home if relevant.

Baggage

When a bag is damaged, lost or delayed, passengers can claim up to £816. A complaint must be made in writing within a week of return for damaged baggage and within three weeks for delayed baggage.

Claiming compensation

Knowing who to complain to isn't simple – passengers who are not satisfied that an airline has fulfilled its obligation in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellation or long delay need to contact the relevant EU authority, and to find that out they should call Europe Direct on 00 800 6789 1011.

South African Airways has stepped up to compete with the likes of BA and Virgin following the completion of lie-flat beds in Business Class.

The airline has now fitted lie-flat beds across its fleet of B747-400 aircraft, which operate between London and both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The new beds take the seat pitch in Business from 55 inches to 78 inches, which beats BA's Club World at 73 inches and is close to Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class product at 79.2 inches. As all 14 flights per week to Johannesburg and nine to Cape Town operate overnight, the beds, which come with duvets and pillows, will offer a welcome rest to business travellers arriving for morning meetings in South Africa.

But following the product upgrade Business Class fares have risen. "Fares will rise slightly," an SAA spokeswoman told businesstraveller.com, "because we feel we can now compete with BA and Virgin with our Business Class product."

Business Class fares currently start at £2,400 return including taxes to both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Travel in Business Class includes seatback video with on-demand movies, complimentary airport transfer within a 65-mile return trip and access to departure and arrival lounges. Malaysia Airlines, British Airways and SAS are among other airlines to have recently revamped business class.

[Lindsay Wilson]

The construction of Heathrow's Terminal 5 has reached the half way mark - ahead of schedule and within budget.

The construction of Heathrow's Terminal 5 has reached the half way mark - ahead of schedule and within budget. The new terminal building and air traffic control tower have been raised to their full heights, giving the airport a new historic skyline.

Terminal 5 managing director Tony Douglas said: "While we are investing £4.2bn in the new terminal development, a further £3bn is also being spent over the next seven years on improving the existing airport facilities. "Two and a half years into construction and over 50 per cent complete, we have already spent £2bn and will be spending approximately £80m a month during this coming year."

The opening of Terminal 5 is scheduled for March 30 2008 and will comprise two terminal buildings, a network of over 13km of bored tunnels, a new air traffic control tower, airfield infrastructure, a 4,000-space multi-story car park and a hotel.

It will increase Heathrow's capacity to 90m passengers a year, compared to the 72m who passed through the world's busiest international airport last year.

[Lindsay Wilson]

The best online hotel prices aren't always where you think they are

Ask 10 business travellers a good website for booking travel and, chances are, they will give you 10 different answers. In fact, many will name several sites, splitting their bookings for short-haul and long-haul flights, accommodation and even car hire. They may have originally chosen these sites for their prices, but once they are registered and have become accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of the booking engine, they will probably stay with those sites. Yet things are changing so quickly in the travel industry - and particularly on travel websites - that there's likely to be a better deal elsewhere.

To understand why, it's a good idea to look at what travel agents are doing and why. Much has changed for them in recent years. Go back just a few years, and there were frequent predictions of their demise. How could they compete with increasing numbers of travellers using the web to book their travel? How they coped was by offering their services on the web in an easy-to-use format. In many cases, they also undercut the prices that were available directly from the hotels and airlines and, as a result, they thrived.

Yet just in the last few months, things have changed again. Airlines have cut commission payments to agents from 10–15% down to 1% or even zero. By contrast, hotels pay anything from 8% to 30% commission depending on the volume of business. As a result, website agents are now aggressively promoting hotel rooms, which have become the products with the largest mark-up.

Looking at this mark-up, it's no wonder Hubert Joly, president and CEO of global travel firm Carlson Wagonlit, describes hotel accommodation as "...a dream for a company like ours." The big travel management companies have large firms as their clients - the sort that can obtain good rates on airfares on their own.

However, the same might not be true of their accommodation requirements (although in many cases, large travel management companies make their money in the form of an annual flat-rate management fee from large companies, rather than agency commission).

"Corporations feel that hotel expenditure is the next frontier [to be conquered]" says Joly, "and frankly this is an area we've neglected. In the past, travel managers have focused on air travel. But that market has become concentrated. By contrast, the hotels are fragmented and they're profitable."

Joly believes that Carlson Wagonlit, with its huge volumes of turnover, can offer better rates than its online rivals in the majority of cases. In addition, firms that supply substantial volumes of custom may be able to get hoteliers to throw in sweeteners like executive floor upgrades, free breakfast and car parking.

If you are booking your travel individually - or you work for a smaller firm - you will lack this clout, so where are the bargains? In the past, many travellers turned to online agents like Expedia, Travelocity or Lastminute.com

What has changed recently is the attitude of the hotel chains to these online agents. Many hotels have shaken up their booking systems to price according to market demand, rather than merely quoting unrealistically high rack or full-price rates. As a result, individual travellers can often now find comparable, or even cheaper, rates on a hotel's own website.

To give some examples, Marriott has adopted "rational" pricing on its website, while InterContinental and Hilton offer "best price" guarantees. A spokesperson for US chain Marriott said: "The only time you will find a better rate [than is available on the hotel's own website] is when it's an exclusively negotiated one [like a corporate deal] or where it's a wholesale rate [like those granted to tour operators]." Chains like Radisson SAS, InterContinental and Sofitel can offer Apex (advance purchase) rates at slack times and these can undercut what the online agents quote.

