London hotels continue to boom
London hotels continued their growth in business in February with room yields up 6.3% to £77.60, occupancy up 1.5% to 74.4% and average room rates up 4.8% to £104.28, according to figures from PKF hotel consultancy.
Partner Robert Barnard said the figures for the whole of the UK were “strong across the board” and that with warmer weather coming, more people would be travelling and occupancy figures boosted.
VLM profits leap
Antwerp-based regional airline VLM reported that its net profit for 2004 €948,000 was almost tripled the figure for 2003, €327,000. Its operating profit rose by 29.9% from €1.4m to €1.8m for the same period. Passenger figures were up 23% to 553,795.
Chairman Jaap Rosen Jacobson said the airline had made a good start to 2005 and further expansion of services was expected.
Business Travel at ITB a success
More than 1000 people attended business travel seminars or visited the Business Travel Lounge at the ITB in Berlin earlier this month.
A spokeswoman for the event said that ITB had proved a “suitable platform” for business travel and ITB Business Travel Days would be held again next year at the show.
TAP profits dip
TAP Portugal announced a drop in its annual net profits to €8.6m in 2004 from €19.7m in the previous year.
The state-owned carrier blamed the result which was below its own forecast on the high cost of fuel. It said it spent €72m more on fuel than it had planned.
Fernando Pinto, TAP's ceo, said the airline would be privatised and it was still in talks with PGA-Portugalia Airlines about a possible merger or partnership. But he described it as a “long process.”
Malev hitch
The second attempt to privatize the Hungarian carrier Malev seems to have stalled after
three bids to buy the debt-ridden and loss-making airline were rejected as being too small.
Malev's new chairman Peter Honig said in the week that he would like two years to re-organise the airline before it was privatised.