Global chains were forced to act because the online agents negotiated overly generous commission payments in the days following September 11, when hotels were desperate for business. Said a Marriott spokesperson: "The online agents wanted really low rates for rooms, which they then sold off at ridiculously high prices."

In addition, the online agents didn't make it clear which rates included taxes and which did not. They also imposed heavy cancellation and amendment fees (up to 100% for all nights booked), whereas most rooms booked directly with a major hotel can be changed or cancelled without penalty until the late afternoon on the day of arrival. Even if you were to "no show" for a stay of several nights, a hotel would only bill you for the first night, whereas the online agent would charge you for the entire stay, "so there was an integrity as well as a cost per sale issue," added the Marriott spokesperson.

Finally, at times of high demand, the online operators often showed a hotel as being fully booked, when in fact the site had merely sold its allocation of merchant hotel rooms (ie, those bought at wholesale price from the hotel, then marked up for sale on the site).

With business now looking up, hotels are increasingly calling time on these deals. InterContinental recently went as far as to sever its ties with online agent Expedia. According to an InterContinental spokesperson: "We will only work with partners who do not engage in confusing and potentially unclear marketing practices." As a result, Travelocity became the hotel group's "official third-party distributor".

The hotel chains don't want to turn their backs on the online agents completely. They find that they reach a different sector of the business and leisure market - that is, those of us who have grown used to using the sites. But now with business travel returning to pre-September 11 levels, the boot is on the other foot. Christian Ruge, business development manager of the Accor group's new first class Sofitel Bayerpost in Munich, said: "Major hotels were paying a lot of commission to online agents in the past. But we've had a good couple of years so now they have to deal on our terms. If they don't like it, then it's goodbye."

The lesson for those of us using the web to book our accommodation is to shop around, and to make sure that whichever hotel we choose to stay at, we check the price on that hotel's website before we start typing in credit card details. With "best rate" guarantees becoming more common, it can be a complex search to find a real bargain, but at least you can be assured you found the lowest price available.

[Lindsay Wilson]

Trains to get an overhaul

GNER is upgrading its trains and installing wireless internet across the fleet following a successful bid on the London-Scotland service. The train operator, which has run the service since 1996, beat Virgin Trains to win the contract for the next ten years.

Among the pledges to passengers made by GNER as part of its bid is the installation of wireless internet on all trains by May 2007. GNER says it also plans to make trains more reliable, more comfortable and more punctual.

GNER is a targetting 90% punctuality by 2010 and says £25 million will be spent on upgrading the interior of GNER's high-speed diesel trains to the level of comfort offered by its fleet of electric "Mallard" trains.

Extra services are also planned, with 13 more services on the London-Leeds route by December, GNER's most popular route. But the improvements come at a cost. Industry observers says the £1.3 billion outlay, pledged by GNER to be given to the government over the next ten years, will be compensated for by an increase in fares, already topping £100 on some standard class tickets.

GNER is denying "massive fare increases" but says fares will rise over the coming years with inflation.

Schedule boost for BA

British Airways is boosting flights to Eastern Europe as part of its 2005 summer timetable, and dropping some services to Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

Romania's capital, Bucharest and the Bulgarian capital, Sofia will be served three times a week from May 1 and June 1 respectively. These Gatwick flights will start from around £150 return including taxes.

Other new services from March 27 include daily flights from Bristol to Milan with franchise carrier, BA CitiExpress, which will also launch Bristol to Zurich six times a week. Fares start at £99 return including taxes on both routes.

Also on the summer timetable are flights planned from London Heathrow to Shanghai, which BA will launch subject to regulatory approval, on March 27.

European flights will be boosted to an average 631 British Airways flights a day for the summer, in addition to 372 daily UK and Ireland flights, but some services are being scrapped for the summer. Flights from Gatwick to Frankfurt and Genoa will be suspended over the summer, as will flights from Manchester to Amsterdam and Bologna. Go to BA website.

New FFP to launch

Air France and KLM are merging frequent flyer programmes. Under the arrangement Air France's "Fréquence Plus" and KLM's "Flying Dutchman" will be replaced by a single programme called "Flying Blue" from June.

Members of the two frequent flyer programmes will be automatically signed up to Flying Blue and over the coming months they will be informed about the changes by letter.

Members will retain their membership number and miles, with Flying Blue miles being equal in value to the Fréquence Plus and Flying Dutchman miles. Flying Blue will have four membership levels – Ivory, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The scheme has 36 airline partners and 100 non-airline partners with which to redeem and spend rewards.

The merger of the frequent flyer programmes follows the merger of KLM and Air France in May 2004.

SAS to go flat

Flat beds and video on demand will be enjoyed by SAS Business Class passengers from next year.

The Scandinavian carrier is introducing flatbeds in Business Class on flights to Asia and the US from Manchester, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Newcastle, which operate via the SAS hub in Copenhagen. The beds will be fitted from early next year following the removal of 14 seats from the original A340 Business Class cabin to make room for 60 flatbed seats. The smaller A330 aircraft will have 34 flatbed seats.

With a 61-inch seat pitch, 66cm width and recline of 11 degrees, the seats should be more comfortable than the current Business Class offering, which bar the front row of "sleeper seats" are reclining seats.

With the beds comes improved entertainment for Business Class passengers from video on demand, available through a larger 10.4 inch monitor. Go to SAS website


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